A great ride

This is me and Rita out in the high country ...well... the medium high country... that is, we were at 7500 or so feet. 

Colorado gets a lot higher.

I am not sure at what point it is considered "the high country".  I have lived here 15 years, but I will have to go ask a native.

As I was saying, this is me and Rita out looking for the changing aspen leaves and we found some beautiful golden glades.

Regarding altitude, I was raised at the beach.  So even 6500 feet, where I live now, is high country relatively speaking.  I have friends who live at 9000.  That is high for a year round house... but still medium high for a hike.  Well, upper medium high.

10,000 feet is "ridiculously high country" for a house, and perhaps the start of true high country.  Above treeline is the "edge of space country".

That's not my stallion I am on, that black gelding is "Midnight", one of Rita's Rocky Mountain Horses.  And they really are great for this kind of ride.  They are about 14.3, not too big, great for going around tree trunks and under branches.  We were out for 4 hours.  I'm sore.

Colorado has dozens of "14ers", which are mountain peaks over 14,000 feet.  I have not been to the top of one yet.  I was on Trail Ridge Road, in RM National Park, which is close to 11 or 12 thousand feet.  I was breathing hard up there.  I was thinking the first 14er I would like to "do" is Pikes Peak... because you can drive up there, take a few sample breaths, and if it doesn't work out, you can drive back down real quick.

I would probably not be a good candidate for any expeditions to find Noah's ark. That's supposed to be on a "17er". 

I rode my stallion...

Well, I just couldn't resist anymore.  He is so tall I had to spend a few minutes teaching him to stand still by the fence, since I didn't have a saddle on him, therefore no stirrups.  And when he finally understood what I wanted him to do, he was patient while I clambered up.  It wasn't much of a ride, just around the round pen.  Then I got off and took off the bareback pad and got on again bareback.  For awhile I just draped myself on his big neck and hugged him.  That was this last Tuesday.  I couldn't sleep that night.  It was such a thrill... :-)

Yesterday...

...we had dinner at our neighbors and it was sure fun to give them an autographed copy. They broke out the champagne.  There was a touch of fall on the wind which felt delicious.   The aspens are hinting at gold.  Tomorrow is the official release date for GoD and DoG, but people are finding it in stores already.

Another review! By

Sara J. Eubanks "Moonshadow1" (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: GoD and DoG (Hardcover)

This book is so incredible in its simplicity. But isn't that the way religion is really supposed to be? Jesus' message in a nutshell is love. That's it - simply love. That's what Wendy Francisco reiterates in this wonderful book that everyone should read, no matter if you're 9 or 90. I would compare it to Dr. Seuss' "Oh the Places You Will Go". They both should be required reading for all students. If you haven't heard Ms. Francisco sing "God and Dog", do it now. She really hits the nail on the head with her theory. You may not agree if you don't love dogs but, if you don't love them, you're not leading a complete life. Thank you, Wendy Francisco, for cutting to the chase. May God bless you - and your dog.

YAY! The book arrived today!
Caspian was amazed at what a beautiful job the publisher, designers and printers did, and I think so too!

I cried.

Thank you to Susan Boyer for the first GoD and DoG Amazon review. Here it is:

Small Book, Mighty Message
In this simple little book, Wendy Francisco has captured many, many dog owner's feelings about their best friends and put them into a words. Straight from her heart these words came and straight into the hearts of dog loving readers they will go. God and Dog is a tribute to the unconditional love dogs give us and also a prayer of thanksgiving to God for dogs. The simple and sparse text intensifies the message and makes this book a soulful charmer that few dog fans will be able to resist. The illustrations are good but would not be half as effective on their own. Thought and word are the treasure here.

I'm guessing this book may reap some negatives from people who don't approve of putting God and Dog in the same book together---from readers who don't like God but like dogs and from readers who like God but don't like dogs. Speaking as someone who reads alot and who loves God and dogs both-- it's a terrific book. YAY!

I oredered my book from Amazon...

I can hardly wait to see what it looks like.

GoD and DoG is AVAILABLE!

Well, like so many new authors, I discovered that interesting number on the GoD and DoG Amazon page called "sales rank". This is a wildly fluctuating number which is hard to interpret, but fun to watch anyway. Today, as I clicked onto the page to see that number, I was surprised to see the book listed as In Stock! So, the release date was moved up again - to today!

The GoD and DoG giftbook is available!
http://www.amazon.com/GoD-DoG-Wendy-Francisco/dp/159995379X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283636543&sr=8-1

Maybe every book in the world is on the Walmart site, who knows. Still, it's cool to see GoD and DoG on there. :-) Countdown - 20 days till it's OUT!

The GoD and DoG gift book comes out one month from today. It's very exciting, although hard to know how it will do. It's such an unusual feeling knowing you have a book coming out and that it may bomb, or sell millions, or do anything in between. My author friend, Stacey O'Brien, who wrote Wesley The Owl said it was a funny feeling when her book actually came out. She went to find it in a Barnes and Noble, but they hadn't unpacked them yet.

Well, I am very excited since this is an entirely new sort of adventure and I am glad the song and video are doing so well.

Meanwhile life is as normal as can be. For the last two days we have been having new gravel put down on the driveway. Boy did we need new gravel.

Finished!

The GoD and DoG book has been designed and is being printed!
Here is the cover. The book is now available for preorder on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Borders.

The release date is Sept 20th, and I can hardly wait. :-)

The GoD and DoG gift book is nearly finished and will be going to the printer soon. We've been making all the final adjustments. It will be released September 20th on Hachette /Center Street and will be in bookstores everywhere. What an amazing chapter this has been.

I sold a young horse... Elessar. He is going to an equine massage therapist, lucky guy.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Today my agent gave me a list of publishers she sent the GoD and DoG book proposal to. It's exciting...but unpredictable. I have no idea how publishers will react to GoD and DoG as a book. Here is a wonderful letter I received today...wow.

I recently embarked on a journey back to God; alcoholism had placed a chasm between us. That's why the most meaningful words in your song -- to me, at least -- are "I'm the one who walks away. But both of them just wait for me, and dance at my return with glee". The thought of God dancing with glee at my return to Him is one of the most wonderful things I have ever imagined.Thank you, thank you, thank you. -Brian

A Mil!

On Sept 14th GoD and DoG reached a million views after being posted for 40 days. It has been one of the busiest times I've ever had. There has been a steady stream of mail. It is amazing to read how people feel about the song. I have a literary agent now and we hope that GoD and DoG will be made into a book. I have been doing interviews and articles and trying to keep up with the sites. The DVD will ship out any day now and we are excited about that. There have been many preorders for it. Although the cafe press store is doing well, Cindy (our office manager) and I decided to do our own mugs and t-shirts because we can get them so they won't be so expensive to buy. So we did the orders for that today. It has been such a fun thing to work on all of the GoD and DoG projects. We are still so surprised and thrilled at the response the video has had.

GoD and DoG News

Well, GoD and DoG has 300,000 views in 3 weeks. Yesterday it had 40,000 visits. Today we are sending in the DVD master to be manufactured...it turned out beautifully. I am also sending the CD master to our office manager Cindy, who will duplicate and ship it out starting early next week. I am getting many orders for both everyday. I am also getting many Cafe Press orders for T-Shirts, bumper stickers, mugs, etc. I am having a great time answering tons of GoD and DoG email. Some of the letters are amazing.

This is sure an adventure. :-)

We had a fun concert yesterday. It is great to be home. GoD and Dog is up to over 45,000 views now and my inbox is crammed with email.

GoD and DoG news...

This moring I updated my site, blog, Facebook, and Twitter, sent Celeborn on his way to his new home, did barn chores, designed T-Shirt artwork and launched a Cafe Press store for God and Dog, and answered all my email. GoD and DoG was at 20,000 yesterday and today it has had nearly 30,000 views... so... I guess this is what you call going viral. Time for breakfast.
:-) Yay.

I sold a horse, my black colt Celeborn. He is a beauty... here's his photo. The second photo is with Jerusalem, my stallion.

I will miss Celeborn. He's the sweetest colt. Jerusalem is a great influence on colts. Celeborn is not his son, but he raised him anyway. He insists the young boys are mannerly in general and polite to humans. When I am in the corral, Jerusalem will not allow the colts to be rude or bratty around me.

So when the people came to see Celeborn, we all stood in the corrral with both horses who tried to nudge each other out of the way to get the most hugs. I love working with Friesians and Andalusians. Both breeds are so sweet, intelligent, and people oriented. Celeborn is going to a great home - that's wonderful to know.