Chet The Dog

Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’

Thank You!

To all the people who come here to the blog. It means a lot! And also thanks to those who sent Christmas cards. And Merry Christmas to one and all.

I’m hoping to track down the Alastair Sim version of A Christmas Carol over the weekend. I try to watch it every year. The Albert Finney version isn’t bad either. Dickens kind of invented or reinvented (or sentimentalized) the spirit of Christmas. We take a swing at the subject in:

Beginnings

Sunday is when we do beginnings, taking a look at the start of a Peter Abrahams novel, including those written under the Spencer Quinn moniker™. Since Christmas is only 20 days away – meaning the shopping window is nineteen days, 23 hours, 59 minutes – there’s really no choice. Here’s the first paragraph of It’s A Wonderful Woof, the new Chet and Bernie holiday novel. Now when you open the book you’ll be able to skip right to the second paragraph.

The Muertos throw the best Christmas party in the whole Valley. The Valley’s where we live, me and Bernie. It goes on forever in all directions, and is almost certainly in Arizona, based on things I hear from time to time. That’s not important. Is it important that the Muertos are the roughest, toughest biker gang around? Maybe to you, but not to us. The Little Detective Agency deals with the roughest and toughest every day. Little is Bernie’s last name, I’m Chet, pure and simple, and the agency’s just the two of us. Why would we need anyone else? That’s the important part.

Beginnings (Not)

First, many thanks to anyone leaving nice reviews on Amazon, as I see has happened from yesterday’s comments. Normally on Sunday we do beginnings, taking a look at the start of a Peter Abrahams novel, including those written under the Spencer Quinn moniker™. But I’ve noticed that there’s a whole thing going on of readers who’ve already bought It’s A Wonderful Woof, the Chet and Bernie Christmas novel that came out this week, waiting till closer to Christmas Day to actually read it. That reminded me of this passage from the book:

“Merry Christmas,” Johanna said. She slid the present across the table. “I think it’s the kind you like.”

“The kind of what?”

“Open it and see. I won’t tell Santa.”

“Who will you tell?” Bernie said.

“Huh?” said Johanna. “I just meant you don’t have to wait for Christmas Day.”

“What if I like waiting for Christmas Day?”

“Then by all means.”

So – we were opening the present? Not opening? I had no idea, but Bernie ended up opening, which was what I’d have done if I’d been Bernie. Whoa! What a thought! I wasn’t sure I was comfortable with it. What if I was Bernie and … and he was Chet! I knew one thing for sure. I’d give him a treat this very second.

 

Christmas in August

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