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Opal: A Poodle's Journey Home
Cait and Thad Cummins fled the high prices and craziness of San Francisco to breed designer dogs in the California foothills.
They found their dream in an idyllic little town called Paradise.
Thad bought dogs while Cait transformed their rundown, Victorian mini-mansion into a farm-style masterpiece.
˃˃˃ Thad got a little carried away buying dogs”"he bought twelve instead of the four they planned on.
He couldn’t pass up the magnificent Grand Champion Standard Poodle, Opal. That was the beginning of the end. Expenses climbed and their enchanting farm in the woods lost its shine.
˃˃˃ Plus, Opal carried baggage.
The manager of the fancy kennel where Thad got her warned that she had bitten people and was a legal liability to her owners. “She could be put down as a vicious dog.” Thad and Cait knew they could overcome Opal’s aggressiveness, with time. Couldn’t they?
˃˃˃ The Camp Fire of 2018 turned Paradise into an inferno.
Thad and Cait’s heaven became a blazing firestorm. The survivors had to fight their way back from a horrific natural disaster, braving loss and pain. Through it all, Opal struggled to find her destiny and be the dog she was born to be. Would she ever find her true home?
They found their dream in an idyllic little town called Paradise.
Thad bought dogs while Cait transformed their rundown, Victorian mini-mansion into a farm-style masterpiece.
˃˃˃ Thad got a little carried away buying dogs”"he bought twelve instead of the four they planned on.
He couldn’t pass up the magnificent Grand Champion Standard Poodle, Opal. That was the beginning of the end. Expenses climbed and their enchanting farm in the woods lost its shine.
˃˃˃ Plus, Opal carried baggage.
The manager of the fancy kennel where Thad got her warned that she had bitten people and was a legal liability to her owners. “She could be put down as a vicious dog.” Thad and Cait knew they could overcome Opal’s aggressiveness, with time. Couldn’t they?
˃˃˃ The Camp Fire of 2018 turned Paradise into an inferno.
Thad and Cait’s heaven became a blazing firestorm. The survivors had to fight their way back from a horrific natural disaster, braving loss and pain. Through it all, Opal struggled to find her destiny and be the dog she was born to be. Would she ever find her true home?
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 11, 2020
6 people are currently reading
5 people want to read
About the author
Sandy Nathan
16 books128 followersSandy Nathan writes to amaze and delight, uplift and inspire, as well as thrill and occasionally terrify. She is known for creating unforgettable characters and putting them in do or die situations. She writes in genres ranging from science fiction, fantasy, and visionary fiction to juvenile nonfiction to spirituality and memoir.
"I write for people who like challenging, original work. My reader isn't satisfied by a worn-out story or predictable plot. I do my best to give my readers what they want."
Mrs. Nathan's books have won thirty
national awards, including multiple awards from oldest, largest, and most prestigious contests for independent publishers. Her books have earned rave reviews. Most have close to five-star averages on Amazon.
Sandy was born in San Francisco, California. She grew up in the hard-driving, achievement orientated corporate culture of Silicon Valley. Sandy holds Master's Degrees in Economics and Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling. She was a doctoral student at Stanford's Graduate School of Business and has been an economic analyst, businesswoman, and negotiation coach, as well as author.
Mrs. Nathan lives with her husband on their California ranch. They bred Peruvian Paso horses for almost twenty years.
TALES FROM EARTH'S END, Sandy Nathan's new SCI-FI / FANTASY / VISIONARY FICTION SERIES IS FINISHED AND AVAILABLE on AMAZON. You can get all three books without having to wait for them to be written and published! The series follows a group of people who are pushed to the literal end of the earth.
THE ANGEL & THE BROWN-EYED BOY, Book I, introduces Eliana, the exquisite dancer from another world who has come to earth on a mission to save her planet. She finds earth on the verge of nuclear meltdown. Only she and Jeremy Edgarton, a 16-year-old tech genius, can save the planet, and hopefully find each other. The Angel won the GOLD MEDAL in the 2011 IPPY (Independent Press) Awards in VISIONARY FICTION. Also won the 2011 INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARD in VISIONARY FICTION.
LADY GRACE, book II, brings the action forward a few thousand years. The radiation has finally lifted and survivors come together to begin new lives on a planet blasted back to prehistoric times. "FIVE STARS! A MODERN SCI-FI MASTERPIECE Lady Grace was first-rate science fiction and one of the most absorbing page-turners of that genre that I've read in years. Author Sandy Nathan exhibits the imagination of Ray Bradbury combined with the whimsicalness of Douglas Adams. That's high praise, but it's warranted. The story includes so much action; tense, suspenseful drama; and two charming love stories that it's irresistible." J. Chambers, Amazon Top 100 Reviewer
Lady Grace is brand new, out in print and Kindle versions.
SAM & EMILY, the third and final version of Tales from Earth's End, tells the story of Sam Baahuhd, the village headman on the Piermont Estate, and the mysterious stranger he brings to his people at the end of the world. This is an epic love story to be remembered for the ages. Not a perfect love, but a brilliant love.
Out as a print version; Kindle is following very soon.
The Angel & the Brown-eyed Boy tells the story of an angelic extraterrestrial and the boy she comes to love. It's set in a dark future world on the night before nuclear Armageddon. The Angel combines thrills, intrigue, and extraordinary characters. It is in the magical realism genre of my ...novel, NUMENON.
"A good book elicits an emotional response while being read; Nathan's book haunts the reader long after the final page is turned. In Angel & the Brown-Eyed Boy two dying worlds fight for survival, their futures dependent on a revolutionary and an angelic otherworldly dancer. It is world not that many heartbeats away from our own, making the premise chilling."
Todd A. Fonseca, award-winning author of The Time Cavern
TECOLOTE: THE LITTLE HORSE THAT COULD––A new book for children of all ages. Born prematur
"I write for people who like challenging, original work. My reader isn't satisfied by a worn-out story or predictable plot. I do my best to give my readers what they want."
Mrs. Nathan's books have won thirty
national awards, including multiple awards from oldest, largest, and most prestigious contests for independent publishers. Her books have earned rave reviews. Most have close to five-star averages on Amazon.
Sandy was born in San Francisco, California. She grew up in the hard-driving, achievement orientated corporate culture of Silicon Valley. Sandy holds Master's Degrees in Economics and Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling. She was a doctoral student at Stanford's Graduate School of Business and has been an economic analyst, businesswoman, and negotiation coach, as well as author.
Mrs. Nathan lives with her husband on their California ranch. They bred Peruvian Paso horses for almost twenty years.
TALES FROM EARTH'S END, Sandy Nathan's new SCI-FI / FANTASY / VISIONARY FICTION SERIES IS FINISHED AND AVAILABLE on AMAZON. You can get all three books without having to wait for them to be written and published! The series follows a group of people who are pushed to the literal end of the earth.
THE ANGEL & THE BROWN-EYED BOY, Book I, introduces Eliana, the exquisite dancer from another world who has come to earth on a mission to save her planet. She finds earth on the verge of nuclear meltdown. Only she and Jeremy Edgarton, a 16-year-old tech genius, can save the planet, and hopefully find each other. The Angel won the GOLD MEDAL in the 2011 IPPY (Independent Press) Awards in VISIONARY FICTION. Also won the 2011 INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARD in VISIONARY FICTION.
LADY GRACE, book II, brings the action forward a few thousand years. The radiation has finally lifted and survivors come together to begin new lives on a planet blasted back to prehistoric times. "FIVE STARS! A MODERN SCI-FI MASTERPIECE Lady Grace was first-rate science fiction and one of the most absorbing page-turners of that genre that I've read in years. Author Sandy Nathan exhibits the imagination of Ray Bradbury combined with the whimsicalness of Douglas Adams. That's high praise, but it's warranted. The story includes so much action; tense, suspenseful drama; and two charming love stories that it's irresistible." J. Chambers, Amazon Top 100 Reviewer
Lady Grace is brand new, out in print and Kindle versions.
SAM & EMILY, the third and final version of Tales from Earth's End, tells the story of Sam Baahuhd, the village headman on the Piermont Estate, and the mysterious stranger he brings to his people at the end of the world. This is an epic love story to be remembered for the ages. Not a perfect love, but a brilliant love.
Out as a print version; Kindle is following very soon.
The Angel & the Brown-eyed Boy tells the story of an angelic extraterrestrial and the boy she comes to love. It's set in a dark future world on the night before nuclear Armageddon. The Angel combines thrills, intrigue, and extraordinary characters. It is in the magical realism genre of my ...novel, NUMENON.
"A good book elicits an emotional response while being read; Nathan's book haunts the reader long after the final page is turned. In Angel & the Brown-Eyed Boy two dying worlds fight for survival, their futures dependent on a revolutionary and an angelic otherworldly dancer. It is world not that many heartbeats away from our own, making the premise chilling."
Todd A. Fonseca, award-winning author of The Time Cavern
TECOLOTE: THE LITTLE HORSE THAT COULD––A new book for children of all ages. Born prematur
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 4, 2020
Out of ashes…
California author Sandy Nathan earned a Master’s Degrees in Economics and Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling. She was a doctoral student at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and has been an economic analyst, businesswoman, and negotiation coach, as well as author. Her writing has won thirty national awards, having written some fifteen novels. OPAL is Book Five of her Bloodsong Series.
But perhaps more poignant to her gifts as a writer is her personal life experiences of a riches to rags to success life she has journeyed. As she has stated, ‘I've seen and lived the over-privileged existence I describe in the Bloodsong Series. I've seen how it can warp those who are lost in it. I've seen how the power of money can mask mental illness and allow evil to ruin lives.’
Sandy’s ability to comingle history with the raw language of today truly helps this fifth book of the BLOODSONG SERIES. As she mentions, ‘When Bloodsong Series laid out in my mind originally, it started with a trilogy about the richest man in the world meeting a great Native American shaman. Their lives intersect at a huge spiritual retreat the shaman holds every year in the New Mexico desert.’ And it is precisely this admixture of paranormal and reality oriented writing that makes her work sing. And noting that this is Book 5 and that there are more installments coming speaks well for her success.’
In OPAL: A POODLE’S JOURNEY HOME Sandy provides an apt summary or progression of events: ‘Cait and Thad Cummins fled the high prices and craziness of San Francisco to breed designer dogs in the California foothills. They found their dream in an idyllic little town called Paradise. Thad bought dogs while Cait transformed their rundown, Victorian mini-mansion into a farm-style masterpiece. Thad got a little carried away buying dogs. He bought twelve instead of the four they planned on. He couldn’t pass up the magnificent Grand Champion Standard Poodle, Opal. That was the beginning of the end. Expenses climbed and their enchanting farm in the woods lost its shine. Plus, Opal carried baggage. The manager of the fancy kennel where Thad got her warned that she had bitten people and was a legal liability to her owners. “She could be put down as a vicious dog.” Thad and Cait knew they could overcome Opal’s aggressiveness, with time. Couldn’t they? The Camp Fire of 2018 turned Paradise into an inferno. Thad and Cait’s heaven became a blazing firestorm. The survivors had to fight their way back from a horrific natural disaster, braving loss and pain. Through it all, Opal struggled to find her destiny and be the dog she was born to be. Would she ever find her true home?’
Paradise – the obliteration of that little town by the fire of November 8, 2018, known as The Camp Fire – is the setting for this tough little novel. The manner in which Sandy conveys that dark moment in many ways pays homage to the human spirit. This is a new and very fine gritty novel from a writer of significance.
California author Sandy Nathan earned a Master’s Degrees in Economics and Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling. She was a doctoral student at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and has been an economic analyst, businesswoman, and negotiation coach, as well as author. Her writing has won thirty national awards, having written some fifteen novels. OPAL is Book Five of her Bloodsong Series.
But perhaps more poignant to her gifts as a writer is her personal life experiences of a riches to rags to success life she has journeyed. As she has stated, ‘I've seen and lived the over-privileged existence I describe in the Bloodsong Series. I've seen how it can warp those who are lost in it. I've seen how the power of money can mask mental illness and allow evil to ruin lives.’
Sandy’s ability to comingle history with the raw language of today truly helps this fifth book of the BLOODSONG SERIES. As she mentions, ‘When Bloodsong Series laid out in my mind originally, it started with a trilogy about the richest man in the world meeting a great Native American shaman. Their lives intersect at a huge spiritual retreat the shaman holds every year in the New Mexico desert.’ And it is precisely this admixture of paranormal and reality oriented writing that makes her work sing. And noting that this is Book 5 and that there are more installments coming speaks well for her success.’
In OPAL: A POODLE’S JOURNEY HOME Sandy provides an apt summary or progression of events: ‘Cait and Thad Cummins fled the high prices and craziness of San Francisco to breed designer dogs in the California foothills. They found their dream in an idyllic little town called Paradise. Thad bought dogs while Cait transformed their rundown, Victorian mini-mansion into a farm-style masterpiece. Thad got a little carried away buying dogs. He bought twelve instead of the four they planned on. He couldn’t pass up the magnificent Grand Champion Standard Poodle, Opal. That was the beginning of the end. Expenses climbed and their enchanting farm in the woods lost its shine. Plus, Opal carried baggage. The manager of the fancy kennel where Thad got her warned that she had bitten people and was a legal liability to her owners. “She could be put down as a vicious dog.” Thad and Cait knew they could overcome Opal’s aggressiveness, with time. Couldn’t they? The Camp Fire of 2018 turned Paradise into an inferno. Thad and Cait’s heaven became a blazing firestorm. The survivors had to fight their way back from a horrific natural disaster, braving loss and pain. Through it all, Opal struggled to find her destiny and be the dog she was born to be. Would she ever find her true home?’
Paradise – the obliteration of that little town by the fire of November 8, 2018, known as The Camp Fire – is the setting for this tough little novel. The manner in which Sandy conveys that dark moment in many ways pays homage to the human spirit. This is a new and very fine gritty novel from a writer of significance.
Displaying 1 of 1 review