Sacramento LCC, here I come!

I've packed up my book marks and animal earrings and auction items and I'm ready for Left Coast Crime. Here's a few pictures from last week's trip to Oakland Zoo in lieu of a blog.

A happy Aldabra tortoise

African geese were nesting in the giraffe browse. Fearless!

A giraffe sparred with this eland until the eland tired of it.

Excellent elephant presentation by this docent.

The relatives loved the rides.

They were a little taken aback by this inhospitable emu on the train ride.

Night Kill for 99 Cents

Just  found out today that you can download the e-book version of Night Kill, the first Iris Oakley zoo-dunnit, for a mere 99 cents until the end of the month. Click HERE and go for it.

What's Night Kill all about? Here you go:

The Finley Zoo lions were captive-born; they had never killed. But they knew exactly what to do when drunken zookeeper Rick Douglas fell into their exhibit in the middle of the night. Iris Oakley, Rick’s widow, is devastated that he broke his promise to quit drinking and then died stupid. But questions about his death won't let her move on from grief and anger. Iris realizes she must find out what really happened that night. Friends are as troublesome as suspects--when she can tell them apart--and her career falls off the rails. She loses her coveted position as a feline keeper and her boss wants her gone for good. Iris hangs tough, determined to figure out who fed Rick to the lions and why. Her insider's understanding of wild animals finally points to the truth. Then Iris has to survive to prove it.

She forgot to mention Night Kill has penguins in it.

Now it's even easier

This just in: Bowling for Rhinos got itself a "donate now" button through Crowdrise. Easy-peasy!

Click HERE to deliver one in the eye to those ruthless poachers you keep reading about. The money goes to various aspects of rhino conservation, but a big part of it is invested in rhino patrols. Yes, kiddies, it takes an army to keep rhinos alive. Lewa has about one guard per rhino. Other sanctuaries also have armed rhino patrol units. A dangerous job. Hats off to those guys out there in the bush.

In case you missed it, here's the nifty Bowling for Rhinos video. CLICK HERE for cute rhinos Then go back to that Crowdrise link and help these guys out.

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Armed guards at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya

Baby white rhino

Step up for Rhinos

It's time again for Bowling for Rhinos and the American Association of Zoo Keepers has come out with a video that is--trust me--adorable. Yes, adorable rhinos. Take a look and haul out your credit card. Step up and help a bunch of low-paid, dedicated zoo keepers do what needs to be done. They've gone the extra mile (and then some) and need your help. CLICK HERE

All we need is to be left alone. In today's world, that requires an awful lot of help.