Sheltie Gazette: Jumping frogs, libraries, & squires ⚔️
May 15, 2025 8:01 pm
What are you reading today, ?
You know that thing when you've put a book on hold, and it is going to be a million weeks, and then all the books arrive at once? Yeah, that's where I am--three books I was really waiting for, all running out of time at once.
Fortunately, I'm on a little mini retreat. Just an hour away from home, but all by myself. My husband has been traveling a lot lately (and he still has more coming up), and taking care of the kids and house by myself is a different kind of exhausting. It's not just the extra work, but the constant subconscious awareness that everything depends on me. I love my family, but I figured that I could be a better mom if I could just turn off for a couple of days.
So, I've been drinking tea, and stitching, and writing, and today I'm going to get out for a walk. So I'll keep this short, and I hope you have something refreshing for your May too!
- Small confusion, will fix
- The Story of the Lonely Puppy
- Sheltie Round-up: we thought this was funny, plus libraries
- Speaking of libraries...
- Free books for May
Small confusion, will fix
I have been working on adjusting my welcome sequence to answer some questions that come up and include some tidbits that my regular subscribers have particularly enjoyed. Since each person is on a different schedule for the welcome sequence, depending on when you joined, they intersperse with the regular emails, and a very few people who joined during a few-day period are getting the same email twice. I'm sorry!
It's almost settled now, so you should be getting the regular Sheltie Gazette on the 2nd and 4th weeks of the month, plus a short one just for a new release or short-term sales. Unless you just joined — welcome! 🥰
The Story of the Lonely Puppy
I brought one dog along with me on this retreat. Partly because they're still young and need socialization, and partly because I like having a dog to talk with. This time, I brought Malin--he's the sable Sheltie who is confident and bossy and tells everyone and everything what to do (aka he barks a lot).
Malin says he is good at knowing what is supposed to happen—at home. He knows where the water should go—at home. He knows where the dogs are supposed to go—at home.
Malin does not approve of being on a trip.
The first day, he paced and whined and howled. He wanted to go into his crate to have his dinner, and then he wanted out of his crate and it turned out that dinner did not fill the gnawing hole in his soul. He wanted to go outside, but outside is not what he wanted.
We're in a dog-friendly Airbnb, meaning that they have friendly dogs. One of them came in our house, and he and Malin attempted to play together, which made Malin moderately more happy than not playing with anyone.
Here's a picture of the attempt. You see, Shelties like to play every variation of tag—peekaboo tag, chase tag, go really really fast all together tag. Other dogs tend to think that you wrestle and mouth each other and stuff. So Malin kept tapping the other dog's hindquarters with one paw, kind of like how you push these little plastic frogs:
Whereupon the other dog would think he wanted to wrestle, and they would both hop in the air like the picture above, until Malin could get racing around for a good game of tag, and the other dog was like "huh, I guess you don't want to play." Cue repeat.
Malin was temporarily less lonely. But he still thinks that he and I should do something fun. Right now. Yes now. Now please. Let's go.
Sheltie Round-up: Possibly funny, and definitely libraries
This was my favorite guest blog post. The cue was to write a profile of a character, and so here's what Maura's ex-husband wrote to his lawyers in the profile for their divorce case. Then the lawyers make notes in the margins.
This blog is called "Straight from the Library," the interview is about libraries, and the whole thing is very definitely about libraries. What about you? Are you e-reader or print, what were your childhood library memories, and what books do you have on hold?
Speaking of libraries...
I'm on the final rounds with The Squire and His Magical Library. It's with my editor and beta readers now (if you want an advanced review copy in mere days, you can apply for my review team here) and I'm in the flurry of edit details while trying to hold the whole story in my head at once.
I should tempt you to preorder with a great blurb, but with my head in that state, I cannot write something proper, because my mind is going all "books fall down! the pig! the kiss! the fae's teeth!" I have a working blurb on the pre-order page, and if you're reading this a couple days later then Future Me has probably written a better one. Meanwhile, Magical Library has books, teeth, a pig, and the kiss may or may not actually happen.
The narrator is Rian, whom you met in The White Deer of Kildare. The Squire & His Magical Library starts when he is eleven and just left home to be trained to be a warrior, which he does not want to be. It's a little different from my other novellas because it spans several years as he grows up. Instead of Rian slipping through time, he stays in Heroic Ireland but the library comes through time—along with a little tiny Fae who is a lot like a wren but with very sharp teeth.
Rian's life gets tangled up with two girls—one who wants to be a warrior, and a blind princess. As they all grow up, each one struggles to capture the fate that they want, and their friendships crack and change. In the end, it might be that the library is Rian's one true friend.
Have you ever felt like books are your one true friend?
Free books for May...
There are so many that look so good this time! I haven't had a chance to read them yet, because of the library-holds-all-coming in situation, but I can't wait to dive in.
I want to read basically everything in here, but I picked three to share with you. Aren't these some beautiful covers? I guess I'm in a cozy romantasy mood, but there's other vibes too.
Must Love Moss & Moonshine has a jewelry artist for the main character, and a cinnamon roll love interest. With all the stress in the world, I definitely want to read about nice guys.
The Lily Gate is a short and sweet retelling of "The Frog Prince," where the princess sets the challenges!
I picked Swipe Right for Kuk because it features an Egyptian god (and a dating app), and I know many of you are on the lookout for non-European mythology, so this will be a fun one to check out!
Those weren't quite to your taste or your mood? Well, check out "Books for Every Mood" because... something has to be. I wasn't even sure where to begin pulling books to feature, because IMO what makes it great is that there's a little bit of everything. Go ahead and give a quick scroll through and see what covers and moods jump out at you!
And are you looking for something to sink into? Here's a set of first-in-series for women's fiction. These aren't free, but several are on sale, in KU or Kobo+. There's historical, family saga, B&B, fantasy elements, and romance — all with lots of character development like you love from WF authors.
Okay, , but...
Malin is back from playing with his new friend, and he thinks we really should go somewhere. Fun. Now. Outside. Together.
C'mon, mom, let's go. Go. You and I. Going. Go.
So happy May to you, and I love it when you reply back to these emails! See you soon!
