Chet The Dog

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Paw Prints In The Sink …

… reviews It’s A Wonderful Woof (coming Oct. 19).

https://pawprintsinthesink.com/2021/09/21/book-review-its-a-wonderful-woof/

What’s In A Name (Part 2)

Mrs. Publicist: Okay, Pete, yesterday we introduced Shaky Insterwald, somewhat seedy proprietor of a rundown driving range in the Valley (see post below) in Tender Is The Bite. I know character names are important to you, so tell us about this one.

Pete: Well, discerning readers may have spotted the fact that not all the humor in the Chet and Bernie series is subtle. Sometimes it gets pretty broad – broad humor going way back in English literature, all the way to Chaucer. So, for a golfer, what could be worse that Shaky? And of course the shakes are the bane of golfers, from the worst hacker on up to the PGA tour. But later, when Shaky gives Charlie, Bernie’s kid, a lesson, he turns out to be very good at it. Which sort of leads us to the surname. Back in the 1950’s there was an excellent touring pro named Dow Finsterwald (won the PGA Championship in 1958 and is still alive, by the way). Love that surname – sort of a tiny sound poem, so I stole part of it for my character.

Mrs. P: Thanks, Pete. See you next month for another edition of What’s In A Name.

What’s In A Name?

Mrs. Publicist: We haven’t done What’s In A Name in way too long, when Pete (aka Spence) discusses a name from the Chet and Bernie series. What’ll it be?

Pete: How about Shaky Insterwald from Tender Is The Bite?

Mrs. P: Great. Why don’t we introduce him, as he first appears at the beginning of Chapter 28, and then we’ll discuss him tomorrow?

Pete: You’re the boss. Here’s the beginning of Chapter 28:

When it comes to golf, Shaky Insterwald is our go-to guy. He’d also been the go-to-guy for lots of folks interested in buying beachfront property in Mexico. Some of those folks ended up hiring me and Bernie when it turned out that those beachfront properties didn’t exist, and neither did the beaches, meaning we’d lugged the surfboard down there for nothing. But all that was in the past and Shaky’s days of breaking rocks in the hot sun were behind him. Now he ran Buckets and Buckets O’Balls, Cheapest Driving Range West of the Mississippi, Come Knock Yourself Out, which I believe was the full name of the place, written on the monster sign out front.

One Month Till Pub Date!

And therefore a good time to remind everyone of the publisher’s preorder promotion for It’s A Wonderful Woof, the upcoming Chet and Bernie Christmas novel (in which Hanukkah plays a role). With the holidays in mind. the publisher will send an actual ornament to everyone who orders a hardcore or digital copy of It’s A Wonderful Woof by pub date (Oct. 19). All you have to do is go to the link below and fill out the form. And newcomers to C&B, no worries – the series can be read in any order.

https://read.macmillan.com/promo/itsawonderfulwoofpreorder/