Building a Family by Lyn Cote

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Lawyer Eleanor Washburn defends wayward teenagers and supervises volunteers for Habitat for Humanity without missing a beat. But she is unnerved by fascinating single dad Pete Beck—especially since his chaotic life includes a little girl wishing for a mother. Sweet Cassie has Eleanor yearning for what's been missing from her lonely existence. Soon, both dad and daughter are chipping away at Eleanor's defenses. Can she find the courage to risk losing her heart to this ready-made family?



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
When Lyn Cote became a mother, she gave up teaching, and while raising a son and a daughter, she began working on her first novel. Rejection followed. Finally in 1997, Lyn got "the call." Her first book, Never Alone, was chosen for the brand new Love Inspired romance line. Since then, Lyn has had over thirty novels published. In 2006 Lyn's book, Chloe, was a finalist for the RITA, and her book Her Patchwork Family and Her Healing Ways were finalists for the Carol Award in 2010 & 2011, two of the highest awards in the romance genre. Lyn’s brand “Strong Women, Brave Stories,” always includes three elements: a strong heroine who is a passionate participant in her times, authentic historical detail and a multicultural cast of characters. Lyn also features stories of strong women both from real life and true to life fiction on her blog http://BooksbyLynCote.com Lyn also can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. Drop by and "friend or follow" her. Now living her dream of writing books at her lake cottage in northern Wisconsin, Lyn hopes her books show the power of divine as well as human love.


Have you ever seen a hodag?
Probably not. The hodag is the mascot of a town I live near in Wisconsin. According to Wikipedia, and I quote: "The Hodag is a folkloric animal of the American state of Wisconsin. Its history is focused mainly around the city of Rhinelander in northern Wisconsin, where it was said to have been discovered."

A folkloric animal can be fun. And the fun started in 1893 when prankster Eugene Shepard announced the discovery and killing of the last hodag. And here's the photo to prove it!



Shepard wrote that: "It was "the fiercest, strangest, most frightening monster ever to set razor sharp claws on the earth. It became extinct after its main food source, all white bulldogs, became scarce in the area." Well, the white bulldogs probably gave a sigh of relief!!

Anyway, the folks in Rhinelander have fun with their mascot or symbol, keeping the fun spirit of Shepard alive. Here's the statue of the hodag in front of the tourist center in Rhinelander.