Publication!

We have a new and very brief essay called "Paw to the Paw to the Paw to the Paw" published at a wonderful literary journal called BIG OTHER, edited by John Madera. We're grateful John accepted this piece for publication.

Thank you so much for clicking over and reading it: here.

We'd love to know what our dog & cat & animal friends & human friends think of this piece. Thank you! And now: we nap.

New Writing Online!

I'm thrilled to share several new pieces of writing online. One is a book review of Sophfronia Scott's beautiful essay collection "Love's Long Line" (Ohio State University Press). Read the review at "Brevity," here.

The other piece is a special post, "My Mother's Forestland," for Agricultural Climate Network. Read that, here.

In other news, I have a book review and personal essay of doggie literature that will come out in the journal "Fourth Genre" August 2018.

As ever, Tootsie helped with the writing and editing! She's a very good dog.

Writing Ideas

Here's Tube of Fur seeking immediate paw-proval for a new writing idea.

And here's Tube of Fur after abandoning that new writing idea.

For Truffle

Many of you remember our dear Truffle, so I want to share a piece I wrote for Truffle. It's for a wonderful literary journal that focuses on housekeeping tips you remember from your dearly beloveds.

You can read it over at Dead Housekeeping, here.

Thank you for taking a look!
--Renee

Mom Returns Home

Tootsie: "But, where were you?"
Mom: "I was a visiting writer at Lebanon Valley College. It was wonderful!"

"And, Tootsie. I brought you an English-language magazine from America."

Flight Practice: A Little Help from the Wind

 

Some days, flight practice is more frustrating than other days. But even when things are frustrating, it's imPAWtant to keep practicing. Some people might say that dogs cannot fly, but that pigs can fly. Well, if a pig can fly, I think a dog can fly.

Mom and Dad say that they will help me keep practicing. I'm so lowdown that the wind doesn't get under my ears for a good lift, so I need Mom or Dad to pick me up. That way, my ears get a bit of a lift from the wind, and flight practice is possible.

Mom says she has lots of days with her writing where she doesn't feel like it is going well at all. Well, today's flight practice was one of those days.

If you're having a day when things aren't going so well, you might just need a friend to lift you up so you can feel the wind.

xo

Love,

Tootsie

Paws & Books: "Sublime Physick" by Patrick Madden

Sublime Physick

(University of Nebraska Press)

by Patrick Madden

I'd be so grateful if you read my book review of Patrick Madden's gorgeous essay collection over at Inside Higher Ed. Huge thanks to John Griswold for fantastic editing of my review--and for publishing it. Your clicks through to read the review make a huge difference! Thank you.

Guest Post at Assay

Hello, All,

I'd be so grateful if you click on over to my guest blog post for the fantastic journal Assay. I discuss two superb craft guides: Jessica Handler's "Braving the Fire: A Guide to Writing About Grief and Loss" and Beth Kephart's "Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir."

Here's the link.

Thank you so much!

Love,
Renee
(aka: Tootsie's Mom)

Link for "A Church, A Cupcake, and a Dog" Essay

Dear Friends,

Renee here (Tootsie's Mom). Thank you so much for your lovely comments recently (and always). In the comments, we had a request about accessing my writing online (thank you, Sonia!), so I'm sharing one link in a dedicated post.

Published online by Under the Sun, I wrote "A Church, A Cupcake, and a Dog" about traveling across America with our beloved (and now departed) Truffle. The essay is available here. If the link does not work, please copy & paste this address into your browser:

http://underthesunonline.com/wordpress/2013/a-church-a-cupcake-and-a-dog-2/

Thank you, all, so much for your ongoing support. Here's a photo of my chief editor, Tootsie. She can even read upside down!

Love,
Renee & Tootsie

NYC Reading: Renee E. D'Aoust

Hi, All, Tootsie's Mom here. I'm taking the liberty of writing on Tootsie's blog today.

On Tuesday, September 10, at 7:00pm, in New York City, I will be reading from my memoir Body of a Dancer. This is a shared reading with Etruscan Press authors at Word for Word Poetry in Bryant Park (behind the New York Public Library). If you are in the area, please stop by. It will be a special event!

Here's the link. (Scroll down to September 10.)

Here's the info:

Tootsie will not be at the event. Alas.

Here's a photo blast from my past as a dancer. Thomas Warfield is the other dancer.

 Photo by Betsy Corsiglia.

In the next photo, Ian Butler is the other dancer. I am upside down.

Photo by Betsy Corsiglia.

I cannot do those dance climbing thingies anymore. Here's a picture of what I do now at readings.

Photo by Frank Dina.

Visit Frank Dina's webpage here and check out his wotten-waven "Motion/Stories."

Wish me luck!

Love,
Renee

A Very Good Grandpa

Dear Grandpa & Truffle,

It's so good to be with you in Idaho.  Cuddles with Grandpa! Hide-and-seek with Grandpa!

What a whack-a-doodle world. Two days ago, we were in Switzerland. Now, we're in Idaho.

Let the great humping of Truffle begin!

Grandpa: Thank you for taking care of me while Mom goes out on the road to read from her book "Body of a Dancer" at Western Michigan University and at the University of Notre Dame. Mom really appreciates all your help. So do I.

Grandpa: Would you please read me "Wiener Wolf" by Jeff Crosby?

Grandpa: Do you mind if I start hunting mice right away?

 

Grandpa: Do you mind if I start humping kissing Truffle right away?

 

You are a very good Grandpa.

Love,
Tootsie

New Red Cube

I finally insisted that Mom and Dachshund Daddy buy some furniture. Mom took the bus to the furniture store and came home with a list, Dachshund Daddy rode his bike to the store with the list and ordered the items (the Italian needed was beyond Mom's skill set because delivery also had to be arranged), and some boxes were delivered to Casa Burrow.

I am short, but I am mighty. I helped Mom and Dachshund Daddy put together a New Red Cube.

Do you think I am helpful?

Do you think I give clear directions?

Would you like to come over for some orange juice, milk, or tea? We could make tea in the cute little teapot Mom found at the dump. Together, we could admire the New Red Cube.

P.s. Mom has a book review of Gabriel Blackwell's "Shadow Man: A Biography of Lewis Miles Archer" (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2012) up over at HTML GIANT. We'd be so grateful if you might click on over. Noir lovers, this book is for you! (And please note that this book review is not X-rated.)

Switzerland Here We Come!

Mom's travel is all wrapped up; she had a super time giving readings and speaking to high school classes and college courses in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The students were inspiring. And earlier in September, she had a swell time at the Equality State Book Festival in Casper, Wyoming.

Grandpa did a wonderful job of caring for me. Thank you, Grandpa.

I've hugged and humped Truffle. We've walked the land. And now off we go to Switzerland. Cows: get ready to moo!

The Equality State Book Festival

Dear Grandpa and Truffle,

Thank you for taking care of me while Mom gives a talk and a reading at the Equality State Book Festival in Casper, Wyoming. I wanted to go with her, but remember how I barked through the entire last reading? (Mom is really excited about the Festival and says "thank you, Holly & Laurie!")

Grandpa, as you know, Mom is of the nervous dachshund mommy variety, so she helped me prepare a reminder list for my care.

1. Please remember to shut all the doors to the house all the time.

• I, Tootsie, do declare: you know this will help! If I go outside off leash, I follow my nose.

2. Please remember to keep the makeshift gate across the stairs to the loft. The stairs are really, really steep (um, those stairs look kind of grungy, Grandpa).

• I, Tootsie, do declare: I don't want to fall down those stairs again and thump in a lump at the bottom. Here's a sign on the makeshift gate.

3. As you know, I'm on a strict Swiss-German diet. I receive just under 1/3 a cup of kibble in the morning and just under 1/3 a cup of kibble in the evening. With H2O. I also eat one fish oil in the morning and one fish oil in the evening.

• I, Tootsie, do declare: You know I'll tell you otherwise!

4. Please feel free to give me lots of treats: carrots, green beans, and peeled sweet potatoes.

• I, Tootsie, do declare: Yummy!

5. Please make sure I sleep on the floor mat with my brown-and-cream colored snuggle blankie. If you cannot resist my begging, please make sure you lift me up onto the bed. Do not let me jump off the bed!

• I, Tootsie, do declare: It's too far for me to jump down from your bed. And, besides, Truffle sleeps there. I understand. (I don't. Mom says I have to write that I understand. I don't understand.)

6. Please keep me on leash at all times. I'm not supposed to go outside until I hear "okay." (See #1.)

• I, Tootsie, do declare: Remember that time I followed my nose and Mom screamed like a crazy cougar woman and Dachshund Daddy ran up and down the hills and found me snuffling round?

7. Please be sure that Truffle eats all of his arthritis medicine in his mouth and that the pill doesn't fall on the floor as it would be an overdose for me to eat it.

• I, Tootsie, do declare: Enough said. We all remember the Aleve fiasco. Thank you, Dr. Ward, for my blessed recovery. Like my friend Scrappy, I have become a dog-of-faith.

8. Truffle offered to take care of me, but would you help him out when I hump hug him too much? Truffle says he'll let you know by squeaking.

• I, Tootsie, do declare: I love to air hump!

9. Thank you for taking care of me! I'll cuddle and snuggle and burrow and wag and walk, and I promise I won't put on my brakes on our walkies. (My Dachshund Delights Hug-a-Dog Harness is hanging by the back door.) I'm gonna hunt pack wats. I'm gonna hunt mice.

I love you, Grandpa. Love, Tootsie

Beer and Skittles, Kalamazoo, Michigan

On the Kalamazoo, Michigan portion of Mom's book tour this past March (thank you, KZOO BOOKS and Friends of Poetry!), Mom visited the recently opened Beer and Skittles store. Her special poet friend Danna works there.

I was cuddling with Grandpa back in Idaho. But Mom brought me several bumper stickers.

One of the reasons Mom loves this store so much is because of its core beliefs.

Beer and Skittles Core Beliefs:

"1. Life is short, and each small victory deserves a celebration."

I, Tootsie, declare: You know this is true. Every sit deserves a biscuit and every stay deserves a cuddle!

"2. Every small thing matters. In fact, sometimes, the smallest gesture makes the biggest impact."

I, Tootsie, declare: You know this is true. Every wag makes a difference.

"3. You don’t need to spend a fortune to live well: focus your spending on things that matter, and know where to shop."

I, Tootsie, declare: You know this is true. Mom bought treats for Grandpa, but then ate almost all the treats from Beer & Skittles on the plane ride home because everything was so yummy. She knew where to shop: at Beer and Skittles in Kalamazoo!

Mom saved one cookie for Grandpa from the package of Hail Merry Macaroons. You'll fall in love with the Hail Merry company when you read this note from her creator, Susan O'Brien.

Vegan macaroons? "Best macaroons ever," says Mom.

"Best one macaroon ever," said Grandpa after he ate his cookie.

Another reason Mom loves the Beer and Skittles store is because it was owner Christine Horton's dream to open such a store, which she did along with her co-owner husband.

Beer and Skittles is also on Facebook and posts lots of yummy food photos and eclectic beer information. This is a neat brief article about the store.

And here's a picture of me.

Bridger Foothills Trail

Last December, thanks to Mom's Body of a Dancer Book Tour, we got to visit Country Bookshelf--a fantastic indie bookstore in Bozeman, Montana. Bill, Dad's distant cousin, true friend, and long time Bozeman resident, treated us to a rejuvenating hike up the Bridger Foothills Trail.

I always take a moment to familiarize myself with the United States Forest Service regulations.

It was fairly cold and the trail was just a bit slippery...

but I have Four Paw Drive!

It's hard to read the signage when you're low to the ground...

but great views are easy to find in Montana!

My humans could hardly keep up with me...

so I figured I'd just keep going.

I barked like crazy when I saw Gallatin...

and next thing I know, I'm back on leash.

Whitney tried to scare me with stories of big critters...

but mine were the only antlers around.

Thank you, Bill, for continuing to be the best man long after Mom and Dad's wedding. I hope you forgave me for french-kissing your ear...it is a dachshund thing, apparently.

Body of a Dancer in California!

Ever since we flew back from Switzerland, my mom has been very busy with her Body of a Dancer book tour. I have been very supportive at previous events and recently joined her for the California leg of the tour. Mom's California events were coordinated and made possible by her very special friends Kiwala and Karen.

Sometimes Mom lets me up on the table with her books. It happened in Carmel Valley, California during a special President's Day event at the Carmel Valley Business Service.

I really liked this book signing for three reasons:

1. all the people we met were lovely;

2. the owner stocks books by local authors;

3. the Carmel Valley Business Service has scheduled a special doggy photo event on March 3rd with professional photographer Peter Reynolds. (If you are in the Carmel area, call the store to reserve your time slot!)

The owner, Janet, is wonderfully supportive of creative endeavors, and my mom was thrilled to be in her store. I was, too! I loved the cards starring my fur friends!