My new novel, SWIMMING FOR SUNLIGHT, published by Atria, is in stores today! I'm so excited to share this book with you! These characters mean the world to me and I hope you enjoy spending time with them. If you're in the Bay Area, come say hi! I have a bunch of events scheduled for the coming week. I'll also be in Los Angeles on June 5th at Chevalier's Books (in conversation with Julie Buxbaum!!!). You can learn more abou SWIMMING FOR SUNLIGHT here. "Larkin enthralls with a revealing view of one woman’s life as she moves on after a painful divorce. . . . Emotional … [Read more...]
3Ws – Shelley Roden
What do you create? I create and perform sounds in sync to picture for film, television, and video games. For each project, as the Foley "Artist" I perform the footsteps of characters as well as anything they touch, handle, or fall and move upon. A Foley Mixer simultaneously records these performances using two or more microphones. Sometimes I use the actual prop that you see on screen to create the sound. For example, if a character picks up a drinking glass off of a wood surface, I pick up a drinking glass off of a wood surface. In this instance, the creative opportunities are in the … [Read more...]
Wordless Wednesday – Hello there.
Wagging Our Tails
Thank you so very much for all of your compassion and kind words. It helps so much. And it's wonderful to feel like dog people are a tribe. We all love our pups with abandon, even though we know they won't be here forever. Having that understanding and support from all of you is amazing. Argo was feeling particularly perky this afternoon, so we took some family photos. The way dogs live in the moment is such a blessing. We had fun today, and I desperately needed it. I'll share more photos soon, but I liked the way this one fit with one of my favorite quotes. … [Read more...]
Stella the Wonder Dog
There was a time, years ago, when a wild beast came to live with us over Thanksgiving weekend. She ripped plants from their pots, barked at the cat, peed on the floor (but never outside), and drove Argo into a nervous tizzy. We changed her name to Stella and worked desperately to find a way to understand her. Eventually she got better. It was a rocky start, but after the first year, Argo and Stella melded into a funny little team. Argo taught Stella how to be a dog. She watched and copied. They ran around the yard playing a strange game of tag only they know the rules to. When they … [Read more...]
My Trusty Dog Argo
I've been mostly absent from the internet for the past few weeks. It's hard to dive back in without an explanation, and oh, this is so hard for me to explain. Argo was diagnosed with terminal cancer a few weeks ago. We rushed him out to a specialist in Buffalo and spent days getting opinions and second opinions. J, Stella and I crowded into Argo's inpatient kennel for visiting hours, holding his paw, rubbing his belly, feeding him every favorite food we could procure on our binge trips to Wegmans. In the end, there's nothing we can do to fix him. We didn't think we'd be able to take him … [Read more...]
Contraband
I have a massive knot in my shoulder. At my last appointment, my physical therapist gave me a tennis ball and showed me how to use it to work the knot out. I had to hide the ball in my purse when I brought it into the house so Argo wouldn't see it.Someone told me the glue they use to put fuzz on tennis balls is bad for doggie teeth, so Argo has fuzz-free rubber balls instead. I hung my purse on the back of a chair in the kitchen, and a few minutes later noticed him sniffing it with interest. Even though he hasn't played with a tennis ball in years, he still remembers the smell.So now my … [Read more...]
Lest you think I made it up. . .
Every single time she leaves the kitchen now. . . Oddly enough, the turnaround happens after she walks past the scary spot, but in the act of planning her turnaround, she doesn't even notice she's already crossed the imaginary line. Here's the backstory. … [Read more...]
Bass Ackwards: A Stella Story
Stella has conquered a long list of fears and is generally a happy pup now, but she's still terrified of a spot on the kitchen floor. She's been afraid of the scary spot since she came to live with us. There's not much to distinguish the scary spot from any other span of floorspace. At certain times of day there may be a sun patch there. It's near the stove and she hates the stove, but she finds this spot terrifying even when no one is cooking anything. Leaving the kitchen via the scary spot (which is the only way to leave the kitchen) turns Stella into a Bambi on ice impersonator. Her … [Read more...]
More cute than annoying
If I wear flip flops in the house, Stella feels it's her job to follow me around and step on the backs of them while I walk. When it's raining or snowing, Argo likes to bug me to let him outside, but then he'll come right back in, because he likes being dried off with big fluffy towel we keep by the door. If I tell the dogs, "Gentle," when I hand them a treat, they will take it carefully from my hand. If I don't, they will practically take my fingers off. If I give them more than one treat, I have to say "gentle," every time I hand one over. … [Read more...]