I am a huge fan of working dogs and especially admire Border collies. Many years ago I attended a sheep herding event on Saltspring Island. Afterwards, I fell into conversation with a shepherdess about her dog, Tessa who, the shepherdess explained was a delinquent, unmanageable dog she rescued from the local pound. Tessa had lived in several homes but was brought back to the pound because she was too unruly, too wild, and had way too much energy for family life. The shepherdess said, “I put Tessa in a pasture with a three or four sheep to see what she would do. Tessa had never seen or smelled a sheep before, and as far as I knew, never even been in the country.

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Have you ever read a book that touched, moved and brought you to tears? It may sound dramatic, but with no exaggeration, Roberta Rich’s historical fiction The Midwife of Venice, set against the backdrop of sixteenth-century Italy, is that kind of book for me. (Read the first chapter here and you’ll see what I mean!) I was extremely excited when a lunch invitation with the author was extended to me; I would have the chance to tell her personally how passionate I am about her book!

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