One of my favorite characters in the Meg Langslow series is her grandfather, Dr. J. Montgomery Blake, the eminent zoologist and environmentalist. Dr. Blake first entered Meg’s life in The Penguin Who Knew Too Much. While on a visit to Caerphilly, he saw a picture of Meg in the local paper and was stunned to realize that she was a dead ringer for his long-lost college girlfriend, Cordelia. And when his research revealed that Meg’s father was found as an infant in the fiction section of the very library where he used to meet Cordelia, Dr. Blake deduced—and a DNA test subsequently confirmed—that he and the Langslows were related. Dr. Blake has been a part of Meg’s life—and my books—ever since.
Here, Dr. Blake reveals a few details about what happens in The Good, the Bad, and the Emus.
Remarks by Dr. J. Montgomery Blake to the members of SPOOR (Society for the Preservation of Owls and Raptors)
[With editorial comments by Caroline Willner of the Willner Wildlife Sanctuary.]
Caroline—I’ve got to give a speech at that wretched SPOOR meeting. Can you take quick look at my draft—M
Monty—only if you actually pay attention to what I say this time—C
Fellow bird lovers.
Thank you for coming this evening. I think we can promise you a fascinating discussion on our recent rescue and rehoming of a large flock of Dromaius novaehollandiae—
They’re not all ornithologists. Forget the Latin—just tell them it’s emus.
—better known as the emu. As I’m sure most of you know, emus are native to Australia, and at up to two meters in height, they are the largest extant species after their ratite relatives, Struthio camelus, the common ostrich.
Meters schmeters. Tell them the blasted things are well over six feet tall.
In other words, over six feet tall, while ostriches, which are native to Africa, can be up to eight feet. In the 1990s, farmers in the United States began commercially farming both ostriches and emus for the feathers, meat, eggs, leather, and in the case of the emu, the oil, which is reputed to have medicinal properties. However, ostrich and emu farming did not prove to be as profitable as anticipated, and over the last two decades the number of emu farms has dropped precipitously.
I recently learned of the existence of a large flock of feral emus in Riverton, Virginia–
You learned? How about giving Cordelia and Annabel some credit?
—thanks to a communication from two long-time residents of Riverton, Mrs. Cordelia Mason and Miss Annabel Lee. Apparently the owner of the nearby Biscuit Mountain Ostrich and Emu Ranch fell into financial difficulties and simply turned his birds loose. Some of them were reported to be surviving in the wild.
Reported? The ladies were feeding them for years.
We had no idea how well they were surviving. It was possible they were hanging on, but not thriving, in which case we needed to rescue them and rehome them in a place that could give them proper care. And if they were thriving, then we knew they were probably having a detrimental effect on the native ecosystem, in which case we needed to capture them and confine them in a place that would care for them without letting them damage the environment.
Now would be a good moment to mention who’s taking care of the birds, you know.
I am happy to say that the birds are now living at the Willner Wildlife Foundation, whose director, Caroline Willner, was instrumental in helping round them up.
That’s better.
As I’m sure you are aware, emus are taller than we are, with razor-sharp talons and a kick like a mule, and can reach speeds of thirty miles an hour, so this expedition was a little more difficult than, say, sheep herding. In fact, it proved to be an unusually dangerous project, not just because of the emus—
You’re not going to get into the murders, are you? Isn’t this supposed to be about the emus?
—but also because we once more encountered human foes more interested in commercial gain than in the emus or the environment.
Well, okay, but that’s probably enough about the creeps. They could still try to sue you, you know.
But we’re here to talk about the emus! So without further ado, let’s get to the video. Can somebody dim the lights? Anybody? Until somebody finds the light switch—
Don’t worry. Meg will take care of it.
[The lights dim.]
Now, in this first shot . . .
You can read more about Dr. Blake in The Good, the Bad, and the Emus, the 17th book in the “Meg Langslow” mystery series, published by Minotaur. The first book in the series is Murder with Peacocks.
GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment by 6 p.m. eastern on July 21 for the chance to win a copy of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE EMUS. (US entries only, please.)
Meet the author
Donna Andrews is the author of seventeen (soon to be eighteen!) books in her Meg Langslow series from Minotaur. After The Good, the Bad, and the Emus (July 2014) comes The Nightingale Before Christmas (October 2014).
You can reach Donna at her website, on Twitter or on Facebook.
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I have this book and just started to read it. I love this series. Count me out this time. 🙂
I want to get into this series. It looks like it is a riot.
This sounds like a great book, love the cover 🙂
Sounds like a fun read—thanks for the opportunity to win a copy!
I enjoy this series. It also makes me laugh at times.
I think grandfathers almost always make great characters! And emus!! What more could you want!?
Absolutely one of my top 10 favorites…. I love the quirkiness of the family and the way they make me laugh out loud. I was very glad that Dr. B stayed.
I love this series. Thanks for having this giveaway.
What a delightful and funny post! (No, you don’t have to include me in the drawing.) And I am so jealous of your titles, something I struggle with (my publisher comes up with some rather odd ideas).
I was privileged to see an emu in the wild in Australia, and was told that the daddy emus take care of the babies. True or false? I have yet to meet a wild emu in Massachusetts, but I’ll keep my eyes open.
Ms Andrews is noted for creating cozies that make the reader laugh and fall in love with the characters. Would love to win this book.
I have been wanting to start this series forever! Thank you for the chance to win! lisaksbookreview@aol.com
I already have the book, so no need to enter, but I wanted to share a short story. I was riding my horse through the woods and saw very large bird tracks. To my shock, an emu came rushing out of the undergrowth straight at me and Miss Scrapiron. My horse bolted (good sense there!) and we were almost home before I got her to stop. I called the local human society and they herded the emu into a horse trailer and took it to a safe place. Emus can run really fast! It scared me half to death.
The story sounds like a lot of fun and the Emus, while kind of comical-looking, are actually really interesting birds, at least I think so. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
I would love to get this book and keep up with this fun series.
Love Meg and her family!! Can’t wait to read this book in the series.
I love this series and can’t wait for the next one. Caerphilly is one of the fictional places I would love to visit!
Gosh, I love her books, hope to get a chance to read this one!
I love stumbling unknowingly onto a good author that also happens to have a great series. I picked up Murder with Peacocks on a whim and could not stop laughing through the whole story. This series never disappoints!
I have to admit that I’ve read this book already and thought it was hilarious. They always are. Meg’s family is a hoot – they mean well but often cause more problems than they fix but it all turns out well at the end. My daughter waits for me to finish the book so she can start it. We’ve been fans since the start.
I can’t wait to read the latest from this wonderfully entertaining family.
Can’t wait to read it!!
Got a library card just to get one of her books to read. Hope to enjoy this series along with my favorite Evanovich books.k
This a different sounding book and I am anxious to read it.
This sounds like a fun series!
Would love to win this book! Love the cover and what a great blog post!!
WANT 🙂 I’ll have to wait to get this from the library (EMT out on disability, don’t have spare cash) I’ve read ALL of her books – Love Donna!!!
Look forward to your books every summer!
I’m waiting for my copy to come in at the library. I hope I win as I really can’t wait to read this book.
Love your books!
I Love this series and emus are so appropriate this time. I was driving to work one day here in Georgia and saw an emu standing on the side of the road. No one believed my until the evening news, when it was reported a local man’s emu had gotten out and it took the wildlife men some time to catch. They weren’t actually trained to catch emus.
This sounds like rip snorting fun!
libbydodd at comcast dot net
You’ve given me many hours of mystery and mayhem infused with lots of humor! Thank you!
Great series. I am eager to read the latest bird book.
I love how you added in another main character by finding long ago lovers. Keeps the series fresh and alive in such a cleaver way. I just like the sound of the emu bird. Hope you never run out of birds!!
Can hardly wait to read this–I’m always jumping up and down while waiting for Meg & Co.’s next adventure!
I just finished this book and it was awesome! I cannot wait for October!
One of those series that just keeps getting better. thanks Donna!
I love the Meg Langslow series. I first The Penguin who knew too much and was hooked ever since! Donna is one of my favorite author!
Can’t wait to read this!
Any book with emus in the title has to be a fun cozy. Put my name in the hat.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
I look forward to her books enjoy them greatly. I love how Meg interacts with her loving, but stressful family. Having emus involved gives me a charge as the home I grew up in was on land that had in the Edwardian era been a ostrich ranch to provide feathers for women’s hats.
Looking forward to reading this latest entry in a very good cozy series. I was enthralled with the llamas, and I expect to be equally taken with emus.
It sounds humorous as well as educational
Oh, this sounds too fun, I’m glad I got the first book, I’ve got to go get started. Thanks for the chance to win.
Love this author’s books! Looking forward to reading this one. Thanks for the chance to win.
Sheila, according to my research, yes; the male emus sit on the nest while the female sometimes goes off to lay another batch of eggs with another male. The females also do the courting.
Peggy Ann, I love the idea of an Edwardian ostrich ranch!
Donna Andrews is the greatest. She’s also “for the birds.” 🙂
Ii sounds like a fun read.
I love this series, can’t wait for each new book.
I love this series! Donna Andrews has me in stitches!
Love the title! Can;t read to learn about emus.
Oops! Can’t wait…
Love Donna’s books. Thanks for giving us a chance to win a book.
love the titles in this series!!!
thank you for the giveaway!!
Love this series!!
Love Meg!!
Thanks for the giveaway!
I love the books by Donna Andrews! I always enjoy rereading them, too.
I haven’t read this series, but it sounds fun.
kaye.killgore@comcast.net
Sounds really good, will have to add this author to my must read list.
Sounds like a great series.
I’m almost embarrassed to say I’ve never read Donna Andrews before. As much as I love humor in my books when I’m reading, I need to try Donna Andrews!! Thanks for the giveaway!
I always enjoy reading Donna Andrews. This is one of my favorite series. Thank you for a chance to win a copy of The Good, the Bad and the Emus.
Sorry to report that I have not read one of Donna’s books in a long long time. This one sounds so good/funny so I should get back into this series I know I should.
Have a great weekend.
I love to have a new series to read!
I have read COCKATIELS AT SEVEN and possible others. I know I enjoyed COCKATIELS very much so I’m quite sure I’d enjoy THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE EMUS.
I’ve actually been to an Emus farm / ranch. Several years ago we were visiting my Brother-in-law and he and his wife took us to one – or were they ostrichs?. Now I can’t remember which. Interesting anyway.
Love you Donna! I had the pleasure of meeting her at Murder on the Beach’s booth at the Miami International Book Fair several years back. I should dig up the photo a revisit it on my blog.
Oh I LOVE emu’s…they are just so ugly! Would love to read this!
Hi I haven’t read this series yet, it’s new to me and looking forward to it.
I just love these books. Can’t wait to get a copy.
This book sounds very interesting, and I love the cover. Thanks for this chance to win it.
contest is closed.