Homemade Pizza Humor

My husband is wheat-intolerant, so I make gluten free crusts from scratch. Recently, the result (although delicious) was way too greasy, so I used a paper towel to blot up the extra fat. My husband insists I have discovered "the face of Cheesus." I think it's a Rorschach ink blot test, subject to many interpretations. What do you see in it?

Boxing Week Sale at Book View Cafe

Book View Cafe offers many yummy ebooks at half off -- including some of mine (Jaydium, Northlight, Azkhantian Tales, and Ink Dance: Essays on the Writing Life).

Downloading is simple (if I can do it, anyone can), and there are step-by-step instructions on how to load the files on your ereader. Plus, the book files will stay on your computer, yours forever.

Enjoy!

Holidays Wishes For You

Happy Everything and Merry Always. 

with love from Deborah

The Tajji Diaries: Rainy Day Dogs

First, a confession: the title is misleading. Every German Shepherd Dog we’ve owned has not cared at all about rain, even Oka, who thought water on the ground was poisonous. Puddles, lakes, the ocean – not going there. But water from the sky seemed to be unworthy of notice. It is, however, noticed by the resident monkeys, who have devised utterly senseless rules regarding what must be done before entering the house.

First, the rubdown. There is no need for this from the dog’s perspective. German Shepherd Dogs have double coats: an outer coat of long hairs that form a water-repellant layer, and an inner coat of soft, fluffy fur. (When bathing the dog, it takes forever to wet the inner coat and even longer to rinse it and even longer to dry it. Fortunately, GSDs “blow their coats” – explosively shed the under layer – twice a year, so there’s no need to bathe them often.) So the dog’s skin is dry and warm while the outer coat gets covered with drops of water. Tajji sees no reason why she must be massaged with a towel, but she enjoys it anyway. Then comes the belly and inner sides of her legs, also fine. Then lower legs and paws.

Book Giveaway: My Holiday Gift to You

12/13/2014 Update. The giveaway is over. From my standpoint, it was an enormous success. Many happy fans, which makes this writer happy, too. I hope you'll consider reviewing the books and telling your friends about them. Word of mouth is the best promotion, and that means a happy publisher and MORE books.

Blessings of the season to all, 
Deborah 

'Tis the season to express our gratitude for friends and family, and to share many wonderful things -- gifts, memories, fun times...books! I offer my readers a selection of my books in thanks for their enthusiastic support. I'd likely keep writing even if no one every read a word, but there's immense satisfaction in hearing that my stories have touched the hearts of my readers.

The deal:

1. Send me an email (click "Please Let Me Hear From You," upper left, with your choice of books and a mailing address. Limit one of the starred books or two of the unstarred ones. In your email, let me know if or how you'd like the book signed (to you or someone you're giving the book to, or just a signature). If you select a starred book, give me an alternate title in case I'm out of them. (First come, first served on the limited quantities.)

2. I'll pay domestic mail, although contributions ("Donate" button waaaay down on the lower left) for postage are most welcome. I'll split postage for overseas.

3. Autographed bookplates (great if you already have my books!) - let me know how many you'd like.

4. Should you feel moved to review the book, that would be most welcome.

The books:

 Zandru's Forge (Clingfire #2 but works as standalone) (hardcover)
Hastur Lord (standalone) (hardcover)
*A Flame in Hali  (Clingfire #3) (hardcover)
*The Children of Kings (standalone) (hardcover)
The Children of Kings (mass market paperback)
*The Heir of Khored (Seven-Petaled Shield #3) (mass market paperback)
*Collaborators, my Lambda Award Finalist sf novel (standalone) (trade paperback)

The Tajji Diaries: Treat!

The foundational concept behind positive training techniques is that behaviors have consequences. Pairing a desirable behavior with a reward increases the likelihood that behavior will be repeated. (Punishment, or an unpleasant consequence, is far less effective because while it may decrease the frequency of the undesired behavior, it also increases the response of fear, which makes it harder for the animal to learn anything.) In working with dogs, we often use food as a reward. Since human language means nothing to a dog, we need a means of communicating “Yes, you did the right thing!” 

Food is a primary reinforcer because it’s a basic need, and yummy food lights up the brain’s pleasure centers. To more accurately identify the desired behavior, we can use a secondary reinforcer (like a clicker or a word such as “Yes!”) that we then associate with the primary reinforcer. (Click = treat.)

Food is not the only possible reward. Depending on the dog’s temperament, a suitable reward might also be a favored toy, something to chase, or praise. I saw this in the mother of the puppy we owned a couple of summers ago; she was so play-driven as to be oblivious to food but would immediately respond to commands for the chance to play with her favorite toy, a ball on a cord. Whatever it is, the reward must be something of high value to the dog.

Folks attempting to train their dogs with reward-based training can run into problems because they don’t use sufficiently yummy food. Kibble isn’t going to cut it for most dogs, especially if they’ve already been fed and aren’t hungry. Think of it this way:

You’re wandering around a playground, trying out various equipment. Some things are just plain fun, like whooshing down the slide. Others, meh. But when, in your ramblings, you jog a hundred feet, someone hands you a nickel, is that going to make you eager to repeat it? How about if someone hands you a dollar? Twenty dollars? A thousand dollars? Or, in food terms, a stalk of celery versus a Godiva chocolate (versus a whole box of Godiva chocolates). In training, the treats must be sufficiently yummy to that particular dog to elicit the “Wow, let’s do that again!” response.