DIANA L. GUERRERO’S ARK ANIMAL TRACKS
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Volume 2, Number 6 June 1, 2004
Publisher: Guerrero Ink
E-mail: guerreroink@yahoo.com or website http://www.arkanimals.com
Copyright © 2004 Diana L. Guerrero. All rights reserved
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Welcome to you new subscribers and welcome back to all you veteran subscribers!
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I am sending this newsletter out prior to the holiday with the wish that you have a safe and happy summer!
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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. What Animals Can Teach Us about Spirituality:
More Festivals & Tour Update
2. Animals: Juanita the Wallaby & Wallabies 101
3. Animal Adventures: Trip & Gift Ideas
4. Alliance of Writers: Fiction Writing Workshop
July 18th
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1. What Animals Can Teach Us about Spirituality
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Last month found me at the Latino Book & Family Festival in San Diego. Chase Home Finance sponsored my animal guest, “Juanita” the wallaby. They also hosted a book signing after my stage event.

The big surprise was that we found a banner bigger than my door with the picture of me with Camlo (the clouded leopard) and an insert of my book cover promoting the signing. The festival hopes to have me appear at other venues throughout the USA if they get a sponsor to pay my way. I like that idea!

The winner of the best event of the month has to be Barnes & Noble in Riverside, California. I had a great audience and a fabulous community relations manager. Everyone bought a personalized copy of the book and stayed to chat.

In July, I will meet with another manager in the chain to talk about doing large events throughout schools in the area. My bookstore tour is about done and now it is time to focus in on appearances that will support my work and give me greater exposure.

So, since two of the bigger events are this month I hope you will join me! The "Wildlife Festival" in Griffith Park should be fabulous and the "Blessing of the Animals" should be a blast. See below for details.
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If you are celebrating the Summer Equinox or Father’s Day—remember that personalized copies are the perfect gift for any animal lover or spiritually oriented person. You can ordered directly from the arkanimals.com website if your local bookstore doesn’t have them in stock.
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APPEARANCE & BOOK TOUR UPDATES
I am booking events for the fall and winter now. Confirmed appearance cities for this month include:

June 2-6, 2004 (Tuesday-Sunday, All Day) Book Expo America [Booth 1015] in Chicago, Illinois

June 13, 2004 (Sunday, 11:15 Talk, 11:45 Signing) Second Annual Wildlife Festival in Griffith Park, CA

June 19, 2004 (Saturday, 1:00pm) Barnes & Noble in Temecula, CA

June 21, 2004 (Thursday 6:30pm) Cat Behavior at The Learning Annex in San Diego, CA

June 26, 2004 (Saturday 12-2pm) Del Lagos Books in Lake Arrowhead, CA

June 27, 2004 (Sunday, 1pm) Blessing of the Animals at Pasadena Church of Truth in Pasadena, CA
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Events for business groups, service groups, and fundraisers for animal related groups are available. A fee schedule is available upon request. If you get a chance, be sure join me for one of my behavior or animal career courses!
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2. Animals: Juanita the Wallaby
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Sometimes you need an animal to add a bit of flair to an event. The Latino Book & Family Festival decided that was the case and arranged to have a wallaby join me on stage. We did attempt to bring in a Latino animal, but they wanted an Australian critter! Go figure.

Anyway, we changed the wallaby’s name to “Juanita” to fit in with the theme of the festival. (“Juanita” was also the star that attended the opening of “Kangaroo Jack,” but I don’t know the name she used for the premiere.) She didn’t enjoy the heat and was more interested in watching the curtains blow behind us on stage—giving the audience a nice view of her backside and profile rather than her lovely face.

Most working animals operate under a variety of names when doing public events or media work. The next time you watch a movie or television show keep a close eye on the animals. Usually there is more than one working. The animal understudies labor on the piece alongside the main animal actor. The animals are often overlooked in the credits, but occasionally you will see their real names mentioned. Just like human actors, they get name changes and act for the particular role.
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Rumors are circulating that the festival would like me to appear at some of their other festivals. I’ll be happy to do it if they find a sponsor. Maybe we will even have some animal ambassadors again. You can view the picture of Juanita, myself, Jim Sullivan (Latino Festival) and Clara B. Araiza-Varela (Chase Home Finance) on my website link from the index page--or at authorsden.com in my news area.
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WALLABIES 101
Wallabies are marsupials and small cousins to the kangaroo. Marsupials don’t exhibit a variety of facial expressions and are considered a primitive mammal with high flight tendencies if startled. In Australia wallabies and kangaroos are considered pests to ranchers, but they have some very interesting behaviors and adaptations.

The Bennett’s Wallaby, a subspecies of the Red Necked Wallaby, is actually found in Southeast Australia and Tasmania. In the wild these creatures are primarily nocturnal (active at night), but they can be lively in the early morning or dusk. They are herbivores and eat coarser grass than their sheep and cattle buddies.

Wallabies have a digestive process that is ruminant-like. Their digestive system contains microbes (bacteria, etc.,) that break down food to easily absorbed components.

Wild animals never make good pets and in captivity they are prone to “lump jaw.” They need a special captive diet that includes: rodent-lagomorph pellets, monogastric cubes, carrots, yams, hydroponics, browse, grass, mineral powder and salt blocks.

This species of wallaby can live up from 12 to 15 years in captivity and will weigh from 30-50 pounds. Females mature from 1-1.5 years while males mature 1.5-2 years of age. "Juanita is small, but at two years of age she is full grown.

Another unique adaptation they have is “embryonic diapause.” When a female becomes pregnant she can breed again, but that embryo will stop development until the other matures and weans--or dies. So, the female can give birth later without breeding again. Some refer to this as delayed implantation.

When born, the premature baby is the size of a kidney bean and actually worms its way out of the birth canal and up into the pouch through the stomach fur of the mother. Once in the pouch, it latches onto the teat and continues development. The joey, the correct term for the youngster, will eventually meander out around five to six months of age, but hop back in when threatened.

It looks funny when all you see the rear end and tail protruding from the pouch after a headfirst dive back into safety! The joey continues to nurse up to maturity.

This particular wallaby species is primarily solitary, but will hang out with others occasionally. Other species form “mobs” (the correct term for a group of kangaroos or wallabies) with social hierarchies.

Hunting permits are issued on these animals in their native countries. Their hides are used for souvenirs and their meat is popular for dog food.

Although these animals prefer to flee, they will use their tail as a kickstand to keep their balance and kick out with their hind legs as protection in a confrontation. Larger animals, like the kangaroo, can actually disembowel their enemy using this method.

Although you don’t see it too often now, some of you might remember, “boxing kangaroos.” In the past the activity was used as entertainment since the sparring behavior of the animal mirrors the boxing movements of humans.
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3. Animal Adventure: Trip & Gift Ideas
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TOUR WITH AN AUTHOR !
Don’t forget about the animal adventure trip to the Costa Rica Rainforest scheduled for departure on August 2, 2004. Prices include air, meals, and accommodations. (These fares do not include optional insurance and extension fees add $220 if you wish to extend your trip.)

Departures from different airports in the United States are available just specify “special travel request” when enrolling. Adult Fares:

Los Angeles, California (LAX): RT $1986
Ontario, California (ONT): RT $2131
San Diego, California (SAN): RT $1986

The advance preview of the August 2004 trip is now on the website at www.arkanimals.com or at www.eftours.com just enter tour ID#180396—you can enroll online today!
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GIFT IDEA: ARMCHAIR SAFARI SHIRTS NOW FOR SALE ONLINE AND AT EVENTS
The t-shirts and sweatshirts are now available from the website and at select events. Prices include tax, shipping and handling and support the website. They are the perfect gift for any animal lover and any book enthusiast! Both shirts include the Ark Animals Armchair Safari artwork. The short-sleeved t-shirt is a natural color ($20 events/$25 online) and the long-sleeved sweatshirt is a khaki color ($30 events/$35 online). You can view the lovely design and order directly from www.arkanimals.com/dlg/newanimalshirt.htm.
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4. Alliance of Writers: Fiction Writing Workshop
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The magazine writing workshop was a dynamic interchange with some talented writers. The next workshop is scheduled for July 18th. If you enroll by July 1st you can save $10 on the fiction writing workshop on July 18th. You can enroll online at www.allianceofwriters.com in the events area.

Brown Bag Symposium
Writing Fiction-Taking the Plunge.
Date: July 18, 2004
Discount enrollment deadline: July 1, 2004
Time: 10am-3pm (Includes 1/2 hour lunch break.)
Location: Fawnskin, California
Instructor: Mike Foley
Enrollment is limited.
Fee: $49 (Non-Members) prior to July 1, 2004 (add $10 to fees on/after July 1.)
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DETAILS: BROWN BAG SYMPOSIUM (Bring your lunch.)
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Join instructor (writer and editor) Mike Foley and facilitator, Diana L. Guerrero for a workshop designed to take your fiction to a new level.

The second of our brown bag symposiums, this writing workshop covers all the basics of fiction writing. Novice or veteran writers will take home a wealth of information. If you have not experienced Mr. Foley's guidance before--you certainly will not want to miss this!

Topics to be covered include:
-viewpoint
-dialogue
-action
-description
-characters
and more!

You'll receive valuable handouts and writing exercises, learn tips on submitting material, handling rejection and more. This event begins at 10am. You'll have a break for lunch and then get back to work. Instruction ends at 3pm, but you'll want to continue networking after!

About the Instructor: Mike Foley works as a journalist, freelance writer and editor. With a wide variety of experience and over 700 published works, he has a wealth of knowledge to share. He runs Writer's Review (a critique service), teaches writing for the UC-Riverside Extension, and conducts writing retreats.
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Please feel free to share this newsletter with anyone who is on the lookout for new books, speakers, and courses related to animals or writing.

Don’t forget to tell your friends about this newsletter and recommend that they sign up. To subscribe to this newsletter enroll at www.arkanimals.com or www.allianceofwriters.com.

PRIVACY STATEMENT: Subscriber information will not be distributed to anyone.

Note: The subscribe/unsubscribe option for this newsletter is on all my websites. If you signed up electronically, this information was included in your verification email. If you signed up at an event, you were entered into that private database and can be removed by following the instructions sent to you in the enrollment verification email.

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Thanks for joining me. If you have a topic you would like to see covered in this newsletter, please email your suggestion to: guerreroink@yahoo.com. If you would like to advertise or sponsor an event, contact me below.
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ARK ANIMAL TRACKS
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Copyright © 2004 by Diana L. Guerrero
PO Box 1989-215
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