Welcome back from the holidays, I hope you had a great time. I know I did—right up to the point my dog decided to go full chaos gremlin mode on the plane ride back to Portland from Texas.
That's right, despite a full dose of Trazadone, my dog managed to bust out of her TAA-certified travel bag to try and meet the rest of the cabin, or whatever her goal was. I'm not sure why. She had more room underneath that seat than anyone else on the plane. Can you imagine lying down during a flight?
I know it's possible for humans on some flights if you're willing to shell out some serious cash. It's a full-on luxury first-class experience, and my dog, the littlest Brisket, had that going on but decided it wasn't good enough.
Now, you may be asking yourself, what happens if a dog gets loose on a plane? Do they turn around? Find the nearest airport between take-off and final destination for an emergency landing and booting of passenger and dog?
The truth is, I don't know, and I didn't want to find out the hard way on that flight.
So, I did what anyone would do with those scenarios playing out in their head on the first flight out in the dark, cold, early morning, operating on about three and a half hours of sleep would do. I held the bag together with my hands for the next four hours.
Now, you might think that eventually, a dog would see the futility of their situation and sit back and rest, but I guess that's not the way of the border terrier because she was relentless. The raptors in Jurassic Park had nothing on her. She tested every possible weakness on that bag, but thankfully, I was able to hold on and find a pet-friendly Uber for the ride back home from the airport.
I was even able to use my cramped-up fingers like a normal human a few days later.
So ... what else is going on? Oh! GILM! is about a month out from its release. That's pretty great, right? Have you pre-ordered it yet? That's OK, there's still time! Also, plenty of time to tell your friends, family, and enemies you may think could be turned into allies by a well-written YA book about a new kid misusing magic to fit into a new school.
I'm not sure that anyone has ever turned enemy to ally with the power of YA magical realism, but if you try it and it works, let me know.