Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Rev's Angel







We had an angelic intervention on Saturday evening.


Our oldest son’s rat terrier – Rev – disappeared during a walk along a nearby creek last Saturday afternoon. He was wearing his collar, but his tags were at home (don’t ask). A six-hour search along the creek, in the woods along that creek, and through adjacent neighborhoods turned up nothing. Heartbreak for all of us. The creek was running deep and fast, a major four-lane road lay nearby, wild animals lived in the woods.


Signs were posted overnight. We tried to console ourselves with the knowledge that God had a special angel watching over Rev. The Lord had brought Rev to us 6 years ago (after being left at the SPCA--TWICE!!!) because He knew that we would give him a good home. We all fell in love with the little guy and he fit in with our family very well.


A call came in early Sunday morning from two women at the apartment complex that lay on the other side of the woods from the creek. They had gone out for an early morning walk and saw one of the signs that had been posted overnight. Minutes later, passing the fenced dog park in the middle of their apartment complex, they spotted Rev sitting in the grass INSIDE the fenced park, paws crossed, patiently waiting.


Those wonderful women took him back to their apartment, fed and watered him, then called the phone number on the sign to report that Rev was alive and well. He wasn’t hurt or frightened. In fact, he happily performed his small repertoire of tricks for the women…something he does only grudgingly for us. Within minutes of that phone call, he was back safe and sound with his family.
"Someone" found Rev and put him inside that dog park during the night—a fenced dog park with a closed gate. I believe the "someone" was an angel – Rev’s angel.


Those two women were angels, too, to go to the trouble of taking him in. Yes, there are animal lovers in the world. Many come in human form, but some, I believe, are true angels.


And Rev will never go out without his tags again.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Phobias and American Heroes

Facing your greatest fear can be one of the most difficult things you ever do. But courage is often found when you have to face a fear in order to save someone else. The recent storms in our country provide proof of this.

Consider the father in Indiana who lay atop his son to protect him during the recent tornado outbreak. He truly feared he would die, but his love for his child gave him the courage to do what he needed to do. Another parent, a Kentucky mother, lost her legs protecting her children from the tornado there. Sacrificing for others makes these people true American heroes.

My latest novel, Onslaught, features a heroine who must face her fear of storms in order to protect someone else. Ronnie Clarke would rather wrestle with a difficult spreadsheet all night than walk the floor at 3 a.m. with a fussy baby. But she doesn’t have much choice when her unreliable mother drops a surprise bundle into her arms and then vanishes through the bathroom window of a cheap motel room. And Ronnie's mother left one other thing—a life or death warning. She kidnapped Baby Danny to save him from the religious cult leader who wants to sell him to the murderous leader of an illegal drug cartel. Oh, and Danny is Ronnie’s nephew, the son of a sister that she never knew she had.

If all that isn’t trouble enough, the only safe place to hide is in a small town on the Texas Gulf Coast, within easy striking distance of any devastating hurricane that might crop up. Since Ronnie has a phobia about thunderstorms, she’s practically set up for failure.

Onslaught is a full-length novel of romantic suspense, available in ebook format at:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Onslaught-ebook/dp/B007J5ZJBO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331558704&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/onslaught-teri-thackston/1109464560?ean=2940014303620&itm=1&usri=onslaught+thackston

Smashwords (for PDF or other formats): http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/140723