30 Days of Thankfulness + Big Giveaway #1

Welcome to November and Unwritten's next BIG event, 30 Days of Thankfulness, featuring a tremendous giveaway that will be PERFECT for a reader on your Christmas list...or a gift for yourself!!! We are giving away a...

 Kindle Fire HD6

Yep, you heard me right, but that's not all. All authors participating in this month's event have also generously donated a Kindle copy of one of their books so you'll already have some great stories to read when you curl up with your new Kindle!! To enter, just complete all the easy entries on the Rafflecopter on the bottom of this page. Before we do that, let's hear from our first author and what she's thankful for today:

Author Victoria Bastedo, author of Roots Entwine (YA Fantasy)

So many things have been given to me by God that it's hard to say just one. But recently we had to put down one of our dogs. His name was Thatcher and he was a big, fawn-colored boxer.

Raising so many children we'd decided, no dogs. But my oldest daughter had a teacher at school that would bring his boxer puppy to class. She fell in love with it. She began working on us. 'You know, mom and pop, boxers don't shed. They have hair instead of fur, so they never smell like Wet Dog!' shed' say, or; 'Did you know that boxers, when they're happy to see you, bend in the middle? It's called the boxer 'kidney bean'.

It took her over a year, but finally we found a good farm breeder and bought a boxer puppy. Thatcher was our second boxer. When we were looking over the litter of pups, trying to choose one- this little guy with his big black eyes and his floppy ears sat down his hindquarters. (By the way, when boxers sit their backsides never actually touch the ground) He looked way up to see who I was. He was such a sweet boy, always. A gentleman dog. And, that time when he bounded down hill towards the little girl tea party going on, and when next were heard many squeals like only little girls can shriek, we know he was just happy to see them!

Over a year ago he developed Degenerative Myelopathy. It was hard to see him lose more and more of the mobility in his back legs. But we got him a wheel chair and learned how to carry him outside so he could do his business. It was good for my kids to learn to be patient when he had accidents. We all learned more about mercy, humility, and love. We kept him with us as long as we could, but when I perceived that he was beginning to suffer, we made an appointment with the Vet.

I lost a dog I loved but I'm thankful. I'm glad that I got to have him. I'm thankful that I was able to give him a long, happy life. With our large family he was never alone. Having dogs has taught my kids many lessons about being kind to a creature that's weaker than yourself, having to give up what you're doing at the moment to take care of them, and how to forgive every mistake a person might make and just love them.

It's made me a better writer too, because writing is all about the inner emotions that churn inside but don't get named. Dogs communicate so much in their eyes, their ears, the way they stand, and how they listen to every word you say. Thank you, Thatcher, for being such a wonderful pet!

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Victoria Bastedo lives in a house on the river near Seattle, Wa. She has six children, which has made her by association; a doctor, a teacher, an advice columnist, and a shoulder getting ever more cushioned by time. She has God, her family, and many friends. Thank you for reading!

Check out Roots Entwine HERE at Amazon

Find out more about Victoria's books at Fire & Ice YA

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