Saying goodbye to our best friend and hello to a new release . . .

Last month was tough for us... heck, it's still tough. As a lot of you know, we had to say goodbye to our beloved beagle. Although we knew it was the right thing to do so Buddy no longer suffered, it still has torn us apart.

In the midst of dealing with Buddy's deteriorating health, I had been working on edits for my next book, More Than a Song, that will be released tomorrow, June 1. The book is about Dani Roberts, a bookstore owner, in Francis, Georgia, a fictional town located outside of Atlanta. She lives there with her two-year-old beagle, Frodo. A blues singer arrives to perform at the local gay bar and slams into Dani's life like a tropical storm. Then there's the beautiful vet Dani meets when she takes Frodo for his exam.... It was a fun book to write with a nice romance and some comical moments thrown in.

It was also fun writing about Frodo, because, let's face it, I was writing about Buddy. Except for my last book that I dedicated to my late father, I've dedicated all my books to my wife, Phyllis. More Than a Song was dedicated to Buddy, though. There's enough of him in Frodo that he deserves it. When you open the print copy or the ebook, you'll find a photo of Buddy, along with the dedication. I couldn't have written Frodo as well as I hope I wrote him without Buddy's influence.

The book was one that Phyllis wanted me to go back to. I had gotten caught up in writing other books, but I enjoyed going back to this one. I especially enjoyed writing the dialogue. More Than a Song is a little bit of a departure for me. It's more of a light read with of course a heavy dose of romance. I hope those who decide to purchase a copy enjoy it. I even got a kick out of bringing back a few characters from an earlier book. I think authors love it when they can incorporate characters from their prior work into their current release. I know I do.

Even though Buddy isn't with us physically, we still feel his presence. He'll always be a part of Companion Publications since it's his likeness you see on the logo. But he was more than a logo, more than a dog. He was our best friend, a part of our family.

Buddy, I hope you like Frodo 'cuz the little guy is you. May there be lots of toast and pound cake for you in heaven to scarf to your heart's content!