May, 2023
Okay, so my May newsletter is late. There are two really good reasons for that. The first reason is that I came down with Covid. No idea where I got it, since I never go anywhere or do anything, but there you go. The second and more important reason is that Bam-Bam, my antique winner-picking wiener dog, was also sick! Thanks to the director of the choir to which I belong (Methodist, natch; otherwise, Daisy would sing in another church) called his mom, who was kind enough to take Bammie to the vet. I mean, I was under quarantine, y’know?
The vet called me with what I feared was devastating news about Bam-Bam: his liver was not working correctly, and he was throwing up bile. He hadn’t eaten for several days. I was in a panic because I couldn’t leave the house. I can’t thank Mark Salas and his mother, Gabriela Luna, enough for rescuing my baby. Okay, so Bammie’s an old baby. He’s my baby, and he’s been with me more than a decade. Rescued from a puppy mill in Big Spring, Texas, by golly.
Anyhow, Bam-Bam was at the vet clinic from Thursday, April 27, until Monday, May 1. The vet, Dr. Smith, saved him, and Bammie’s getting better. When I first brought him home, he was so weak, he could hardly stand up. But thanks to the new food (Hepatic from Royal Canin, which costs a fortune I don’t have) and pills, he’s now actually running around and barking again! Some. Not a lot.
A side note about Bam-Bam. Don’t tell the other dogs in my pack, but he’s my favorite. This is probably because he’s the most damaged by his early life. Bammie has never learned how to be a dog, actually. When he goes to the vet, he stands or sits perfectly still, stares off into the middle distance and pretends he’s somewhere else. He has learned, via exposure to other dogs in the pack (which varies depending on if I’m fostering or how many dogs are still extant at any given time), to bark at people walking on his street, chase squirrels, race outside to see the great green out-of-doors (it’s brown now because of the enduring drought) with Jazzy and Cookie and even play occasionally with one of the other dogs, but his being-a-dog skills still aren’t great. This is why it came as an almost earth-shaking shock to know that Bammie actually bit Marissa Gomez, vet tech extraordinaire and extremely nice person (she also likes Daisy, so you know she’s okay). Marissa said it happened when she was attempting to pull him out of a crate and she doesn’t blame Bammie, but wow. You could have knocked me over with a single pine needle when I heard about the bite. Bam-Bam. Actually bit someone. Astonishing and appalling.
Oh, and Marissa is also the sister of Jacob Torres, who gave me Jazzy. I’ve forgiven him for that long since and he remains a friend. If Bammie had bitten Jacob, I wouldn’t have been so shocked. But Marissa? Beautiful, kind Marissa? Well, go figure. Wasn’t a bad bite. And, to be fair, Bam-Bam was almost dead at the time, but still….
As for me, I’m okay. Still feel a trifle puny, but I’m negative for Covid. Truly, I haven’t felt great for a decade or more, so I’m not sure how much better I’m expected to get, if you know what I mean. Covid snatched my voice, which I didn’t think was a symptom of the virus, but I guess everyone reacts differently. Still peeved that I got it at all, since my social life consists of going to choir practice on Wednesdays and church on Sundays, and I’ve been shot and boosted to a fare-thee-well. But there you go. I guess the virus is just there, lurking, ready to attack anyone who gets in its way.
Okay, so now on to books. Library Spirits is coming along quite well. In this, the 19th Daisy Gumm Majesty Rotondo book, Daisy and Mr. Lou Prophet are mourning the upcoming replacement of the Pasadena Public Library Daisy’s been going to since she was a wee tot. I don’t blame them. Here are photos of the “old” Pasadena Public Library:
And here’s the “new” Pasadena Public Library, which was dedicated on February 12, 1927:
Daisy and Lou find something alarming in the gazebo you see in the old Library Park. Strange things start happening to Daisy, who is expecting her and Sam’s first child. Also, strange things have already begun happening inside the library itself. But Daisy and Rolly will figure it all out eventually. Library Spirits is, of course, available for pre-order, a situation of which I hope you’ll take advantage.
Mind you, I adore the 1927 Pasadena Public Library. Not only did I work there for years, but I got most of my higher education there. Still, it’s not quite as friendly-looking as the old one. However, the “old” library was still partially in existence until the 1970s. That’s because the children’s building was moved to Lamanda Park and served as the Lamanda Park Branch Library from 1927 until 1970-something. I worked there, too, for a long time. It was a great old place, although when you pulled out a drawer from the card catalog, it was likely to fall apart because of termite damage, etc. Still, I was sorry to see it go and be replaced by a boring old cement-and-glass building. A tiny segment of the pre-1927 Pasadena Public Library still exists in Monument Park in Pasadena. It’s the main entrance of the old library. When I was very small, one could still open the door and look into the old library. Fusty old books lined the walls, and I thought it was fascinating. However, I guess the city fathers (and mothers, if there were any at the time) decided the building itself had to go, so only the main entrance remains:
For the record, the 1927 Central Pasadena Public Library has been closed for a couple of years for seismic retrofitting. I think it’s scheduled to reopen in maybe 2025 or thereabouts. I’m glad the Powers That Be decided to fix it instead of destroy and replace it. California as a whole isn’t noted for its love of preserving old buildings, but this one definitely deserves to be preserved! I will be in touch with the winners of April’s book giveaway. As for May, Denice Stradling, who is the voice of Daisy on audio, suggested I give away audiobooks every once in a while. I thought that was a great idea! So at the end of May, Bam-Bam (whom I’m almost positive will still be on this side of the sod) will select three winners of Daisy audiobooks. Denice has recorded the books up to and including Spirits Unearthed, Daisy’s 13th adventure. Just send your name, email address and your selection to alice@alicedunca.net, and I’ll send you an audiobook from Audible. This means, of course, that you’ll have to download the Audible app, but it’s really not all that difficult. And then there’s the money situation in the House of Howling Hounds. I got my first-quarter royalty check, and it was abysmal. It wasn’t even enough to allow me to buy another spicy chicken sandwich from Popeye’s. Sniffle. Therefore, I’m doing some extremely undignified begging here. Please buy my books! Ask your library to buy my books. Send my books to friends, relations and even enemies! I mean, if you’re already enemies, what difference could one of my books do to the relationship? Everyone and his or her brother (or sister) has taken to writing books set in the 1920s recently. I’ve read a few. Some are okay. Some are horrid. A woman in one of the books I read was, in 1921, extolling the wonders of King Tut’s Tomb, which wasn’t discovered until November of 1922. I really do attempt to accurately reproduce life as it was lived in Pasadena and Los Angeles in the 1920s. Sometimes I screw up, and I apologize for that; but for the most part, I’ve actually done the research. Some of it is darned difficult to find, too. Here are the Amazon links to my most recent books. If you like historical cozy mysteries, you could do worse:
And then there are reviews. Feel like I’m beating a dead horse here (what a disgusting expression), but I read a perfectly awful book recently (listened, actually. It was free, or I wouldn’t have finished it). I checked on Amazon, and the ghastly book had something like 15,000 great reviews! How did that happen? I don’t understand! Reviews really help authors. It would be so kind of you to review my books on Amazon, GoodReads, Barnes & Noble, or wherever else books can be reviewed. I’d appreciate it. Thank you. If you’re on Facebook, check out Daisy Daze! It’s fun. The Daisy Daze Facebook page was founded by Iris Evans and Leon Fundenberger, both of whom like Daisy and Mercy. Daisy Daze is a great place for Daisy Gumm Majesty (now Daisy Gumm Majesty Rotondo) and Mercy Allcutt fans to hang out, as well as anyone who is interested in the “Roaring Twenties.” We try to post interesting photos and information about Pasadena and Los Angeles in the early days of each city. Daisy Daze is entertaining, it’s educational, and if you’d like to be a member check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/905100189878318/ If you’d like to visit my web page, here’s the link: https://www.aliceduncan.net/index.html . If you’d like to be Facebook friends, please go here: (20+) Alice Duncan | Facebook . Again, here’s a link to my author page at ePublishingWorks: Alice Duncan Author Page (ebookdiscovery.com) Thank you!
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