Book excerpt: In five beautifully observed stories for adults, Zoë Jasko’s third book explores the relationships between people and their pets and why the love they share is so frequently celebrated in painting. Paco: Bartolo and his pet dog teach headstrong Consuela to dance flamenco at the Seville April Fair – to her parents’ disgust. Percival: Emily, unhappy in a stale marriage, buys a painting of a sheep at an art show which leads to an unexpected chain of events. Guy: Edward lives with his parrot on a houseboat near Keswick. Their secret threatens to destroy a special relationship. Smokey: Derek, retired and widowed, has a date with Jenny. All seems to go well until he meets her cat. Winnie: Anna is desperate to keep her dog safe when the bombs fall during the Blitz. She will go to any lengths. Endorsements "The imagery Zoë Jasko conjures up with her poetic language, where each sentence rises and falls like the cadence of a song to the rhythm of the heart, is every bit as rich and vivid a painting as the pet portraits from which she draws her initial inspiration. Her narrator describes the feeling of ‘sitting at the edge of a picture, up close against the frame’, but her prose takes us over that edge, right to the core of each scene. Her stories of love, friendship, acceptance, loss and personal growth stir more feelings than I can name, leaving my jaw aching from smiling and my eyes stinging with tears." Anna McNay #TheCriticWithTheDog "Zoë has imagination in abundance and a talent at being able to keep the reader guessing until the very end and it’s often unexpected and this, her latest book of five cherished pets, does exactly that. Each story is different and, as a pet lover, had me hooked, playing with the mind and heartstrings alike. I enjoyed them all, but if I had to choose a favourite, it would be ‘Guy’, as he was quite a character. "Zoë’s books are for anyone wishing to escape, if only for a moment, and immerse themselves in the wonders of fiction, fact and fantasy and have been a pleasure to read and re-read." Shelagh Fairbank, author and illustrator "This book will resonate instantly with all pet lovers. Zoe's prose effortlessly captures the many meaningful levels of mutual understanding between two equals. These portraits, both in prose and pictures- are a poignant manifestation and a permanent reminder of those unquestioning partnerships. A new classic has been safely delivered." Peter Waine, author and illustrator "Winnie - what a beautiful story! Ultimately an uplifting tale about the never-ending bond between dog and human, and how this endures even through the brutality of war. Seen through the eyes of Anna, a freshly de-mobbed former WAAF member, the reader is taken through the emotional ups and downs of her recent life story told to an equally freshly demobbed soldier sharing the same railway carriage. "There is fear, despair, anger, and tragic loss……but in the end the emotions of hope and a lasting love leave the reader knowing…..all will be well." Kevan Hodges CEO Ferne Animal Sanctuary