Newsy Tuesday: Book Review of "Elsker The Husky: Broken AND Beautiful" by Cameo Anderson & a GIVEAWAY!
I love books! If you know me and have been following me for some time, you'll know I love reading them, editing them, writing them, and reviewing them! Especially when they are about our beloved pets! Having been a career photojournalist, editor, and having my own publishing house, only intensified my love of writing, art, and books!
Today, I have the pleasure of sharing my review and a GIVEAWAY of a new book release by someone many in the art, Siberian Husky, pet, and rescue worlds know—CAMEO ANDERSON!
I know, I know...right about now a lot of you are going, "I know Cameo! I have her art of my dog(s)/cat(s)/horse(s)!"
And for those of you who may be new to my blog or to Cameo Anderson, I'm very excited to not only review her book, Elsker the Husky: Broken AND Beautiful (I received a digital copy), but to also share my Q&A interview with her further down in the blog post. And, yes, a GIVEAWAY of one hard copy of Cameo's book! Be sure read the entry rules (aren't there always rules?) and enter to win!
So, grab a cuppa of your favorite beverage and snuggle down with your furry buddy, and enjoy reading all about Cameo Anderson, her art, her dogs, and her new book!
*Note: there may be some Amazon affiliate links to items in this post. All that means is that a small commission is paid *at no cost* to you!
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Across the globe, folks came together to help support, pray, and send out hope to this little puppy that he would make it. While at the vet, it was discovered that tiny Hero had a pocket of water of his brain and required surgery. That's when Cameo stepped in and created the following poster of Hero that she numbered, sold, and donated the funds to Hero's care. I still have mine! It was one of those times that no matter the distance, a community came together in hope of helping a sweet little Husky puppy get a chance at life. (You can read more about little Hero in my blog post "Helping a Hero" HERE and "A Hero Arrives in Heaven" HERE).
If you know her, you know that Cameo's heart for rescues, rescue dogs, and dogs with health issues is huge and only matched by her genuine kindness. Her work has helped out so many rescues - and my own #LiveGibStrong Canine Epilepsy educational campaign where she designed the image of my Gibson on my vetted poster about where to put cooling packs on a seizing dog. She is quick to say, "I'll help!" and wow, help she sure does.
Cameo herself has adopted and fostered many, including current "foster fail" Elsker, who Cameo's book is about...and actually, Elsker has quite the tale to tell, and she survived a near-fatal hit-and-run car accident. She had a shattered hip and a collapsed lung. While this is a serious subject, it is handled with a light, educational touch. The book, written from Elsa's perspective, covers her view of the accident, her post-op attitude toward recovery, news of life with her packmates, and without giving too much away...a town called Hell. Yup, it's a real place—in Michigan, and this brave Husky wants to be Mayor! I bet with her determination, she will be, too! Elsker, for all that she has gone through, is a heroine in my book. And...in her book! You will admire, cry, and chuckle as she tells the story of her life, recovery, and a "strange" family she totally loves.
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CAMEO ANDERSON (CA): 100%! As early as I can remember, I wrote new stories daily. I have a lot of stories to tell. Some of them funny and some of them scary. And then when I got better at drawing, I started adding pictures to them. And then the fine art business has always been what paid the bills. But recently, I've been focusing more specifically on books.
D-FSM: That's wonderful! I'm all about books! Now, I know you love Siberian Huskies, but you are not just a husky mom, but a dog mom to two current Huskies, plus more. Tell me about the dogs in your household!
CA: I have Elsker and Waffles. They get along, but have spats just like any good pair of siblings. And I share the house with my sister and her two doodles. They are Bigfoot (120 pounds) and Kraken (38 pounds). Bigfoot is part newfie so he's big, slow, stubborn, but loyal and generally good.
Kraken is spicy (having a lot of sporting DNA in his profile, he needs to be kept busy or he goes a little nuts). He has curly hair like a poodle and so he needs to be groomed frequently. He looks like a mop in most of our pictures, however, because he goes out and hikes and makes regular messes of himself. I don't know how anyone with an actual show poodle does it. They must bubble wrap their dogs for fun time.
We share Sasha. She's a jointly-owned staffy and pitt. She's very very smart. We found her on the street with bite marks all over her face. Kind of like a cliche with pitt-mixes - and it shouldn't be! She has lived with us for seven years and has helped raise my nephews and niece. She's protective of them and patrols the property. She's also a dog that needs a job, something I think many pit-mixes do and it gets overlooked. She's a good girl but hates getting her nails did :) She and Kraken both have an extensive library of tasks they can perform. Both could be service dogs except they are too spicy on the leash towards other dogs. We're working on it, though! Dog training is a big part of both our lives and we read dog behavior books for fun.
D-FSM: That's a fun full house! I want to talk about Elsker. I know she is a "foster fail," which is a wonderful thing as it means she has a forever home with you! I am so sorry about Elsker’s horrible accident. How
scary. Is that was initially inspired you to write your book, Elsker
the Husky: Broken AND Beautiful? Or did you have an idea of the book, and
then when this occurred decided to include it?
CA: I specifically wanted to talk about her accident. For one thing, it was therapy
for me. For another thing, however, it educates about what an FHO is and how
she recovered. I am hoping others who get dogs that must go through this
operation can read Elsker's story for encouragement and solidarity, and maybe
some ideas to help heal - to go with their vets' instructions. It also shines a
light on rescue, on the fact that a dog who might bite is not bad (she would
try to bite sometimes when doing her physical therapy), and that nobody is the
perfect owner— I made a mistake that led her to get out of the house in the
first place. I do my best, but rescue is a tough crowd. Even the best adopters
can still mess up, but we don't love our dogs less. I would do anything for
Elsker.
D-FSM: You have such a fabulous pack! How does Elsker get along
with them all, including her baby sister, Waffles (who in the book Elsker mentions that she wanted her sent back! BOL! Spoken like a true sibling!)
CA: Elsker definitely didn't have patience for a puppy, but when she thought nobody
was looking, she was caught red-pawed playing with her sister - and enjoying
it! When she was little, she played a lot with Sasha and Bigfoot. Sasha would
have high-strug play sessions with her and Bigfoot would kind of let her hang
off his ears. He was huge compared to her, and the first time she saw him, she
peed herself. But she was a baby to be fair to her. And the first puppy I ever
had. Sasha still plays with her sometimes but Bigfoot mostly wants to chill
now. He's six. Zee Kraken will play with her, but gets a little nervous because
she nipped his nose once when he was small (the medicine she had for her
surgery combined with being uncomfortable made her a bit more spicy than she
used to be. She's off those meds now). Elsker likes to go to the water with Waffles.
We have a river by us with so many different access points and I can walk there
with them. That's her favorite activity.
I'd be lying if I didn't say Elsker does still ask me to put Waffles back sometimes
because she doesn't like to share. Anything. Except a walk to the water. But
we'll get her there.
D-FSM: I also like how you include info on rescues, which you do a lot of amazing work for! What would you like people to know about fostering and rescuing a dog?
CA: "I can't do it because I'd want to keep them all." I absolutely want
to keep them all. Even the ones who don't fit in. But I still do it. Honestly,
it feels really good to find a dog a good home that's even better than what you
could have provided. Sasha allowed me to foster dogs and showed kindness to
every dog we brought into the house. She was really a very good ambassador to
new fosters. Elsker just rolls her eyes, basically saying, "Yeah, mom got
another one."
Do it, if you can. Make the sacrifice. It does hurt (when they go off to a forever home), but it also feels awesome
in ways I can't describe when you know you directly gave the dog it's life
back. I specifically choose only dogs who are going to die (Except Elsker and
Spirit. They are the only ones I didn't get directly from a list of dogs with
death sentences.
D-FSM: What many folks may not know with all of your stunning artwork and attention to detail is that you are legally blind. But that does not stop you from creating. Some readers may wonder how you are able to create such amazing works. Can you tell my readers a little history of your eyesight?
CA: I have two different colored eyes. One is green. One is blue, with a cloud covering it. If you needed someone to play a witch in a b-movie, I got you! (On a side note, I also really love overacting). In all seriousness, I was born with two cloudy corneas. One was able to be corrected. The right eye wasn't. My "good" eye is able to see enough to do normal things. I just have to do them differently. So when I paint, my face is often pretty close to my work, which is why I can't use pastel or oil paints - as it's not really good to breathe any of those in. My eyes have gotten worse over the last couple of years. I didn't know when i was a kid, but these transplants can and do expire. I was lucky to have this one for 40 years. We'll see if I can get a successful transplant in the future and continue my art. For now, I just do as much as I can while I have the time.
D-FSM: At the risk of repeating myself, you are amazing. Your work is beautiful, and I find that the caveat of your being blind only adds to your obvious skills and gift. And really makes one, like me, sit back and just think, Wow. We can do anything if we set our minds to it. You have proven that!
CA: Hey, where there is a will, there is a way! My will is strong. I just have to look closer at my artwork, which doesn't do my back any favors, but you win some and you lose some. I don't like being told "No." I'm basically a husky. And if someone tells me "No, you can't" I will instantly do that thing (Except chores, sorry Mom. Too smart for that one)!
CA: Well, I adopted one husky who was easy. So I got him a friend. That friend was
much smarter and faster than me. He got out repeatedly, got it over on me all
the time, killed cats, made the neighbors question my intelligence, and finally
someone told me, "You don't deserve that dog. You're not a good pet owner.
Why don't you give him to a rescue." Well, I wondered if they had a
point, and I discovered Hairy Houdini. They are the closest local husky rescue.
And I noted that they were FULL. And so was everyone else. I never actually
called any of these rescues to surrender my dog, Mischief (should have named
him 'Good Boy').
Since they were full, and I did actually want my dog and care about him a lot
in spite of his behavior, I decided to get professional help. Long story short,
I learned that many people have done what I did and got a dog that was very
very wrong for them. And they surrendered. And I didn't want to. So I kept my
dog, became a voice for huskies in education, and that's when I ran across ARA
doing a fundraiser. I did a poster for them and donated it. Hand numbered them.
They made a few grand from that fund raiser. People messaged me asking if I
could paint their husky. The rest is history.
Elsker was my first foster husky, though. The rescue called me and said they
had a husky if I wanted to foster one. I knew Mischief didn't have that long to
live, and now I was in love with huskies. So I knew that whatever age she was,
whatever she looked like, I would be keeping her. I wanted a black and white
female with blue eyes so that I could name her Elsker (which means love). And
when this husky got out of the truck, she was a little black and white baby
girl with blue eyes. I called her Elsker, walked her to the house, and lied to
everyone that I wasn't gonna keep her, but I knew I would. And I did.
D-FSM: What age would you consider your book for, children or all ages?
CA: Because I wanted it not to be generic. I wanted it to be specific to Elsker. Also, one of the things I love about huskies is their sass. If Elsker was my daughter, I'm sure she'd be a gothic teenager who says she doesn't like anyone, but is a total sweet pea when she thinks no one will notice or talk to her about it.
D-FSM: Oh, I love that husky sass! Our Harley had it, too! I can just picture Elsker now—makeup (husky eyeliner!) and spiky black leather boots and jacket!
Cameo, what message do you hope readers will walk away with after reading your book?
CA: It's
okay to mess up. Life is messy, but you can survive it - especially if
you're not alone. Elsker and our family had a lot of community support. 6
people said they witnessed the accident and would testify on behalf of Elsker.
We had a cousin, Joy, bring us dinner because she knew how broken up I was. And
Anthony's mom also brought quite a few meals. For a dog mom. Yes. They know me.
I basically had crate rest, too, because I refuse to be anywhere she couldn't
be. So my office was moved to be right by her X-pen.
Don't give up, forgive yourself, and don't be afraid to ask for help.
D-FSM: Such great advice, for any dog caregiver. Now, this
is not your first book, right? I know you’ve co-written books (including with your
own sister), and were the illustrator for many other authors, but Elsker is
your own second book? Was Those Husky Memes your first? And
you have published several of your own coloring books (I have two!), too? Is that
correct?
CA: The first coloring book was Sporting Snow Dogs. I think it's still on amazon.
My sister actually did the cover for that. Before she became a full stack
developer, she was every bit as good an artist as me. She could have easily
been better. I have published multiple coloring books (SaveAFox Rescue, Foxy
Family Rescue, A couple Moo Cow Adventure coloring books, Husky Halfway House coloring book, Those Husky Memes, My Husky Just Broke, and I think more that I've probably forgotten). For kids books, I did two comic books of a series called Pine Ridge:
Siberforce about the huskies of Pine Ridge doing cool stuff with their
magic "awwooooos."
There's a lot more projects, but that's a sampling. I can now always get first-round approval from KDP I've published so many. They never get rejected! I'm proud of that considering how I struggled setting up the first Moo Cow book I illustrated for the author, Cassandra.
D-FSM: How difficult is it to create images with such personality yet different for own illustrations and for each person you work with?
CA: You noticed! It's weird, because I don't always do it on purpose. It has to do with the books being done at separate times, and the look the author wants, too. Cassandra likes soft shaded images. Adrian (Adventures of Hot Rod Todd) likes the classic 2D animation/comic book look, and for Husky Halfway House I've done a mix of both. Elsker is like a more practiced/mature version of the soft style I started developing with the Moo Cow book.
D-FSM: Recently, you went out to Husky Halfway House in Oklahoma and painted some pretty amazing murals and a beautiful rainbow sidewalk (in the gif collage below) that anyone who follows the rescue's Facebook page, has seen the gorgeous rescued huskies running down! That's so exciting! How does it feel to know that your work is now part of this rescue, for all to enjoy?
CA: Well, it combines huskies, rescue, and art. It helps because it will bring tourists to the rescue to look at the art, and therefore, besides maybe getting some huskies adopted, it will help get the word out about how bad the situation is with so many dogs needing homes. Maybe people will be more careful when thinking about getting a new pet or letting theirs have puppies. So because that's really so important to me, I'm proud, happy, excited, and well, all the good emotions I can come up with about this. If I can, I'd like to go back and do some more artwork there. Eufaula is a town specifically known for it's murals. So that was an extra bonus helping of fun and anxiety. And hopefully those murals will be there long after I'm gone - saving dogs.
D-FSM: Any other projects coming up for you?
CA: I'm a nerd and working on a comic about Chernobyl. Two days ago was the 40 year anniversary of that accident. There's a lot - and I mean a LOT - of misinformation about it out there. But, you know me, there's also a lot to do with the dogs that live in the exclusion zone. And my story focuses a lot on them.
D-FSM: Yes! That coloring book! I think we've been discussing it on and off for...well, awhile! So looking forward to it!Anything
else you’d like readers to know about you, your gorgeous pack,
and/or you work?
CA: I try not to annoy anyone. It's hard to live in this world where adults don't
have manners (politics, religion, dog rescue, etc). If I could say something to
everyone reading this - be kind - even when you disagree on big subjects. You
will never change someone's mind by being unkind. The easiest path is usually
not the best. I have friends of all belief systems and we don't agree on a lot
of things, but I still love them. And that's what I want people to know and to
see. Be nice. "It's the internet" is a super poor excuse for lacking
basic manners.
It's not about my art, but this is the thing that people on social media need
to hear the most. Someone posting a photo of themselves is NOT an invitation
for people to leave them negative feedback. Critique when asked. Otherwise,
scroll by.
D-FSM: Such great advice. What this world needs more than ever today is kindenss. We don't all have to agree, and when we don't, just be courteous and respectful of each other.
Cameo, thank you so very much for "sitting down" with me! I look forward to your future projects, and that specific in-the-making coloring book! (wink-wink).
Follow Cameo At:
- Website: www.cameoanderson.com
- YouTube: Cameo Anderson Rescue Pet Artist
- at https://www.youtube.com/@cameoanderson
- Facebook: Cameo Anderson Writer/Illustrator at
- https://www.facebook.com/CameoPaints
- Facebook: My Strange Pack at
- https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571372878703
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I also had the pleasure of interviewing Cameo on my FiveSibes "The Sibe Vibe" podcast on Dog Works Radio back in 2013. So, pop in your earbuds and tune in any time to give a listen!
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