[Note from Frolic: We’re so excited to have author Lexi Blake guest posting on the site today. She’s sharing a day in the life…of her dogs! Take it away, Lexi!]
Author life is actually pretty boring. Especially now. So I thought I would ask my two dogs how it looks to them. It’s still pretty boring. Except for the squirrels.
Precious
The morning begins like all other mornings for my mother. It begins without me for she believes in a thing called crate where I am placed for the duration of her sleep cycle. I do not know why she does this. I think Dad is involved. It is all right. I sleep all day so I can bark all night and let my displeasure be known to all. At the eventual opening of the crate, I and my brother are released and we greet the morning by running as quickly as we can through the house in order to make sure everything is the same as it was the night before. We ensure that it is safe for Mom to make the long walk to her office. She opens the back door and joins us outside where she catches up on a thing called Twitter and I make sure the secret society of squirrels that lives in our yard makes no moves to harm Mom. When we reenter the domicile, we take our places as sentries, guarding the home from potential invasion. Though we might look as though we’ve gone to sleep in the sunniest place in the house, the truth is I have determined this is the best perch. I can see the front door and the back door from this spot and am able to bark at anyone coming down the stairs as well.
Frodo
I like sofa better than crate. Sofa is nice.
Precious
After Mom drinks coffee and has some conversation with Dad, she begins the work of the day. She stares at a computer. Most of the time there is a look of consternation on her face and I worry the screen is doing some bad to her. These are the times I bark and bring her the greatest comfort she can find—my attention and affection. Sometimes the screen has such a hold on her that I must be persistent in order to save her. This gives Mom incredible comfort and allows her to continue touching the letters. This is a very important job. I do not know why. I only know that she tells me this all the time.
Frodo
Sofa in office is not as good as sofa in living room.
Precious
Lunchtime is often a time of great strife. Mom will go from the refrigerator to the pantry and back to the refrigerator where she discovers food items she thought would be there have mysteriously disappeared. I suspect the Secret Society of Squirrels. Mom suspects my human sister, but human sister blames the squirrels as well. After much drama, Mom usually goes back to whatever she initially pulled out for lunch and moves on. Frodo and I keep careful watch to ensure that the food she eats is safe. Sometimes the food falls to the floor and I quickly clean it up. With my mouth. We are always looking out for Mom. At this point we often do another patrol of the yard. The squirrels will use any dereliction of duty to make their incursion.
Frodo
One time men came and they took sofa and I spent three days on the floor and it was terrible. But then some other men brought sofa back, though sofa looked different. It was probably the squirrels.
Precious
Afternoon is another dangerous time. It is at this time that I often see a squirrel patrol race across the fence line. Sometimes the squirrel will stop and stare at Mom, who is always back at her screen at this time of the day. Also, at least once a week, a man will push something around our yard and Mom doesn’t even pay attention to him. He is taking our grass and Mom still stares at the screen. Luckily Frodo and I bark enough to force him to leave. I must be vigilant in protecting Mom in all ways.
Frodo
Sometimes Dad puts blankets on sofa and they smell something terrible, so I roll around on them so they smell better.
Precious
At times the worst happens and Mom…leaves the house. I have warned her against this many times. The squirrels are everywhere. When Mom leaves the house Frodo and I must bark and wail and cry to let everyone else know that we are motherless. I also believe our barks will allow Mom to find her way home where she will be greeted with more barking. Joyous barking.
Frodo
Mom was gone for five hundred years.
Precious
She stops staring at the screen and moves to the best room in the house at this point of the day. This is the room where she drops much human food. She feeds my human family and then I remind her gently that it is our time for food. Though I am small, I jump very high and often can get her attention by jumping higher than the table. Human sister thinks this is very amusing. Dad not so much. It is at this time of day that Mom often expresses frustration with her words for the day. Dad listens but his advice is always terrible since it often sends her back to the screen. I’ve come to the conclusion that Mom spends too much time creating these book things she talks about. She is much happier at the end of the day with a glass of wine in her hand and me on her lap.
Frodo
I found out wine tastes good. I don’t know why Mom freaked out.
Precious
We end the day with another patrol of the yard. Once I found a really messed-up dog attempting to get into the yard. Mom called it Possum and told me it was helpful and I should leave it be. I will not. That dog was wrong, I tell you. We communicate with the dogs in the next yard. All is well with their humans, too. It is time once again to go into crate. I face it with dignity. I bed down with my brother and prepare myself for the next day.
The squirrels shall not win. But the screen probably will.
An afterword – Precious firmly believes she should be the only dog on the cover of her mom’s books. Frodo just thinks they’re all chewy.
New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband and three kids. Since starting her publishing journey in 2010, she’s sold over three million copies of her books. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings.
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A heartwarming contemporary romance set in Louisiana’s Butterfly Bayou from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake.
Seraphina Guidry loves Butterfly Bayou. A young, single mom, she’s trying to find a place for herself in the town she cherishes, but past mistakes have made her wary. She adores her son but has sworn off men. She’s dedicated herself to restoring an historic house and building her own business. A quiet life is all she wants.
Harrison Jefferys never expected to find himself in small-town Louisiana, but he has a job to do and a family to reconnect with. After years in the Army, he’s happy to spend time with his Aunt Celeste and his cousins in such an idyllic spot. When he meets Seraphina, he starts to think Papillion might be a great place to call home. But a secret from Sera’s past rears its head and threatens to tear the community apart.
Caught between the woman he’s coming to love and the only family he has left, Harry knows he has to follow his heart and with the help of the crazy, loving, meddling locals find a way to keep them both.
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Dang namit I needed this so much....Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Sending hugs from NZ love Auntie Cherie