Winter Blogfest: Mariah Lynne

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win  an e-book copy of The Duchess’ Necklace.

My Dog Sam Was Part German Shepherd

My dog Sam was part German Shepherd, part Golden Lab, and part comedian. From the moment his golden brown eyes met mine, I knew I was in for a heck of a ride.

Sam was ninety pounds, full of energy, curiosity, and spunk. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body unless that is you threatened to harm his family. I watched him lick a baby’s feet and swim with ducks. We adopted Sam when he was nine months old from a shelter after his last owner moved and left him tied to a fence. 

He did have a romantic side that led to an encounter with a female sled dog but since we’re in the holiday season, I thought I’d share a short Christmas memory.

At that time, we lived in New England so of course December was cold. Sam, a big brown scruffy dog, had a bushy brown and black heavy coat of fur. He loved being outside especially in the snow. Our friend, who owned a local pub aptly called “The Dog House”, had to put his dog to sleep and didn’t want to get another because of his erratic work schedule.

Local pub owner Dave had constructed a large heavy doghouse for his late dog out of barn board. One day, he showed up at our house with it on the back of his pick-up. Soon after he met Sam, he knew he wanted Sam to inherit this amazing doghouse. He advised us to keep it filled with hay so Sam could enjoy the wintery outdoors for as long as he wanted. Sam loved it and loved to jump on its flat roof to watch people and pets walking up our quiet street.

We alternated years visiting my mother-in-law for Christmas or her coming to us. This was our year to cook the holiday meal and Sam was thrilled to have her company so much so he would sneak out of his bed when we were all asleep and lay by her bedroom door. That particular year, Christmas was a beautiful snowy day the kind Sam loved to frolic in. After we opened presents, I stuffed the turkey and put it in the oven. I asked Sam if he wanted to go outside, but evidently the aroma coming from that roasting pan sent Sam’s nose and stomach into a frenzy. He kept sniffing the air and stayed in the kitchen not wanting to miss anything turkey.

I set the table in our cozy dining room and checked the holiday feast. The turkey looked beautiful as did all the trimmings. Sam’s eyes were glued to my process of placing all this wonderful food into serving dishes. He had a healthy hearty breakfast so I was sure it was just his curiosity.

As my husband carved the turkey, even through the noise of an electric knife and all of our chatter, we heard loud slurping noises coming from the kitchen. I got up to see what that noise was. Did I leave the water running? Was something dripping? No to both but I did leave the turkey pan on the extended oven rack to cool. Sam was a big guy so the rack was level with his mouth. I walked into the kitchen to watch him continue to slurp up all the remaining juices in the roasting pan. Thank goodness I had already strained the bones out to make some gravy but did leave a generous amount of juices in the pan much to Sam’s happiness. He heard me enter and looked up at me with those huge big brown eyes and wagged his tail not skipping a second of his slurping. I didn’t know whether to laugh or scold him. You guessed it. I laughed and gave him a big hug even with all that turkey juice on his face. My husband always said I would make a terrible dog obedience trainer.

Sam lived to be fifteen and had a happy life and we shared many more wonderful memories together. I named the character of the dog in “Paws for Christmas” after him.
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It’s the Holidays and Jessica Munroe seems destined for misery. Nonetheless she is trying to make the best of it. Her fiancé Jake, an emergency room doctor, dumped her for his nurse and just two weeks prior, she had to put her dog, her best friend, Mazy to sleep.

The pain of losing both the man she loved and her best friend has taken her to a new low. Jessica, determined not to stay down, is now hard at work trying to push through the holiday season by doubling up on Christmas lights and decorations she’s putting up outside her residence.

As Jessica works, a big brown scruffy dog appears in her yard and refuses to leave when she tries to shoo him away. He’s filthy, looks hungry, and seems like he needs help. A dog lover, Jessica takes him to her vet who discovers a metal bone shaped tag buried in his matted fur. The tag reveals his name, Sam, and a phone number to call if he is lost or injured.

Sam’s owner Trey Musgrove is in the hospital the victim of a head-on collision. Now Jessica’s life is about to change forever thanks to Sam, this big brown scruffy lovable dog.

Side effects of reading PAWS FOR CHRISTMAS are a happy heart, an uplifted spirit, new confidence in the future, and a smile on your face!

Mariah Lynne takes readers on breathtaking adventures. Whether travelling through time, solving a crime, or finding love in unlikely situations, her heroines are strong willed independent women whose memorable stories keep the pages turning.
A graduate of Syracuse University, Mariah resides on a beautiful Florida Gulf Coast island, Ft. Myers Beach. Because she loves where she lives, Southwest Florida becomes the backdrop for all of her stories. Before writing fiction, she owned a business on the Beach and wrote weekly columns for two island newspapers.
Mariah is a member of Romance Writers of America and Southwest Florida Romance Writers where she served as Membership Chairman for five years. An animal lover, she served three years on the board of directors for a county wide no-kill animal shelter, The Animal Refuge Center and was honored to be selected Parade Marshall for the annual island Shrimp Festival Parade 2010.
Her books include PAWS for CHRISTMAS , THE DUCHESS’ NECKLACE, SHADOWS ACROSS TIME, and THE LOVE GYPSY also available as an audio book. Her short stories “Love at First Flight” and “The Kaine Mutiny” are published in Vols. 1 and 2 of FROM FLORIDA WITH LOVE, while “Claws for Justice” is included in NINE DEADLY LIVES a mystery anthology featuring cats. Her very first book, SEABLISS, a cozy island mystery now out of print will be re-released as an e-book and in print in early 2021.
When not writing, Mariah, a former video retailer, enjoys watching movies, travelling having recently been stranded because of the pandemic in Australia, swimming, and spending time with her husband Jerry. She still misses her amazing dolphin hunting dog Max, a shelter adoptee.

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