Fido and Friend in Five: Kristin O'Donnell Tubb, Lucky and Cookie!

Kristin the Aquarian

"What's your sign?" That's a question those of us "of a certain age" were frequently asked when first meeting someone new. Now, not so much--but I bet a lot of you still know your sign and still read your horoscope most every day. But I bet you didn't know there's a thirteenth sign in the zodiac.

Author Kristin O'Donnell Tubb's (who, for the record, is one of those visionary aquarians) new middle grade novel, The Thirteenth Sign, explores this possibility of a thirteenth sign and all the problems that would cause: your personality would change, as would not only everyone else's that you know, but the world! When Jalen accidently unlocks the 13th sign, she must use all the cunning and strength of her sign to save the lives of those she loves. Kirkus calls The Thirteenth Sign, "original and action packed...the ultimate astrological fantasy." High praise indeed coming from Kirkus!

Kristin is also the author of the award-winning Selling Hope and the delightful Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different.

Autumn Winifred

I had the great good fortune to meet Kristin this past August in Los Angeles at a huge writers conference. She recognized my name tag and I recognized hers, and before I knew it, we were friends! That's just the way she is. I also found out when we talked way back then that she had dogs. Aha! A new Fido and Friend victim! So let's meet aquarian Kristin and her two dogs (wonder what signs they are?), Lucky and Cookie, in this week's Fido and Friend in Five:

1. How did you and your dogs find each other?  Lucky was brought to us by Santa, by way of a breeder in Arkansas (or so Santa said). He's a Golden Doodle, though there's not much "golden" to him, except for his heart! This dog--wow, does he love me! I'm not bragging; he's just that loyal. I take a step, he takes a step. I take two, he takes two. Lucky has my back! (He's laying by my side as I type this.)

Lucky watching TV

Cookie was a rescue dog. I was out of town--at a writers retreat, in fact--and my husband sent me a text with her picture. The caption read, "We want her!" They caught me at a good moment (I had been writing for three days straight, after all!). I agreed, and I'm so glad I did! Cookie is a sweetheart, and soooooo smart. She still has a bit of that rescue-dog mentality, so she's super protective of her food and toys. But she's healthy and happy and a wonderful part of our family.

Sweet Cookie!

2. What makes Lucky and Cookie's tails wag?  Cookie LOVES playing fetch. Loves it. Lovesitlovesitlovesit. Could play 24 hours straight, I believe. Tennis balls bring her so much joy, her whole body wags.

Lucky adores bubbles. He can jump 5 plus feet into the sky to snap at one! His mouth gets frothy and he sometimes crash-lands, but when I say, "Lucky--bubbles?" he barks like he's won the doggy lottery!

3. What's your all-time favorite dog book?  Because of Winn Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo. Wow, the power of that story. I read it to my daughter when she was seven. We cried, we laughed--it is beautiful. Or oh! Love That Dog, by Sharon Creech. Gets me right here (points to her heart) every time. But what dog novel am I most looking forward to reading but haven't yet? The Dogs of Winter, of course! Its been on my TBR list since I first heard the premise.

Fuzzy-Faced Love

4. If Cookie and Lucky could change just one thing about you, what would that be?  Oh, great question! They would want me to play more, I believe. Which is, ironically, one of my 2013 New Year's Resolutions!

5. In five words, tell us what Cookie and Lucky mean to you:  Fuzzy-faced love and loyalty.

Thanks so much to Kristin and her pups for stopping by to visit with us. Be sure to check out Kristin's website and blog to find out more about her and her books. Being an aquarius, she does lots of cool things on there!  And for the record, I'm a Moon Child--otherwise known as Cancer the Crab.