Hi Everyone!

I am so excited to be participating in my first Wattpad Block Party! Many thanks to Kelly Anne for putting this fantastic event together. The amount of work she puts into organizing everything is staggering and it isn't lost on me – so THANK YOU Kelly Anne!!!

In my award-winning story, Chronicles of a Wineaux: Chicken Soup Can't Heal Cell Phones, Mauzzy is the main character's beloved—uh—dachshund. Since I have received many comments from readers that they love Mauzzy and want to see more of him, I thought it would be fun to interview the Little Professor. Enjoy!

E. Sumner

Interviewer:  I would like to introduce Mauzzy, Sara Donovan's pet miniature dachshund, in . Thank you for dropping by, Mauzzy. Hop up here and have a seat (motioning to a green wingback chair). Sara, you can sit over there (motioning to a loveseat adjacent to Mauzzy's chair).

Mauzzy: Thank you. I am so glad you have this opportunity to meet me. And please, I am not Sara's pet. I am the co-main character in the book. I thought my agent made that perfectly clear during negotiations for my appearance. Why do you think discussions are underway for a title change?

Sara: That's a very sore subject for him.

Interviewer: Uh, so sorry, Mr. Mauzzy, I seemed to have missed that point.

Mauzzy: (Yawn and head shake) Yes, indeed you did. And it's just Mauzzy. Although my housemate, Sara, will also call me Mauz, Handsome or Sweet Handsome.

Interviewer: You just mentioned that a possible title change is in the future?

Mauzzy: Yes, our story is currently being edited by a professional editor, Cynthia Luna. It was a first-round winner in the ShoreIndie Contest. Erica has been working with Cynthia to get the story ready for submittal on July 29th to a 3-judge panel for selection of the Grand Prize Winner.

Interviewer: That's fantastic news. How many first-round winners were there?

Mauzzy: A total of ten, including our story. On June 11th, ten editors, including Cynthia, selected one story each from their piles of submissions. You can go to www.shoreindie.blogspot.com to see the ten first-round winning submissions.

Interviewer: Can you tell us the new title?

Mauzzy: I can, although it's not set in stone. Currently, the new title will be Against My Better Judgement, A Mauzzy and Me Mystery. Notice who has top billing? (fierce look at Interviewer)

Interviewer: (Clears throat). Uh, yes, I can see that – again, my apologies.

Mauzzy: (Disinterested look away towards Sara) Accepted.

Interviewer: So, tell us, what's your favorite food?

Mauzzy: Well, it's most certainly not dog food. I am constantly telling Sara I abhor that rubbish, but she keeps feeding it to me. You ever try that stuff? It tastes like salted chewed cardboard. Only worse.

Interviewer: (Slight chuckle) No, I can't say that I have.

Mauzzy: Well, don't. I would prefer to eat cat food before I eat that nonsense. And before you ask, yes, I have eaten cardboard. I'm not proud of it, but you know, desperate times...

Interviewer: So, if you don't eat dog food, what do you eat, uh, besides cardboard?

Mauzzy: Excuse me, I didn't say I don't eat dog food. I said I abhor it. But if I don't eat it, Sara takes me to the vet, and that's...  (Shudder) So, I hold my nose, which isn't easy with no thumbs, and I force it down. It's better than having a thermometer forced up—well—you know.

Interviewer: Yes, well, you seem to be in good health, so I guess you are making do with what she feeds you.

Mauzzy: Make do? Please, good sir, she hardly feeds my anything. I have to constantly scrounge for whatever food Sara drops on the floor, couch, in between the cushions, on the bed, under the bed, behind the dresser, outside the shower, twice in the shower, on the car seat, and of course, under the car seat. Oh, and when she breaks a meal, I'm in Dachshund Heaven. Especially if it's on Mexican Wednesday.

Interviewer: Breaks a meal? Don't you mean breakfast?

Mauzzy: (Long pause, a sigh, and then a fierce look at Interviewer) Trust me, I know what breakfast is, and I meant break a meal. As in, she drops a 3-bean casserole dish because her hands are glazed in Neosporin. Or she forgets to use her partially-burned oven mitts when taking something out of the microwave and there it goes crashing to the floor.

Interviewer: I see. Does Sara break meals often?

Mauzzy: (Yawn and lick of lips) Indeed, I would consider her to be a bit of clumsy klutz.

Sara: Hey!

Mauzzy: I'm terribly sorry, my dear Sara, but this is my interview. (Turning to the Interviewer) Let's put it this way, she breaks enough meals that I am constantly being put on a diet and exercise routines. Trust me, I sure don't pack on the weight eating the amount of food she gives me. And while I am on the subject, Sara thinks she is being so clever when she reduces my rations, as if I don't notice. All that does is make me scrounge harder—including going into her purse and the kitchen cabinet where she keeps treats in Ziploc baggies.

Sara: Wait! You go into my purse?

Mauzzy: (Sigh) Damn.

Sara: Is that why my cherry-scented Chapstick keeps disappearing? And my emergency crackers?

Mauzzy: (Yawn and turn of the head) Next question.

Interviewer: I'm sorry, it seems I have put you in a bad situation.

Mauzzy: (Scratches himself) No worries, sir. It's nothing I can't handle.

Sara: Mauzzy would make the best drug dog. He can sniff out anything, even if it's in a baggie inside a baggie. He would also make the worst drug dog because he will eat the evidence.

Mauzzy: (Yawn) Guilty as charged.

Interviewer: So, she takes you on a lot of walks for exercise?

Mauzzy: Excuse me, my good man, I am my own person. Nobody takes me on walks. If I choose to walk, then I walk. If I don't, then I don't. Personally, I prefer to drive.

Sara: Walking Mauzzy is an oxymoron.

Mauzzy: Simply uncalled for, Sara. Quite hurtful.

Sara: Sorry, Handsome. I'll be quiet.

Mauzzy: Thank you. Your turn will come, if your agent ever gets off her bum and starts working.

Interviewer: What is your favorite TV show?

Mauzzy: I'll tell you what isn't my favorite—anything on Animal Planet. You would think Sara got the hint.

Sara: I thought you love that channel, with all the cute little ani...? Wait, is that why the TV is always on Fox when I come home?

Mauzzy: It's not easy working that remote with these (holds up front paws), but that's why I have a pointy nose. Comes in handy quite a bit.

Interviewer: Yes, I'm sure it does. So, you like the Fox network? What's your favorite show?

Mauzzy: "Family Guy."

Interviewer: Really? Why that show?

Mauzzy: (Sigh) Isn't it obvious? Who doesn't love a talking—dog—with a degree from Brown University that drinks martinis?

Interviewer: Ah, yes, that makes sense. Do you drink martinis?

Mauzzy: I would drink them if Sara made them. Vodka, up, bone dry, with an olive.

Sara: As it is, he drinks out of my wine glass whenever I turn my back.

Mauzzy: True. I'm more a merlot guy but I'll take what I can get. I do love a good party!

Interviewer: I can see that. So, how did you and Sara meet?

Mauzzy: That is a wonderful question. Sara rescued me from the pound during her sophomore year at The University of Alabama.

Mauzzy: I was seriously underweight and deathly ill with a bad case of kennel cough. She took me in, nursed me back to health, and now lavishes me with toys and love. So, for that and more, I am eternally grateful to her. I do love her dearly, which is why I tolerate some of her more interesting eccentricities.

Sara: Thank you Mau—hey!

Mauzzy: Sorry, my dear.

Interviewer: Okay, so tell us a little about the story you and Sara are starring in.

Mauzzy: Well, as you know, the current title is Chronicles of a Wineaux: Chicken Soup Can't Heal Cell Phones. It has been a Wattpad Featured Story and has won several awards, including the aforementioned ShoreIndie Contest. The original unabridged version was posted to Wattpad back in May 2016. An abridged version with new plot twists is currently being posted to Wattpad, and it is this version that won the ShoreIndie Contest. The plan is for the abridged version to be selected for publishing this year, with the exact publication date sometime over the next eighteen months.

As you can probably tell from the planned new title, Against My Better Judgement, A Mauzzy and Me Mystery, the story is a cozy mystery that has Sara and I as co-MC's, set during Sara's final semester at The University of Alabama.

Sara and Mauzzy: (In unison) Roll Tide.

Mauzzy: I don't have a speaking part (glare at Sara), but I make my presence known nonetheless. In addition to a mystery that Sara gets wrapped up in and tries to solve, with my capable assistance, it has a lot funny stuff, like the iron-pumping octogenarian Mrs. Majelski; granny panties on crack; a new interpretation of Newton's Third Law of Motion; and a chapter that includes a first kiss of the likes you will have never read before.

Interviewer: It sounds like a lot of fun.

Mauzzy: It is, courtesy of me.

Interviewer: I can see that, for sure. Well, that is all the time we have today. Thank you for dropping by Mauzzy and Sara. I will jump on Wattpad and read that abridged version, and good luck with the ShoreIndie Contest.

Mauzzy: Thank you, sir.

Sara: Yes, thank you!

For those of you who have not read my story and do not know Mauzzy, it is a fun, lighthearted mystery that will keep you laughing. If you want to have fun reading, head over to my profile, download the abridged version (the early pacing is much better than the unabridged), and start laughing! Just be careful reading the story in public – a number of readers have told me they got strange stares when they started laughing out loud. The cover is the chapter header for this post and below is the story link.

https://www.wattpad.com/story/111673696-chronicles-of-a-wineaux-chicken-soup-can%27t-heal

Also, to celebrate my first #WattpadBlockParty appearance, I'm giving away a Wattpad shoutout and a detailed chapter review to three lucky winners! My giveaway is open internationally but the chapter to be reviewed must be in English. Make sure to click at the bottom of this post to enter!

Thanks for checking out my post! All votes and comments are greatly appreciated! Have a great day and keep smiling!

Erica Sumner (and Mauzzy!)

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Enter the #WattpadBlockParty Giveaways for Your Chance to Win Amazon Gift Cards, Signed Paperbacks, E-Books, Shoutouts from Your Favorite Wattpad Authors, and Much More!

Link: https://goo.gl/2x2anC