Where the Wild Hearts Are Series by Laurel Kerr
When I heard about a book set in a small zoo, I was intrigued. Once I started reading Wild On My Mind, I was absolutely hooked. I loved the setting, the characters, and menagerie of animals, but it was the overwhelming emotion throughout the story that was most poignant.
I was thrilled to learn that it was the start of a series, and now the second story, Sweet Wild of Mine, has been released. It is another delightful read, catching up with everyone and seeing the developments in the zoo.
Below, I have links for my reviews for both stories, followed by an interview by Ms Kerr with the heroines from both stories.
Click here for Wild On My Mind review.
Click here for Sweet Wild of Mine review.
Interview by Ms Kerr
Ms Kerr: We're here with Katie Underwood and June Winters from the Sagebrush Zoo. Katie runs the animal park's public relations, and her best friend, June, is volunteering to help care for an abandoned polar bear cub. Our first question is what is it like to work with baby animals?
June: Why, it's the best! Little Sorcha, the polar bear cub, is just the most adorable little critter I've ever seen. She's this little ball of energetic fluff with inquisitive black eyes. She has so much energy. She loves tussling with our other volunteer, Magnus Gray. Magnus can be a smidge grumpy at times, but Sorcha can always coax a smile from him.
Katie: I absolutely love it. I actually started working at the zoo after I found a trio of abandoned cougar cubs on my family's ranch. I helped the owner of the zoo, Bowie Wilson, rescue them. I was reluctant at first to volunteer because Bowie had pulled pranks on me in high school. But he agreed to star in some silly internet videos if I helped with the mountain lion kits and with the zoo's PR. I also ended up learning he'd changed a lot in the last decade, including becoming an amazing single dad.
Ms Kerr: Katie, what were some of the videos?
Katie: Well, in the first one, Bowie lands a smooch on the snout of a red river hog, which is a wild pig that looks like a ruddy warthog. Daisy, the sow, wasn't too impressed. In another video, Bowie dresses in a pirate costume while Rosie-the-Rocker, a sulphur-crested cockatoo, dances on his shoulder. We actually didn't need to train the bird to do that. Some parrots naturally boogie to music. Of course, we also had to do a promo with Lulubelle, our camel and unofficial greeter. She loves trotting up to zoo visitors to receive pats and treats. Also, a lot of our fans have a vested interest in her. As the sole camel in a herd of llamas, she was a bit lovelorn. We had several fundraisers to help find her a mate, so people really root for her.
Ms Kerr: June, when you're not at the zoo, I've heard you can be found at your tea shop?
June: That's right. My nan is originally from Britain, and she met my grandfather, an American GI from Sagebrush, during World War II. She opened up the Primrose, Magnolia, & Thistle in her husband's hometown when he retired from the navy. My father was also a career military man, so I grew up all over the world. I simply loved spending the summers with my grandparents, and I always wanted to put down roots a mile deep. So when I graduated from college, I took over the business. Since my mama and her folk are from Georgia, I offer a mixture of British and Southern US cooking. Magnus, the zoo volunteer from Orkney, loves my Scottish cooking, even if he doesn't always appreciate my chatter. I think he's warming up to my sunny personality though.
Ms Kerr: Well, this concludes our interview. All this talk of animals has put me in the mood to visit the Sagebrush Zoo. Good thing it is featured in Wild on My Mind (Katie & Bowie's story) and Sweet Wild of Mine (June & Magnus's story).
Below are buy links for Wild On My Mind
Below are buy links for Sweet Wild Of Mine
Welcome
I truly enjoy sharing my love of reading. This site was started to allow me to share some of my favorite books. I hope that if you look around and find that you agree with some of my selections (see my reviews), that you will return and hopefully find new authors. I plan on having periodic "Recommended Reads" lists that will include books I recommend, as well as suggestions by visitors to this site. I will also keep you up-to-date on different upcoming events, special offers, etc.
As you look around, I'm still learning my way around HTML, etc. If you see any errors, typos, please e-mail me.