A Lost Cat One Grumpy Goat = A P-u-r-r-fect Mess! Twelve-year-old Lily Vanessa Shields is in for a wild surprise when her hunt for a stray cat's owner leads her straight to the girls of the Twelve Candles Club. As happy as she is to meet the TCCers, Lily Vanessa isn't sure whether the girls will accept an African-American girl as a friend. But the club members' warm welcome helps erase Lily Vanessa's fears, and soon all of them are caught up in the search for Cat's home. When the trail brings the girls to a rundown house on the edge of town, they are hired by the owner to care for a gazillion cats and dogs and one nasty old goat. They've never taken on a job like this! Is this pet-sitting project more than Lily Vanessa and her new friends can handle? What Has Lily Vanessa Gotten Herself Into?
Today, you might find Elaine Schulte at the gym, observing from the sidelines as young gymnasts take their first tumbles on the balance beam. Tomorrow, she might be sitting a few rows from a stage, watching as kids audition for Christian theater.
When you find Schulte, you'll notice she's holding a pen in one hand and a notebook in the other. Whatever kind of book she's writing whether historical fiction, a book for preteens, or an adult novel she feels that research is necessary to create an accurate, relevant story. "I do a lot more research than you'd think," says the author of 27 novels.
Lily Vanessa has lots of reasons to sing. God and her family are good, and just maybe she's found some new friends. Oh, and she even experienced pettrifying pet panic and lived to tell about it. Well done!