WHEN PIGS AND PARROTS FLY - Gail Sattler - One Free Ebook

My good friend, Gail Sattler, is back with a book in the Bloomfield Series. Welcome, Gail. Tell us about your salvation experience.

I didn’t have a specific experience. I was born and raised going to church, then fell away when I was about 16. After I got married my husband and I returned to church, and one day it just clicked.

You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?

I can’t answer that for only four, but I did have an immediate answer. I’d have the other 9 people in my critique group. It’s a fantastic and diverse group of people writing at different genres and levels – a group that most people would say shouldn’t work, but it does, both on a professional and personal level.

Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.

I don’t have a specific speaking ministry, but I’m feeling poked to start. I’ve taught a few classes at the ACFW conferences, and I’ve keynoted for an OCW conference. I’m starting to make enquiries to teach and/or keynote at other conferences. I’ve got excellent reviews from those, so I feel led that this is the time for me to move forward with that, much in the same way I felt led to start writing. And when God speaks, we have to listen. J

What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it?

I can’t say the most embarrassing, I have a list or could write a book on that. One year, upon returning from an ACFW conference, I had a list of 10 very embarrassing things that happened, in the space of 5 days. Whatever it is I do, the only way I can handle it is to laugh, learn, and move on. Or maybe, write a book about it.

People are always telling me that they’d like to write a book someday. I’m sure they do to you, too. What would you tell someone who came up to you and said that?

Don’t quit your day job. Writing a book harder than it looks. The first thing I say is that the easier a book is to read, the harder it was to write. My advice is to start writing something, then attend a few classes or workshops and a writing group, and see where it goes.

Tell us about the featured book.

My featured book just out is the next book in the Bloomfield Series, called When Pigs And Parrots Fly. The Bloomfield series is being compared to Mitford, and is about a group of quirky but loveable characters who all belong to the Bloomfield garden club, but once membership is established, similarity ends. While they love to garden, gardening is a minor point in the series – it is more about the foibles and relationships of the growing amount of members.

It’s always fun reading a series because the characters I’ve come to know and love keep reappearing, and it’s fun to see what they’re up to next.

Please give us the first page of the book.

When Pigs (and Parrots) Fly

by Gail Sattler

CHAPTER 1

            “I’m not so sure of this.” Josh Tavendish ran his fingers down the conglomeration of colored shapes. “Do you really think it’s going to work?”

            Beside him, Sarah stood reading the now-empty box. He figured that being a veterinarian, she would be the one who would know what would attract, and keep, a parrot’s attention.

            “It has to,” she mumbled. “Quite frankly, I don’t know why they’re insisting on this. Half the children are terrified of Murray.”

            Josh nodded. “Not to mention a lot of adults aren’t too comfortable with him, either. Andy isn’t sure it’s going to work, but he couldn’t say no. You know how he feels about expanding the burn unit for the hospital. For that, he’s willing to give anything a try. If including Murray in the fundraiser raises more funds, then Andy will do it.” Although, Andy wasn’t the only one who had doubts if the whole thing was going to work. Not only did Murray not have the most friendly disposition, neither did Andy.

            A few years ago Andy, ever the responsible fire chief, had dressed up as Santa for another hospital fundraiser. Even though he hadn’t been the cheeriest Santa on record, the event had been a success, and therefore sealed Andy’s fate. For this season’s hospital fundraiser, the theme was swashbucklers. With Andy’s disposition, Josh could well imagine Andy as a swarthy pirate.

            But Josh couldn’t imagine Murray, Andy’s cranky parrot, behaving himself in a crowd. He especially couldn’t imagine the bird posing for photographs.

            He poked at the red plastic square and watched it swing. “Do you really think this is going to make Murray behave? What’s it supposed to do, hypnotize him?”

            Sarah tapped the blue circle. “They didn’t teach us much about parrots in veterinary college, but I do know they’re smarter than people think. The most important thing I learned about parrots is that a bored parrot is an unhappy parrot. Andy needs to keep Murray distracted, so this thing just might work.”

            Josh turned his head to look over his shoulder. For the first time since he opened his pet supply store four years ago, people were waiting in line outside. He wished it had something to do with the ad he’d taken out in the Bloomfield Gazette, or the small poster he’d put up at Sarah’s veterinary clinic, but he knew it wasn’t so. Nor did it matter what new pet toys he had on sale.

            The people outside crowding the sidewalk weren’t coming to check out his new stock.

            Like a twisted Groundhog Day, everyone was here to see how Murray reacted to the new parrot toy.

            This was worse than reality television. And it was happening in his store.

            The buzz of conversation outside increased.

            He didn’t know the last time Bloomfield had seen so much action. There would be no middle ground for what happened today. It would either go really good, or really, really bad, and he didn’t have a good feeling about it.

Gail, I know my readers will love this book. How can they find you on the Internet?

I can be found at my website at www.gailsattler.com - I also have a blog there, everyone is invited to leave a comment.

I’m also on my jazz band’s website at www.goldenearsjazzband.com Please come for a visit. J

Thank you, for the interesting interview and fun peek into your book.

Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.

When Pigs and Parrots Fly


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