The lighting of the Christmas tree at the ‘V Zoo’

Boy! Did we have a great Christmas lighting party. Everyone came. Margot Finke was here as were Donna Shepherd, Jennifer Gladen, Kevin Collier, Barbara Techel, Kim Chatel, Sue Thurman, Shari Lyel-Soffe, Dianne Sagan and Lanaia Lee. My boss Joy got us a beautiful tree and along with all her friends and zookeepers, they decorated the tree.

But, as this is a zoo, animals do unpredictable things. First Billy got into the act. He wanted to put the star on top of the tree. Well, Star thought she should, after all it is her name. Star had it in her mouth ready to place it when Billy climbed up her neck, grabbed it and took off. He almost knocked the tree down in the process. It took Jabira to stop him. Ever since Billy woke him up that night by jumping on him in his exhibit, Billy’s been afraid he’ll do something to him. So, when he approached Billy, Billy dropped the star and slinked away back to his mother.
When that was all settled, then Fred and Elvis started arguing about who should turn on the lights. Well, I guess you could say it was a total ZOO!

Thanks for all who came and for those who read and follow our, um, my blog.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! See you Sunday with more zoo news from around the world. I’m taking Christmas day off.

A talk with Dianne Sagan

Hello everyone and welcome back to our week with Dianne Sagan. Hi Dianne.

Hello Zebee. Thanks for having me back again. What do you want to talk about today?

Z: We know about your ghost writing, do you ever write using your own name?

D: Yes, right now one of my projects is a series of Christian novellas. It’s called “Touched by the Savior”.

Z: Can you tell me a little bit about this series?

D: Sure Zebee. Each book is the story of a little known woman who met Jesus during his ministry. The first, a story of Rebekah, orphaned and used as a slave by her relatives until she is taken in by Lazarus and his sisters. The second tells the story of Peter’s wife. A third tells about the woman at the well after she went home from the well. I have other ideas to go with these also.

Z: That sounds interesting. I like stories with a new twist to them. What else are you working on?

D: I’m working with a revision for my novel, “Escape” for a publisher who is interested in it. I hope to have a contract by the end of 2008. I’m also working on stories for several anthologies and have a story published in the Tainted Mirror anthology (October 2007). The story, “Second Chances”, is about my son’s head injury and the aftermath.

Z: Good luck with your novel. I heard that you’ve recently sold the rights to one of your stories to Chicken Soup for the Soul. Can you tell us about this experience? What got you interested in anthologies?

D: Short stories are a part of life for me. I had several ideas for stories about my children and personal experiences that I was looking for outlets to send them to. A friend of mine in a writing group suggested I think about anthologies.

The thing I enjoy most about writing for anthologies is that I can feel accomplishment for a shorter piece of work, and that encourages me to keep going on longer projects.


Z: Anything else you’re working on that you’d like to share with our readers?

D: I’ve been shopping a novel of mine with the working title of “Brittany’s Story.” It’s the story of an abused woman who escapes to a shelter with her three children and her experiences trying to stay one step ahead of her violent husband while going through the court system. It is written as a suspense novel and is unlike any other book about spousal abuse. It offers hope and a light at the end of the tunnel even though, throughout the manuscript, the reader is never sure if she will survive. I believe it is unusual, too, because the theme is not so much revenge as redemption, courage and triumph.

Z: Wow! Sounds like you keep real busy. Dianne, I’ve had fun with your visits this week. Please come back sometime.

D: Thank you Zebee for having me and I’d love to come back. Can I bring my grandson? I know he’d love it here at the ‘V Zoo’.

Z: Sure, I’d like to show him around and I know the other animals here would like that too. So, can you tell us where to find more information on you?

D: Yes. You can find me at:

My website
My new blog
My Author’s Den page

Any parents out there can find the book I’m a contributing author in called "The Tainted Mirror An Anthology",on amazon.com and barnes&nobel.com

Thanks again Zebee for letting me hang around this week. See you later.

Bye Dianne.
It sure was fun having her here this week. I guess I’ll see you all on Sunday with more zoo news. Have a great day!

Dianne Sagan on Ghost writing!

Dianne Sagan is back with us today as promised. Today we’re going to learn all about her.
Good morning Dianne.

D: Good morning Zebee and everyone else. Thank you for having me as your guest again today. I’m ready to answer all your questions Zebee. I’m eager to share my life story with your viewers, uh, readers.

Z: Great. Okay, we know you have a cute little dog and live in Texas. What we want to know is, what is ghostwriting? Is it writing about ghosts?

D: Ghostwriting isn't what you might think. I don't like scary stories so I leave ghosts to other people. Ghostwriting is writing a book for someone else who has a great story or message they want to get out to people but doesn't have the time or isn't a writer. They pay me, a ghostwriter, to write what they want to say. So, I help people write books they might not otherwise write.


Z: I’m glad to know it’s not writing about ghosts. They scare me. So, how do you do this type of writing? Does someone give you an outline and then you fill in the blanks?

D: I get basic information about the content from the client and then do an in-depth interview with them over the phone to help me better understand what they want to say. I listen to how they speak and read how they structure their sentences and then write the book in their vocabulary and phrasing so that it sounds like them. We talk several times during the process of writing. I submit an outline for their approval and then we work our way through chapter by chapter together until we have a manuscript that says what they want it to. Sometimes I have to do extra research in addition.

Z: You make it sound really interesting. Can you tell us what got you interested in this type of writing?

D: I have a friend in the Panhandle Professional Writer's organization that was ghostwriting for a small publisher and she got so much work that she needed help. I gave it a try and decided I enjoy it and it is a great way to have a pretty good income that supports my own byline.

Z: Do you ghost write for children, or just adults?

D: So far, I've only written books for adults. I did write one that was to help children learn about finances. It was fun. We worked from the premise of his Kids club to teach children and teenagers about saving, paying yourself, and paying your bills as well as using some of your savings for investments that will keep paying you all the time - even when you're on vacation or asleep. We included some exercises and boxes for them to use in learning to budget.

Z: Thanks Dianne for this lesson in ghostwriting. I know I learned a lot and bet that my readers did too. If someone wanted to read more about what you do, where should they look on the internet?

D: You are most welcome. You can go to any or all three of these places to learn more about me and what I do.

Dianne Sagan - Writer

My blog

Dianne at Author’s Den

Okay, that’s it for today. Thursday we’ll be back with more from Dianne. We’re going to talk about what she writes using her own name. See you then!

Zoo News Sunday: babies and Christmas treats galore and Dianne Sagan as our week's guest

Happy Sunday to all of you in Bloggerville. Today we are traveling the world zoos with Dianne Sagan. She’s a ghost writer!

D: Hi Zebee and everyone out there. I’m looking forward to spending the week here at the ‘V Zoo’ with you and your friends. I can’t wait to share more about what it is that I write, but today I want to go with you around the world and see what’s happening at the world zoos.

Z: To give everyone a little information about you, where are you from?

D: I live in Amarillo, Texas and just love it.

Z: Since we are all animals here at the ‘V Zoo’, we like to know if our guests have pets. Do you have any pets, and can you tell us about them if you do?

D: We have a Bishon Frizee named Gigi. She is a little white dog who doesn’t know that she is the pet that lives in our home. She thinks we are her people and this is her house and family. We got her when she was five weeks old and had no puppy teeth. She fit in the palm of my hand and one of our daughters said she looked more like a hamster than a dog. She is now about 12 pounds and the smartest, most affectionate dog I’ve ever had.

Z: She sounds smart. Okay, let’s get going we have places to visit and animals to see. Are you ready Dianne?

D: Ready Zebee. Lead the way.

Zoo's new chimp enclosure is champ
See what awards this new Chimpanzee exhibit got! Way to go!

A Paignton Zoo Majic Ticket Will Get You A Train Ride And Buffett With Santa
How fun is this! Eat with Santa! I want to go, how about you Dianne?

Critter Christmas at the Salisbury Zoo
This is going to be fun. You even get to make your own gingerbread house.

Winter Fun at the Zoo
Go to the Dakota Zoo this winter and visit the animals. They’re out and waiting for you.

San Francisco Zoo welcomes new baby gorilla
Look how cute he is. What should they name him?

Santa Claus at the St. Louis Zoo
If you live near St. Louis, here’s a fun thing to do with your kids or grandkids.

Zoo Boise welcomes another zebra
Check it out. Another relative of mine is in the news.

Zoo offers free admission with donation to food bank
Get in the cost of a can of food. Now that’s a great offer and you help out the local food bank at the same time.

In photos: 'Belgrade Zoo White Lion Cub'
Now this is the cutest white African lion cub ever.

D: Wow! That was fun. Okay, I’ve got to run home for a bit. I’ll see you back here on Tuesday and I’ll share more about me and what ghostwriting is.

Z: Thanks Dianne, this was fun for me today too. I’ll see you on Tuesday.
Bye for now Bloggerville fans.