As Good as Gold synopsis

As engaging as a tail wag.
Celebrating the simple things in life as seen through the eyes of our old time favourite furry friends, “As Good as Gold” is a volume of poetry revealing the talent and humour we always knew our dogs possessed.
Dogs are full of questions, yet they are famed sellers of innocence especially when it comes to explaining their mishaps and often foolish effervescence through ponderings such as “Why IS a Cat Not Like a Dog”, “As Brown as Chocolate”, “Silver Stars and Puppy Tail” or, best yet, “Dog or Book?”
A book with an enormous heart for readers of all ages, it includes 35 poems and haiku accompanied by expressive portraits of our canine friends.

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Bio

Patricia Furstenberg came to writing through reading. She always carries a notebook and a pen, although at times she jots down her ideas on the back of till slips or types them on her phone.
Patricia enjoys writing for children because she can take abstract, grown-up concepts and package them in humorous, child-friendly ideas while adding sensitivity and lots of love. What fuels her is an exhilarating need to write and… coffee: “How many cups have had this morning?” “None.” “Plus?” “Five cups.”
Between her books you can find the beloved Joyful Trouble, The Cheetah and the Dog, Puppy, 12 Months of Rhymes and Smiles.
She is a Huffington Post contributor and pens the Sunday Column for MyPuppyclub.net as well as dabbing in freelancing. After completing her Medical Degree in Romania she moved to South Africa where she now lives with her husband, children and their dogs.

Website

Q & A

with Pat Furstenberg

1, Tell us about you, and your writing (themes, influences etc.)

Writing helps me express myself – is an art form that allows me to express my thoughts, feelings, beliefs. Much like an artist uses his brush to create a reflection of what he sees through his mind’s eye or a dancer uses his body, his face and even the noises he can produce to express the way he hears and feels the music – a writer uses words carved in sentences, shaped in verses or modelled into chapters.

I think the themes found in my writing are very much rooted into my beliefs. Love, friendship, kindness, joy, animals, innocence – are often encountered in my books. My characters know, or soon discover, the magic of friendship, the importance of love, the joy of sharing and giving. These values, I believe, should be placed at the foundation of our lives and are indispensable in raising happy, well balanced children.

I wouldn’t consider myself influenced much by writers of my own decade. I see myself as pertaining to the ‘anxiety of influence’ authors. I still love Shakespearean Sonnets, Robert Frost and Mihai Eminescu, Ana Blandiana, Charles Baudelaire – as classics were the books I read the most in my teens and even my 20s.

2, What are some of the ways in which you promote your work, and do you find these add, or eat into, your time writing?

I use social media extensively to promote my work and, yes, it does eat into my writing time but it is something that I have to do if I want to get my work out there, outside the confinement of my desk drawers. I think social media is at the heart of 21st century.

3, What projects are you working on at present?

I have a very exciting project on the go, a historical military novel. It is a book about being fulfilled as a human being – at war. And about war dogs – or military working dogs, as they are called!

4, What does poetry mean to you?

Poetry puts a spring in my step and a smile on my face. Poetry is like a rose that changes its shades from the bud until the bloom – each stage revealing a different aspect as each time you read a poem. Poetry is joy and sorrow combined. It plays at the strings of my heart and breath fresh breeze into my life.

Thank you for inviting me to your wonderful blog, Katie!

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