Artdog Adventures Blog is moving! This blog will now merge with The Weird Blog on the Weird Sisters Publishing website. Please mosey on over there, to read my (and my sister's) latest thoughts on books, art, publishing, and more!
Thank you for being a devoted follower. I hope this change doesn't cause you too much inconvenience, and I look forward to seeing you in the future on The Weird Blog!
This move allows us to optimize our blogs for better, more seamless content delivery without sacrificing so much of my writing time! Artdog Adventures has been a project of my heart since I started it in 2009. Moving away from the name--and from my own author website is difficult.
I'm also still making fine art fantasy paper sculpture--although I must admit I'm not making as much of it as I used to! But believe it or not, I'm working on a couple of new series that I hope will see the light of day pretty soon.
So please follow the Artdog's ongoing Adventures over to The Weird Blog! There's plenty more to come!
IMAGE CREDIT: Photographic montage by Jan S. Gephardt; used courtesy of Weird Sisters Publishing LLC.
Fair warning: This is not a blog post. G. and Jan are both dealing with health issues. This is beyond writing a blog post about taking a sick day (besides, Jan already did that). Neither one of us is feeling energetic enough to create a complete, well-rounded blog post this week. Since both of us have lifetimes of experience in deadline-driven careers, this is a hard thing to admit.
But sorry. This is not a blog post. We have been a lot more “on the ball” on past occasions, however. So instead of offering a new post, we thought we’d offer kind of a smorgasbord of some favorite past posts.
First, how about spending some quality time with pets, through some of our favorite past blog posts from G? If you’re familiar with the work of G.S. Norwood, you know her dry wit and her keen observer’s eye.
She has brought those qualities to her ongoing urban fiction series, the Deep Ellum Stories. These, not incidentally, include a range of wonderful animals, including Tidbit and Morsel, Ms. Eddy’s feline siblings who are considerably more than they seem. Then there’s Ace, the reformed Hell Hound, and even Fred, the back-yard mosasaur.
Read more about them in G’s novelettes Deep Ellum Pawnand its follow-up, Deep Ellum Blues. And stay tuned for G’s upcoming story, Death in Deep Ellum (set to be finished after she gets well). Meanwhile, even while this is technically not a blog post, we hope you enjoy this trio of G’s blog post “pet-classics.”
G. S. Norwood examines the roles of dogs and cats in Weird Sisters Publishing's fiction, and makes the case that there will be cats in space. We hope you’ll enjoy her post Cats in Space?
Because – can we talk? – if we humans actually do take to the stars, we won’t want to leave our companion animals behind. Science fiction is full of cats, dogs, and other critters who’ve voyaged with us in our fictional forays into the Final Frontier. If art mirrors life, there will be canine and feline spacefarers traveling with us.
In just one year, the scrawny, snotty-nosed little calico G. found in the shelter underwent a remarkable transformation. But she still likes to cuddle. (Photos from G. S. Norwood’s private collection).
The Universe Gives Me a Cat
Urban fantasy writer G. S. Norwood, open to everyday magic in reality, says sometimes "the Universe gives me a cat," when she heeds intuition. What do you do, when the Universe has decided to give you a cat? Here’s G’s story.
Dog trainer Cesar Millan is fond of saying “You don’t always get the dog you want, but you get the dog you need.” We think that definitely goes for cats, too! Did G. get the cat she (didn’t know she) needed? Decide for yourself.
Clockwise from the top: “Sheriff” Zoe, a rather “wolfy” Chess on the prowl, and Kata with all-black Tam in G’s back yard. (The Weird Blog).
The Texas Pack
The Norwood household not only includes cats. It has a full cast of canine characters, too. G.S. Norwood introduces readers to The Texas Pack, her four border collies who each have distinct personalities, and who have informed her fiction.
Do you recognize any of the personality types she profiles in her blog post? Perhaps you’ve known dogs or other companion animals with similar approaches to life. Whether they’re interacting with humans or with each other, their personalities shine through.
Science fiction writer Jan S. Gephardt has done a different take on blog posts about pets – specifically dogs – and their unexpected capabilities. Even if this is not a blog post, if you’re in the mood for one, why not give these a try? Her series on canine cognition outlined some of the research she did for her science fictional universe. As veteran sf readers know, the “science” in science fiction means that writers ground their stories in actual, real-world scientific ideas.
Jan’s stories feature a pack of uplifted police dogs called XK9s. They help uphold the rule of law on Rana Station, their adopted space station home. Written as adventure mystery stories, they also offer glimpses of the sometimes-humorous ways in which truly sapient dogs might interact with the human world.
Hundreds of people have enjoyed her XK9 “Bones” Trilogy, a series of books which has earned some excellent niche rankings. The first two are available now from a variety of booksellers worldwide, as either ebooks or paperbacks. The third book in the Trilogy is set for release in 2023. Some may prefer to take a “test drive” with her prequel novella, The Other Side of Fear. It’s also available widely for sale as an ebook or paperback. Or get it FREE as an ebook if you sign up for Jan’s feature-packed monthly newsletter!
A Finnish study demonstrated similarities between domestic dogs’ and humans’ “social gazing” behavior. (Artdog Adventures Blog).
Dog Cognition: How Much Does Your Dog Understand?
How much does your dog understand? A lot, actually, and on a more sophisticated level than many people think. “The Artdog” begins a new series on the research that convinced her dogs could someday be uplifted to be sapient beings.
Dogs may even be likelier candidates for future uplift than primates or cetaceans, for several excellent reasons. And seriously! What pet-parent wouldn’t love to know what their companion is trying to communicate sometimes? If only they could tell us in words! Turns out, maybe someday they can.
Can a dog read? “Reading Dog” Fernie (here with his human, Nik Gardner) inspires elementary students at Headmaster Gardner’s UK primary school to learn to read. (Artdog Adventures Blog).
Dogs: Verbal Virtuosos?
Dogs as verbal virtuosos? When it comes to canine cognition, researchers are finding that dogs are real verbal virtuosos who know word meanings and can combine meaningful phrases. Alert readers of Jan’s novels might also recognize where she got the names for a couple of XK9s, after reading this blog post!
Jan wasn’t just anthropomorphizing (well, some – but not entirely!) when she gave the XK9s the ability to read and compose verbal replies. Until they get prosthetic thumbs, the ability to physically write won’t be in their, um, grasp. But they wield words (sometimes in several languages) pretty doggone well. And here’s her justification for thinking they someday really could!
MRI studies of brain patterns suggest these dogs aren’t just going through the motions. (Artdog Adventures Blog).
Could it be Love?
Could it be love? We've long worried that we're anthropomorphizing when we say our dogs love us. But more and more studies reveal the answer to "could it be love?" is YES!
Unfortunately, the video at the end of the blog post Could it be Love seems to no longer be available, but we hope you have seen similar behaviors in dogs (sorry – Jan had no energy to spare looking up a new video, but if you have time to go down a YouTube rabbit hole, we bet you can have fun finding more!).
Do the XK9s love their human partners? Absolutely! Pack is Family for XK9s, and their humans – including a few “extended Pack members” – are included in that circle.
Not a Blog Post, but we Hope You’ve enjoyed it
We hope you have fun reading through this “not a blog post” full of blog posts. We’re hoping and planning for one of us to be back in the saddle with new content for next week.
IMAGE CREDITS
We’ve pulled our images this week from the Weird Sisters Website and from the blog posts featured in this “not a blog post” article. Follow the links to the blog posts for full information on our image sources.
Sometimes the pack-saddle shifts, the camel stumbles, and it's time to re-pack the load. In my case it was myself as a metaphorical camel (no animals harmed. No crazy ladies, either). But the load was increasingly real.
This week on The Weird Blog I was supposed to tell you about the availability of Deep Ellum Pawnin print. Sadly, I can't. Because it isn't (yet). I can still promise that it will be, but I've endured enough technical glitches in the past week to restrain any confident predictions of exactly when.
This week on my Artdog Adventures blog, I was planning to plunge into the world of video production. Not unlike my friend Lynette Burrows (scroll down on her post), that didn't exactly go as planned, either. It probably still will happen, but I've also endured enough technical glitches in this realm to back cautiously away from smiling assertions.
Have you ever been on a hike with a child (or a crazy lady who should know better), who's a packrat at heart? Walk along the trail, and periodically she'll find a pretty leaf or an interesting rock or some other little bit of spontaneous wonderfulness that she just has to bring home.
Pretty soon her pockets are bulging (or yours are), and the accumulated load begins to weigh something. The realization gradually dawns: "Oh, just one more! It won't take much space. And isn't that just the coolest thing?" is a trap.
It's the same with interesting new projects, or shiny new responsibilities. "Sure, that won't take too much extra time," or, "I'd love to help with that," or, "I bet I could improve on how that's done," can turn into excellent opportunities you'll always be glad you accepted. They also can start to weigh you down.
Sooner or later, the camel stumbles. The pocket's seam pops. Or a deadline just can't be met. Our metaphorical camel has balked at that daunting, final straw.
Eventually, it's time to re-pack the load.
This week, that's what happened to me. But re-packing all of exactly the same old baggage puts us right back in exactly the same old pickle we had before. Each "coolest thing" and each shiny new project carries "weight" in the form of a time commitment, as well as possible financial cost. It's time to rethink priorities.
Which one is the sparkliest rock? The most important job? Which will you most regret leaving behind on the trail, and which will carry you more fruitfully in the direction you really want to go? Gotta leave a few "cool things" behind, sometimes, if you're gonna make it home with your pockets intact and a place for each thing when you get there.
Many thanks to "Inspire 99" for this unattributed quote.
This is a re-blog of a post about my book The Other Side of Fear, that went live yesterday on The Weird Blog. It's from my publisher, Weird Sisters Publishing.
Here's the official book description for The Other Side of Fear:
Does she have what it takes?
Orangeboro police officer Pamela Gómez took her own dare. Now she’s headed planetside, to meet the challenge of her life.
XK9s are the newest, most powerful tool in law enforcement, but these super-dogs need human partners. The Orangeboro Police Department has purchased ten XK9s. Only an elite corps of officers will be chosen as their handlers.
Pam’s never had a dog, never left her home space station, and never thought of herself as an “elite” anything, but she took the courses, passed the tests, and made the cut. Now she’s an XK9 partner-candidate, bound for Planet Chayko, despite all her fears.
Does she have what it takes to handle an XK9? The answer to that will take her places she never dared to dream about.
Here's the complete cover forThe Other Side of Fear
It's a book--but a book with a really tiny spine. The spine width on this wraparound cover art provided an exercise in miniaturization. The book only weighed in at 100 pages (after all, it's a novella, not a full novel). For those who haven't read What's Bred in the Bone, there's also a preview of Chapter One at the end.
But our Art Director hates to see a blank spine on a book, even if it's a skinny one. Wait till you see her tackle Deep Ellum Pawn. That's next up. If all goes well, Deep Ellum Pawn will be available in paperback and wide release by this time next week!
Let me tell you about The Capricon Project. As I noted on this blog Feb. 1, I'm planning to attend Capricon 40 this week (God and the weather willing). While I'm there, my publishing company and I hope to join forces (and blogs) to cover the event.
As you may know, I'm the Weirdness Manager for Weird Sisters Publishing LLC (I'm half of the partnership. The other half is my sister, G. S. Norwood). As Weirdness Manager, I also write most of our posts for The Weird Blog, and I'm in charge of preparing and posting all of them. But I can only split "me" into so many fragments.
Artdog Adventures and The Weird Blog will join forces for The Capricon Project. I propose to take lots of photos and do a lot of things at the convention (followers of Artdog Adventures are familiar with my process).
Photo byJan S. Gephardt. This is my Art Show display at Archon in Collinsville, IL as it looked October 6, 2019.
I also have two display panels reserved at the Art Show. I'll have a few copies of What's Bred in the Bonewith me, available for sale at the con (reduced at-con price is $13, or almost $2 off the regular trade paperback price).
I also plan to attend other panels and readings, and tour the Dealers' Room. If they agree, I'll take pictures or short videos of dealers whose work I can recommend, and post them on my social media (Artdog Studio is on Facebook and Pinterest. Jan S. Gephardt-Author is on Facebook and Twitter, and Weird Sisters Publishing is onFacebook), as well as collect them for possible blog posts.
I hope you'll follow my posts, and see how well The Capricon Project turns out!
