Clueless Gringos in Paradise

Adventures with My Husband, his PTSD, and Two Enormous Service Dogs

In a snap decision fueled by boredom, author Pamela Foster and her Vietnam Veteran husband, Jack, sell everything they own and set off for their new home—Bocas del Toro, Panama, a “tropical paradise.” Adventure and change are what they’re seeking, and it’s just what they find when they pick up the leashes of their two 150-pound service dogs and emigrate to a foreign country. Jack is a chronically impulsive former Marine with raging PTSD, and the service dogs, Chesty and Rocca, are mastiffs who are never farther away than the end of a leash.

Clueless Gringos in Paradise is as much about escape and adventure as it is companionship, and finding a balance between a wife who is prone to bursts of anxiety, a husband who thinks everything is “just fine,” and two giant dogs that are not cut out for long-distance travel proves to be as challenging as making an impromptu move to another country.

This story takes readers through a hilarious and harrowing journey on airplanes, boats, and buses, in taxis, high-rise hotels, restaurants, and cat-infested fish markets. Add a liberal dose of high anxiety—how could it not be hilarious?

Published: January 27, 2020
Publisher: Otterford
Genres:

Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction

Tags:

memoir, travel

About the Author

Pamela Foster

Pamela Foster lives in her hometown of Eureka, California in the coastal fog and rain of the west coast. A popular speaker and award winning author of contemporary fiction, historical fiction, memoirs and a collection of essays, Foster is currently working on a book of essays about caring for her husband as, together, they deal with the long-term, human costs of war.

Other Books By Pamela Foster

Stand-Alone Books

Boogie with Chesty

Clueless Gringos in Paradise

Fingernail Moon

Series: Bigfoot

Bigfoot Blues

Bigfoot Mamas

Series: Noisy Creek

Noisy Creek

Series: Soldier's Heart Trilogy

Soldier's Heart

Twice Upon a Crime

When Hollywood burns you, it’s time for a rewrite.
Fiona Moore is done playing nice with Hollywood. A former screenwriting star now sidelined by ageism and a biting sarcasm problem, she finds herself jobless, friendless, and left with only her dog and an impressive stash of disdain for the industry that’s ditched her. Enter Jack Reynolds, a bright-eyed, thirty-year-old film student with a boundless love for classic cinema—and a very distracting smile that makes Fiona question if a twenty-year age gap is really such a big deal. Despite her attempts to keep him at arm’s length, Jack is determined to help Fiona reclaim her place in the spotlight, and together they embark on a passionate, if snark-filled, quest to write the next great blockbuster.

But when their hard work is stolen by a sleazy Hollywood producer, Fiona and Jack decide to go off-script. Armed with a screenplay about the perfect crime, they set out to pull off the heist of a lifetime—one that’s clever, classy, and just this side of legal. As their partnership heats up on and off the page, they’ll discover that while Hollywood may be all about illusions, their feelings just might be the real deal.

Fast-paced, funny, and full of twists, Twice Upon a Crime is a madcap caper that will leave you cheering for this unlikely duo—because revenge is sweet, but falling in love is even sweeter.

The Long Goodnight

We’re not troublemakers. We’re trouble finders.
Step into a world where shadows hold secrets and cryptids rule the night. Ruby’s dream of exhilarating adventures takes a spine-chilling twist when she becomes an apprentice at The Goodnight Agency. But the supernatural underworld she thought she knew proves far more treacherous—and thrilling—than she ever imagined.
Goodnight is a hub for all things enigmatic and bizarre, a haven for creatures straight out of tabloid tales. Yet, as Ruby soon learns, mysteries are not merely stories. When an innocent old woman narrowly escapes murder, Ruby becomes a suspect .

Amidst the chaos, Ruby finds herself entangled with the Skohlars, a clandestine race of intelligent rats, entrusted with secrets potent enough to reshape reality itself. And as if that’s not enough, a group of kidnapped Sasquatches unravels a feud among The Scene’s own Guardians, leaving the agency in a perilous struggle.

The Long Goodnight is a pulse-pounding adventure where friendships are tested, mythical creatures come to life, and the line between reality and fantasy blurs.

Little Red Wraith

A tyrannical queen. A rising rebellion. A choice that will change everything.
All Anna wants is to grieve her sister in peace. But peace is the last thing she’ll get. After the tragic accident shatters her world, her life takes an even darker turn when her father is imprisoned in the castle and her mother is summoned by the ruthless queen. Terrified of losing what’s left of her family, Anna demands to go with them, despite the dangerous path ahead. As a shapeshifter who can’t transform, she’s already a target under the queen’s brutal laws—and the castle is the last place she wants to be.

Enter Redford, her sister’s former fiancé, with an offer she can’t ignore—join the Rising, a rebel force determined to tear down the queen’s rule. Redford promises refuge, but when a ghost from Anna’s past shows up with a twisted opportunity to serve the queen, the lines between right and wrong begin to blur.

Anna faces an impossible choice—join the Rising as their poison maker or stay at the castle and create a weapon so monstrous, it could change the kingdom forever.

Roan & Weatherford

Clueless Gringos in Paradise