By Deborah Taylor-French

Dog Leader Mysteries 2013

In a spirit of good humor, gratitude and peace, I close year 2013 short and sweet.

• Thanks for reading.
• Special thanks to those of you who have become friends by leaving comments, blog hopping with Blog Paws or WordPress.com.
• Hugs to those of you who follow Dog Leader Mysteries and for sharing it with your friends and family.

Those of you who are active on social media, please add me to your Google+ circles. If you like you can click this link to friend me on Facebook or this link to follow my @dtfpress updates on Twitter.

Highlights from 2013

My all time favorite photograph from my Canon SX50? See below.

We Are Hungry

I took We Are Hungry in Florence, Italy.

My favorite post of 2013?

Yoshi, the rabbit Alex rescued and helped save his broken and infected paw. Yoshi, means Good Luck in Japanese, and this little guy fought hard to get well, use his broken leg to hop on, then Yoshi found a forever home through the Sonoma County Animal Shelter. For more on Yoshi click Yoshi .

My favorite new blogger pal?

Russel Ray Photos cause he camps out on other people’s blogs. I think I’ll follow along, learning new stuff about photography, life and other cool WordPress blogs.

Redwood Writers

I do social media to promote Redwood Writers, the largest branch of the California Writers Club. Our motto is writers helping writers. I volunteer as Author Support Group Facilitator. I am so fond of all the friends I have made face to face through Redwood Writers, all the short fiction, memoir and novels I have read by members. So if you are a writer, do hunt for a local writers group or start one.

Blog Fun vs. Writing Fiction Drafts

Blogging surprised me, in that I find it fun.

Some posts I work out over time and send out first and second revisions to friends. I ask them to look at the overall appeal of the topic, the flow of the sentences and grammar. Once the bones look good to us, I polish up and add links, etc.

But the big mule kick for me, consists of a spark from a photograph, story or video, which sets me off and running. This post is one of those, just for the fun of it.

Today I grab my hat and catch sentences

as they drop from the sky.

Another writer in my critique group once said, “You edit yourself too much!”

Her scolding tone, hit a bull’s-eye on my skull. Yes,I am guilty of editing my stories out of existence. I have years of fiction and poetry in states of incomplete drafts. I need deadlines to finish anything, except blog posts.

She said, "I'm cold." 

He said, "Well you're a writer."

Pulling on a sweater she asked,"What do you mean?" 

He said, "Writers spend all their time hanging around drafts."

Reckless

So if I take a reckless path next year, please follow.

My goal is to dive into publishing at least three short nonfiction works. Much of what I plan to write and polish will be in the vein of humor and animal welfare. Also I have larger interests to share on living green and healthier, fitness and Body IQ.

Are you a Beta Reader?

I would love to have a few beta readers. Would you like to read on of my dog humor eBooks?

Express your interest by leaving a comment with a working email address.

This Humane Society of the United States HSUS

Watching this gave me a unique sense of peace, as if all were right with the world, maybe it all comes down to prairie dogs being themselves and doing what they do as a community in the chain of life?

Dig in the dirt. Wash face. Eat. Fall over from getting fat. Then get up again, hug a friend and fall over together.