Today I am so pleased to welcome Indra Vaughn to Joyfully Jay. Indra has come to talk to us about her move, her dog, and her latest release, Fragmented (Shadow Mountain, book 2). She has also brought along a copy to give away. Please join me in giving Indra a big welcome!

 

Neo

This may be strange but I want to dedicate this blog post to my dog, Neo. It should go toward my new release right? That’s what I’m here for. But I’m sitting here behind my computer and all I see is my sleeping old pup and I can’t think of anything else.

Two weeks ago, we put our house up for sale. Lots of things happened and I can tell you, so far 2015 and I aren’t the best buddies. But life happens. What can you do, right? Keep calm and eat your feelings, apparently.

I realize this house won’t be mine for much longer. I won’t even be in this country for much longer, so I try to look toward the future and see good things waiting for me. But you know what? I realized I do not like people walking through my house, touching my things, criticizing them, and messing with them, and it’s…not fun. And yes, they’re just things. But I feel I worked hard at carving out a space in a very foreign country and now it’s being trampled on.

It’s okay. It really is. There’s nothing I can do about it and it has to happen, and yes, this house needs to sell. Ergo, people need to come in and see it. I’m going back to Belgium and this will be good. Things will change and certain aspects of this move will be heartbreaking. I’m leaving some terrific friends behind. People I’ll miss with my entire heart. But overall I’m looking ahead with a sense of hope.

And then there’s my dog, Neo. He’s very old and he’s not doing well at all. The thought of leaving him behind suffocates me, but I have no choice. Even the vet told me the flight will kill him.

If he gets better, he will go to a farm (a real one!) with people he knows, and dogs his own age he gets on with, and he’ll be able to chase chickens to his heart content. If he gets better. We don’t know what’s wrong with him, but I fear it’s nothing good. He has lost 10% of his body weight over the past 3 weeks. He can’t walk very far. He’s always shaking. We’ve done a bunch of tests and apart from a mildly elevated white blood cell count, everything came back negative. He’s been on antibiotics for a week, and nothing has changed. I’m going back on Monday to see what else we can do.

But I want to tell you about this pup’s life.

He came to me when he was 6 years old. He was starved, 20 pounds under weight (which is why his weight loss hurts me so much. I never wanted him to have to go hungry again). He had bare bones sticking out of his backside, that’s how skinny he was. He had heart worm. Nearly all his teeth were ruined.

And I’d never seen a sweeter, happier pup. His health came back completely and for years we hiked day after day, hours at a time, through Michigan’s beautiful scenery. He went everywhere with me, stayed in bed with me when I had surgery, kept me company when I was lonely. When Bam Bam came along, he accepted him like he was a weird, hairless puppy, and snuck into his room at night to sleep beside the crib. He lets the kids in the neighborhood pet him and hug him and love him and he never once snapped. He gave me stink eye when Lola joined our crew, but after one week he let the little kitten sleep in his bed. (Not that he had much choice, ahem.) His best friend is a three-legged lab.

I know everyone says this about their dogs, but he’s truly special. And I’m not ready to say goodbye to him yet.

So yes, my new book is out. It’s called Fragmented and between you and me, it’s my favorite. I never thought I’d say this, but that book wrote itself. You can enter the giveaway if you want, but I want most of all is for you guys to go hug your pets.


Blurb

Fragmented_postcard_front_DSPThe capture of the Tattoo Murderer has demanded a heavy price. Doctor Tobias Darwin is dead, Lieutenant Hart is back in Riverside licking his substantial wounds, and he needs to gather his courage and tell Isaac he made a mistake. Isaac will forgive him—he knows that—but he can’t promise Isaac an easy life. Being a cop comes with its own risks, after all.

When they finally reach the same wavelength, their idyllic reprieve is cut tragically short. Hart doesn’t know yet that Isaac is terminally ill, that he will take off to find the Phoenix to heal him as a last resort. This time, it will be Hart who pays the price.

In the meantime, a new killer roams the streets of Riverside. He kidnaps, tortures, and kills gay men in horrific ways, and he has the newly healed Isaac in his sights. Hart’s time is running out on every level.


Bio

In 2008 Indra Vaughn packed up everything but the kitchen sink… no, that’s a lie. She left everything behind apart from her books and moved from Belgium to Michigan.

She now lives in the suburbs of Detroit with her dog who thinks he’s a toddler. Indra’s professional background is in Nursing and Chinese Medicine, but she prefers to spend time making up stories about mysterious men and their unrequited love.


Giveaway

Indra has brought a copy of Fragmented to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Friday, July 10th at 11:59 pm EST.

  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win.  The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.
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