Today I am so pleased to welcome Lilah Suzanne to Joyfully Jay. Lilah has come to talk to us about the If the Fates Allow Holiday Anthology. She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

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Halfway Home: Pet Adoption for Christmas 

Here’s a real love at first sight story: Amid a cacophony of dogs barking and lights flashing, our eyes met. Mine, lit multi-color by a string of Christmas lights, his brown and bulging and beseeching. He sat beneath a Christmas tree, like a present. It was fate. He came home a few days before Christmas, his name is Tank, and we’ve been together for almost seven Christmases now. Tank is a Chihuahua-Jack Russel mix who loves to bark and everything and has a chip on his shoulder bigger than he is. Which isn’t hard, because he weighs twelve pounds, but still. Tank was bound for a shelter before he came home with me.

Generally, a pet as a Christmas present is not a great idea. Having pets enriches my life in so many ways and I can’t imagine not having them, but springing a living being, with needs and complications and often times, frustrations, can end up being a huge burden on someone who was not prepared for this commitment. Puppies in particular are a popular holiday gift, contributing to a major influx of dogs being surrendered to a shelter post-holiday season. So when I took Tank home for Christmas, I had already been planning on getting a dog for some time, I had the funds and the time to take on the responsibility of a pet, and I knew I could commit to fifteen years or more (hopefully!) to him.

In Halfway Home, Avery rescues a tiny, terrified, and terrifying chihuahua mix named Rudy from a cold, wet parking lot. She meets animal rescuer Grace at a shelter focused on rehabilitation and adoption that is struggling to keep up with the dogs in need of homes, yet initially Avery resists taking Rudy home. She’s lost her way a bit, and needs to get back on track before she and Rudy get their happily ever after. It’s more of a “they get together in the end” style love story in that way. Halfway Home is about finding joy in imperfect moments, and so I wanted Avery and Rudy’s story to reflect that with an adoption story rather than an adorable puppy in a gift box with a perfect bow on top.

For anyone who wants that magical Christmas moment with a new pet like I had with Tank, and, unlike Avery, is ready for the commitment please consider visiting a rescue in the weeks prior to the holidays, or even just after. Petfinder, an online, searchable database of pets in need homes, even offers Pet Promise Certificates (at https://www.petfinder.com/pet-adoption/dog-adoption/pet-promise-certificate/) for those wishing to give a pet as gift. The certificate enables the receiver to take their time in choosing pet that best fits them and their lifestyle, on their own timetable. And for a more realistic story: One of the first things Tank did when I brought him home was destroy a brand-new roll of toilet paper and strew the shreds all over the house. And one of his favorite activities is disemboweling stuffed animals and getting the stuffing everywhere.

If the Fates Allow Tour Stops


Blurb

If the Fates AllowDuring the holidays, anything is possible—a second chance, a promised future, an unexpected romance, a rekindled love, or a healed heart. Authors Killian B. Brewer, Pene Henson, Erin Finnegan, Lilah Suzanne, and Lynn Charles share their stories about the magic of the season.


Bio

Lilah Suzanne has been writing actively since the sixth grade, when a literary magazine published her essay about an uncle who lost his life to AIDS. A freelance writer from North Carolina, she spends most of her time behind a computer screen, but on the rare occasion she ventures outside she enjoys museums, libraries, live concerts, and quiet walks in the woods. Lilah is the author of the Interlude Press books Spice, Pivot and Slip, and the Amazon bestselling Spotlight series: Broken Records, Burning Tracks and Blended Notes.


Giveaway

Five winners along the tour will receive eBook editions of If the Fates Allow + Grand Prize winner receives $25 IP Web Store gift card. Just follow the Rafflecopter below to enter. 

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