Belle's Trial

Belle wishes she didn't understand people language, especially words like sit, stay, and come. Those commands take the fun out of being a pet. Worse, Belle's owner Darcy is so busy with school, soccer, and singing that she hardly has time to play with Belle. In search of fun, Belle digs out of the yard, knocks over waste baskets, and encourages Darcy's other dog Buster into all kinds of mischief. Darcy's furious parents threaten to find a new home for the disobedient dog.

Darcy enrolls Belle in agility training to teach her discipline. Determined to stay with her beloved mistress, Belle takes on the challenging sport, discovering along the way that discipline means far more than an angry word. It means coping with Big Toby, her former tormentor, and keeping an eye out for Bonehead, Toby's cruel father, and mastering the terrifying agility obstacle, the teeter totter.

Can she focus her new found discipline to overcome her fear and succeed? 

Connie Gotsch of Farmington, NM

Connie Gotsch has published two award-winning adult novels, A Mouth Full of Shell and Snap Me a Future. A Mouth Full of Shell won the First Place Award for full-length fiction from the New Mexico Press Women's Communication Contest. She also wrote three short plays, A Peck of Dirt, Or Are You Cinderella--? and New Delight. In 2007 she received the New Mexico Press Women's Communicator of Achievement Award.

She held an Ed.D in Leadership and Policy Studies with an emphasis on educational media from Northern Illinois University. Connie worked at KSJE, Public Radio for the Four Corners serving as Program Director, host of the award-winning morning classical music show, "Roving with the Arts", or producer of a segment for authors called "Write On Four Corners." In 2008, she received a Book in Hand Award from the New Mexico Book Association for her work in promoting New Mexico authors and publishers on the program. 

Connie passed away in July, 2012.

John Cogan

John Cogan did not became a painter by the usual approach. After earning a Ph.D. in atomic physics, John spent two years working in the field of geophysics before he made a detour and became a full-time painter. John relies on the physics of light and optics to better understand how to render the created world in pigments. His knowledge of geophysics is reflected in his love of painting the great rock formations and massive mountains of the western United States.

While he occasionally uses oil paints when working “en plein air”, John prefers acrylics both for his studio paintings and most of his plein air work. It also gives him the bright colors he loves to use in his landscapes. 

As for subject matter, the Four Corners area is perfect. He uses a combination of field sketches and photographs for his studio works, but paints many of his smaller paintings on location. Although primarily interested in landscapes, he has painted other subjects, including still lifes, wildlife, and portraits.

John’s work is carried by El Prado Galleries in Sedona, Arizona, Galleries West in Jackson, Wyoming, and Southwest Galleries in Dallas, Texas. He and his family make their home in New Mexico.