I Have News!
Remember how it all began?
It seems ages ago when my grumpy husband, Jack, and I decided to buy a home in rural France. A second home, mark you. Such a simple decision, you might think. We had a pretty slick property visit plan, or so I thought. It was merely a question of choosing the most suitable place.
Our domaine visits began in Fat Dogs, Part I. During our various misadventures, we met one of our favourite domaine owners. Monsieur, a giant of a man with only one working eye, who lived halfway up a mountain with his equally delightful wife. He had a tremendous character and a sparkling sense of humour – which we discovered at our cost.
By Fat Dogs, Part II, it was already apparent that the properties we visited were as quirky as their owners. One of our buying criteria included the romantic idea of buying a country estate with wildlife. What we hadn’t expected was for it to be inside the houses as well as out. It took Jack quite a while to get over his ‘infestation’.
Did we buy the property on my famously un-excellent visit list? You’ll know if you’ve read the books. Once our eventual domaine deal was signed, almost overnight, a mass of unforeseen challenges turned our lives upside down. It was during this period in Fat Dogs, Part III, when we met our local vet, a gent I, in particular, would have many dealings with in the future.
His first patient, anglais, was little Biff, our hand-me-down Norfolk terrier with issues. As I was to find out, Doc Arnaud’s behaviour with him was somewhat surprising.
Several turmoils later, we began to settle into our rural community. Life was often tough, but it was fun and exciting, deepening our love for Le Palizac. Mind you, it didn’t stop Jack from having regular tantrums as he – mister ‘I like things nicely planned’ – resigned himself to expecting the unexpected. Just as well, since, among other situations, we found ourselves surrogate parents to a bunch of furry reprobates.
In Fat Dogs, Part IV, Jack sets up a meeting at the house with Alain, our new insurance man. He arrived, desperately debonair, so unusual for our parts. I was under strict instructions to control the animals and at least offer the pretence of decorum. I genuinely thought I had everyone sorted out. Wrong.
Fat Dogs, Part V sees yet more new arrivals and trials. We became friends with a Brazilian lady and her husband during this period. It wasn’t many minutes before we realised that Ana, who has a heart of gold, had several phobias and was very vocal about sharing them with us. (Jack still struggles with ‘the racket’ she makes.)
As with every episode in the series, the timeline ending leads directly to the beginning of the following instalment. It’s been ages coming, but as you know, our plans are continually thwarted as life here continues to chuck curveballs at us. Still, we’re just about keeping abreast of them, and I’m thrilled to announce that Fat Dogs, Part VI is now available for pre-order.
So what’s in this episode?
As always, I’ve tried hard to share our life events as accurately as possible. That means you’ll read about our highs, lows, and some strange encounters, such as Monsieur Decaunes, the bee man. This was another character Jack couldn’t fathom.
So much more happens, but I don’t want to give away too many spoilers. Suffice it to say the book is filled with animal shenanigans, sadnesses, surprises and lots of giggles. And as for the book cover design? I’d love to say that I’m a natural yoga-ist, but as you’ll find, that’s far from the truth.
Fat Dogs will be published on the 3rd of December. If you’d like to buy a copy now, click on the book image below, which will take you to Amazon. The ebook version is available to pre-order and will magically land in your Kindle library next week. Thanks so much for your support. I sincerely hope you enjoy the tales as much as I love sharing them.
26th November 2024 @ 3:38 pm
Love the little extracts from your previous books. Of course I’m happily anticipating reading FD6 which I have pre ordered. A little Christmas gift to myself.
26th November 2024 @ 4:56 pm
Delightful historical encapsulation! Thanks for sharing!!
26th November 2024 @ 5:00 pm
You’re very welcome, Paula, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recap. x
26th November 2024 @ 6:15 pm
Already ordered it last month, can’t wait to read the latest installment! 🙂
26th November 2024 @ 8:20 pm
I too would like to pretend I’m a graceful yogi 😂
11th December 2024 @ 11:57 am
Ha ha, I am hopeless, Sally! 😀
27th November 2024 @ 12:48 am
My order is already in… I’m counting the days until I’m involved in the next saga of Life in Palizac!
29th November 2024 @ 3:57 pm
Thank you so much, Faith. I do hope you enjoy the latest episode! 🙂
27th November 2024 @ 1:01 pm
Thank you for making me smile Beth, I had forgotten some of the adventures you both had when you moved to your new domain. I’m going to read all your books again and I know I’ll enjoy them just as much as reading them for the first time. It’s been a hard winter so far with gales and lashings of rain but the Isle of Islay, to me, is always beautiful. Looking forward to reading of your new adventures x
11th December 2024 @ 12:01 pm
Many apologies, Anne, my original reply didn’t transmit.
I am so glad the books are making you smile, that’s absolutely the icing on the cake for me.
As for your home, I know you often suffer with challenging weather, but I agree with you. It is the most beautiful part of the country, and I love that you appreciate it’s wild splendour.
Merry Christmas! xx
8th December 2024 @ 11:18 pm
Thanks, Beth, for the Twitter follow. I would be thrilled if you’d write a guest blog post for my site. If you think it might be fun or helpful to have my followers (who total about 10k across my various social media) meet you, here’s the link for general guidelines:
https://wp.me/p6OZAy-1SOc
11th December 2024 @ 11:56 am
Hello,it’s an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for the kind offer to write a guest blog post. I’d love to, though have very little time during the hectic Christmas period. Would it be possible to do so in January or February? (Please feel free to use my email address: fatdogsfrance@gmail.com for your reply as I might miss it here.)