The Redemption of Caralynne Hayman by Carole Brown

My neighbor, who decided to join the party late, arrived with her hundred-and-fifty pound dog. In my personal experience, I once invited eight ladies for a summer luncheon and game of croquet on the lawn. The crow often chased her down the path and once tangled his talons in her hair. However, my aunt’s girlfriend disparaged all birds as “dirty, disease carriers.” This friend didn’t fare so well when caught in Blackie’s territory. Often he sat on her shoulder if she walked slowly and fed him cracked corn. From telephone pole to treetop, “Blackie” would keep tabs on my aunt while she rode her bike, picked blackberries, or waded in the creek. In real life, my aunt had a wild crow that followed her around the neighborhood when she was a child. Never enter the free-range enclosure with bare shins becomes Rachel’s hard-learned lesson. The bird torments my heroine any time she comes near. One of those chickens takes an immediate and irrational dislike for Rachel.

Her cousin, Sally, loves her job and has several pet hens following her around the barnyard, clucking merrily. Although Rachel adores horses and takes a job working with Thoroughbred race horses, she has never met a chicken she liked-except fried on her dinner plate with a side of coleslaw. In my latest book, A Little Bit of Charm, my character has just moved to her cousin’s organic chicken farm. Too bad we as humans don’t possess the same sixth sense. Have you ever noticed that animals sometimes know who likes them and who doesn’t? I have been amazed how often they can tell friend from foe, or who happens to be afraid of them. We’ll be contacting you privately to send your copy.

Mary Preston, you’re the lucky winner of The Redemption of Caralynne Hayman by Carole Brown. Before I get started, I wanted to choose my winner from last week’s contest.