Beside Every Great Writer is a Good Dog

by Peggy Tibbetts

Lord Byron and Boatswain

When it comes to wearing their hearts on their sleeves, writers have gone to the dogs. Lord Byron was enormously fond of his Newfoundland named Boatswain, whom he nursed until his death after he was infected with rabies. The poet inscribed Boatswain’s headstone with one of his best-known texts, “Epitaph to a Dog.” Like Byron before him, American playwright Eugene O’Neill wrote a touching eulogy to his Dalmatian, Blemie. Sword and sorcery fiction writer Robert E. Howard’s dog Patches was named after the famous jester who disappointed the king and was sent outside to sleep with the dogs.

Reclusive poet Emily Dickinson had a Newfoundland named Carlo. Together they roamed the meadows and woods surrounding her home in Amherst, Massachusetts. Dickinson remarked that dogs are better than people because “they know – but do not tell.” New England novelist Edith Wharton’s husband suffered from acute depression so she found companionship in her six lapdogs, including Chihuahuas, Pekingese, and Poodles. Emily Brontë kept a ferocious canine brute named Keeper. It was she who tamed him of his aggression and it is widely believed he changed her life.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Cocker Spaniel, Flush was her devoted friend while she was confined to her sickbed in London. Browning wrote about Flush’s adventures in letters to her friends. Her beloved dog was dognapped twice and ransomed. She eulogized Flush in a slushy poem, “To Flush, My Dog.” Virginia Woolf’s first published essay was an obituary of her dog. Years later, her tribute to Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her famous canine companion, Flush: A Biography was published. Though largely ignored in her bibliography Flush remains Woolf’s bestselling book to date.

Dog lover and psychologist Maureen Adams wrote about these wonderful women writers and their dogs in Shaggy Muses: The Dogs WhoInspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, EdithWharton, and Emily Brontë. 

When the New York chapter of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) charged E. B. White with non-payment of the dog tax, he wrote a letter defending his dachsund, Minnie. His charming letter was published in the anthology Letters of a Nation. It begins:

2 April 1951

Dear Sirs:

I have your letter, undated, saying that I am harboring an unlicensed dog in violation of the law. If by “harboring” you mean getting up two or three times every night to pull Minnie’s blanket up over her, I am harboring a dog all right. The blanket keeps slipping off. I suppose you are wondering by now why I don’t get her a sweater instead. That’s a joke on you. She has a knitted sweater, but she doesn’t like to wear it for sleeping; her legs are so short they work out of a sweater and her toenails get caught in the mesh, and this disturbs her rest. If Minnie doesn’t get her rest, she feels it right away. I do myself, and of course with this night duty of mine, the way the blanket slips and all, I haven’t had any real rest in years. Minnie is twelve.

Read the rest of the letter HERE. 

For your added enjoyment here are links to more photos of writers and their pets:

Jill KrementzPhoto Journal — Top Dogs

AdorablePictures of Famous Writers and Their Pets

*****

Peggy Tibbetts is the author of the nonfiction dogoir, Crazy Bitch: Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder. The Kindle Award for Excellence in nonfiction was awarded to Crazy Bitch in July 2014.

“Crazy Bitch is a great read. Not only is it an excellent look into the world of canine mental illness, but also in coping with bully behavior. Tibbetts writes in a style that draws you in, as if you’re a friend. Within a few pages, you’ll find yourself caring more than perhaps you’d like to about Venus and cheering on the author in her quest to provide her dog with the best life possible.” -- Sue Kottwitz, “Talking DogsBlog” 

Visit Peggy's website. 

A Cat by Any Other Name

by Lois Winston

Shortly after my husband and I became a couple, a stray cat wandered onto our friends’ property and gave birth to a litter of kittens. When Mama Cat subsequently lost her life to a speeding car, we became the proud adoptive parents of two kittens from that litter. We named one Bulldog McNurkle and the other Grayface. For the life of me, I can’t remember the reason behind the names. Stranger still, Grayface somehow morphed into Frog.

Like all babies, no matter the species, kittens are not born with fully developed motor skills. This fact was made clear to me one day while I was taking a bath. Frog nosed open the bathroom door, jumped up onto the tub ledge, and proceeded to lose his footing, falling into the water. Before I could scoop him up, he used my back as a ladder to climb his way out. I think I still have scars from his claws.

While still kittens, one of Bulldog’s and Frog’s favorite pastimes was to race across the living room, take a flying leap, and claw up our drapes. One day my husband and I came home from work to find the drapes in shreds. The cats had grown too heavy for the fabric to support their weight.

Another time we arrived home to find defrosted pork chops sitting on the living room floor. Because we had a galley kitchen open to the living room, I used to put frozen food in the spare bedroom to defrost. On that particular day, I apparently hadn’t made sure the door was securely latched. You’d think I would have learned my lesson after the bathtub incident.

Unfortunately, after several years of progressively worsening allergies that eventually caused me to develop bronchial asthma, we found it necessary to find new parents for our boys. Cats haven’t been part of our family for many years, yet they often play a role – usually a comical one – in my fiction.

In my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, my protagonist’s much-married mother claims to descend from Russian royalty. Her extremely corpulent white Persian cat is named Catherine the Great. And believe me, she’s every inch the reincarnation of her namesake – proud, regal, demanding, and not one to suffer fools – or dogs – lightly. This causes all sorts of mayhem in the Pollack household where Mama is forced to share a bedroom with Anastasia’s communist mother-in-law and her dog, aptly named Manifesto. Catherine the Great and Manifesto get along as well as their two owners. In other words, they fight like...well, like cats and dogs. Or Russian royalty and Bolsheviks.

You’ll find Catherine the Great strutting her stuff in all four of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries – Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, Death by Killer Mop Doll, Revenge of the Crafty Corpse, and Decoupage Can Be Deadly.

In Hooking Mr. Right, a romantic comedy I wrote under my Emma Carlyle pen name, you’ll find Cu (short for Cupid,) a punk-rock looking alley cat.

After writing a doctoral thesis that exposed fraud in the pop-psychology genre, thirty-two year old professor Althea Chandler has to sacrifice her professional integrity to save her family from financial disaster. She secretly becomes best-selling romance guru Dr. Trulee Lovejoy, a self-proclaimed expert on how to catch a man, even though Thea’s a miserable failure when it comes to relationships – especially those with the opposite sex.

Burned by a failed marriage, Luke Bennett finds himself pursued by Dr. Lovejoy toting women after a gossip columnist dubs him New York’s most eligible bachelor. When he at first mistakes Thea for one of the women out to snare him, sparks fly, but the two soon find themselves battling sparks of a less hostile nature, thanks in part to the aforementioned alley cat.

Luke believes he’s finally found an honest woman. Unfortunately, Thea is anything but honest. She’s got more secrets than the CIA and a desperate gossip columnist out to expose her. Cupid definitely has his work cut out for him, but like all cats, he’s got a mind of his own. And he’s not about to let human stubbornness stand in the way of a happy ending.

Award-winning author Lois Winston writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series featuring magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. She’s also published in women’s fiction, romance, romantic suspense, and non-fiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Lois is also an award-winning crafts and needlework designer and an agent with the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency. Visit her at http://www.loiswinston.com, visit Emma at http://www.emmacarlyle.com, and visit Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers character blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com.

Novel Settings - Beyond Geography

by Sheila Webster Boneham

Setting is an essential part of many mysteries, as well as other types of fiction. Some settings are important enough to be regarded as "characters" of a sort – Tony Hillerman’s Southwest, John Connolly’s Maine, J.A. Jance’s Arizona and Seattle, Carl Hiassen’s Florida – well, I could go on for pages!

My own mystery Animals in Focus mystery series featuring 50-something animal photographer Janet MacPhail, her Australian Shepherd Jay, and her orange tabby Leo, occupies a number of settings, if you will. Some of these might be unnecessary in a stand-alone novel, but because this a series with an “accidental” amateur sleuth, several series sub-plots weave through the stories, and each has what I call a “sub-setting.”

Downtown Fort Wayne at night.

The major setting is, of course, geographical: Janet lives in Fort Wayne and gets around to other parts of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. I chose the area partly because I grew up there and know it well, and partly because it is a beautiful part of the country that often gets short shrift from outsiders who think all of Indiana is the fairly flat stretch of farmland from just west of Toledo to just east of Chicago. To dispel the "nothing but corn, beans, and steel mills" stereotype, I send my protagonist, Janet MacPhail, to the lakes, rivers, forests, and ravines of the state as well as the cities, small towns, and occasional quirky attractions. (Seriously, have you ever been to a pickle festival?) She also gets around her hometown a lot, and spends her time and money in local small businesses like The Firefly Coffee House and The Cookie Cottage (real places and worth a visit!).

The sit-stay in an obedience trial.

The series is also set in the world of canine and feline competitions, training, and other activities. Drop Dead on Recall (2012), the first book, opens when a competitor keels over during the “drop on recall” exercise in an obedience trial, and much of the action takes place in “doggy” settings. I have been involved in that world for more than two decades as a competitor, breeder, rescuer, instructor, judge, and writer, so it’s a setting I know well. Even better, it’s populated with all manner of characters, with and without fur.

My Lab, Annie (1993-2006), doing what retrievers do!

Book two, The Money Bird (2013), finds Janet and Jay at retriever training sessions with Janet's friend Tom and his Labrador Retriever, Drake. Catwalk (forthcoming fall 2014) takes us to canine and feline agility rings and a cat show. Janet's cat, Leo, finally gets his due!

Please note – although I don’t mind an occasional talking critter (Carole Nelson Douglas’ Midnight Louie is one of my favorites!), the animals in my books are as realistic as I can make them. They don’t talk, and we don’t get into their heads except through their behaviors (although personally I would give a lot for five minutes inside a dog’s, cat’s, or horse’s mind!). I just happen to think animals are far more interesting as animals than as “fur people.”

Finally, Janet’s mother is wrestling with dementia, and Janet has to meet that challenge with a lot of help from her new friend Tom Saunders and a little less help from her brother, Bill. So the third setting in which Janet spends some time is the Shadetree Retirement Home, complete with therapy cat  and dog, and a garden therapy program. 

Each setting is a little world of its own, but they overlap and provide a textured background in which the series can play out. 

~~~

For more information about the Animals in Focus mysteries, and the series, please visit my website Mysteries Page, and for immediate news join me on Facebook or Twitter.

Autographed copies of Drop Dead on Recall, The Money Bird, and my nonfiction books, including Rescue Matters, from Pomegranate Books. 

Also available from your favorite bookseller (think Indie!) and online: Paperback and Kindle editions HERE

Audible editions HERE

Sheila Webster Boneham writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. She started this blog as a way to bring readers and authors together over all sorts of writing that involves animals in some way. Learn more at Sheila's Website. 

Writing Serious Issues in Entertaining Mysteries

by Sheila Webster Boneham

If you have read any of my Animals in Focus mysteries, you know that dogs and cats and other critters are vital characters. After all, the series isn't called Animals in Focus for nothing. In fact, each book in the series spotlights a different "animal activity" and each mystery hinges on a serious real-world issue. Just as they do in real life, serious issues can create major problems for writers.

In, Drop Dead on Recall, we meet 50-something animal photographer Janet MacPhail and her Australian Shepherd, Jay, at an obedience trial, where Janet watches as a top-level competitior keels over in the open obedience class. Soon Janet, Jay, and their very important feline family member, Leo, find themselves embroiled in a series of murders that seem to be linked to breeder ethics (or lack thereof) and cut-throat competitiveness. 

In The Money Bird (2013), Janet has her lens focused on retrievers training for AKC retrieving tests, especially the handsome Drake and his almost-as-handsome person, anthropologist Tom Saunders. Drake, too, is inspired by the three Labs I've owned and and the many I've rescued over the years, especially my first Lab, Raja, a big chocolate field-bred goofball. Here he is with my beautiful Malcolm, who was one of the real-life models for Leo.

In Catwalk (coming fall 2014), Janet spends time competing in both canine and feline agility. Yes, it's true -- competitive sports are not just for dogs anymore! (Cats are often lured through agility courses, but in Catwalk, Janet clicker trains Leo just as she does Jay. Here's a video of clicker-trained agility cats - I LOVE this kid and his cats!) The very politically and emotionally charged issue in the book is feral cat colonies and the Trap-Neuter-Release approach to managing them. 

A number of challenges presented themselves as soon as I began writing the series. First, I decided early on that I wanted to stay away from graphic or gratuitous violence and sex. Sure, people are killed, and Janet and Tom are fully engaged romantically, but I prefer to let readers use their imaginations rather than spell everything out. And since I am turned off by violence or sex that serve shock value rather than the story, I assume many other readers are as well.

The second major challenge was to find ways to introduce serious issues without shouting from one of my soap-boxes. Those, I knew, needed to be tucked under my desk, not splashed all over my books.

Setting these limits on myself is helpful in some ways, restrictive in others. After all, I'm writing about creatures and issues that stir intense feelings in me as well as in my readers, and it isn't always easy to stifle myself. Many authors face this problem in fiction, where characters and story (plot, if you prefer) are the real focus. So how do we strike a balance? Not all of us do - I'm sure we've all read books in which the author's passion for some cause overshadowed everything else. If you're like me, you may have quit reading. I don't like to be bludgeoned when I'm reading mostly to be entertained.

On the other hand, I do like to learn new things, and I have often read fiction that teased me into looking for more information about something.

I hope I'm striking that balance in my own fiction. In The Money Bird, wildlife trafficking is the larger issue woven into the plot. It's an ugly business, and I've tried to present it in a way that will encourage people to learn more without overdoing it. Judging by reader response, I think I've managed to open some eyes and inspire some research without detracting from the story itself. At least I hope so! 

Catwalk is in production for its release this coming fall, and I'm working now on the next book in the series. Activity and issue, you ask?  Livestock handling (i.e., herding), and rustling. Yes, we still have cattle and horse rustlers in our midst. But more on that later....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information about the Animals in Focus mysteries, and the series, please visit my website Mysteries Page, and for immediate news join me on Facebook or Twitter.

Autographed copies of Drop Dead on Recall, The Money Bird, and my nonfiction books, including Rescue Matters, from Pomegranate Books. 

Also available from your favorite bookseller (think Indie!) and online: Paperback and Kindle editions HERE

Audible editions HERE

Sheila Webster Boneham writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. She started this blog as a way to bring readers and authors together over all sorts of writing that involves animals in some way. Learn more at Sheila's Website. 

Animals in Focus Mysteries Characters Help Real Animals in Need

by Sheila Webster Boneham

 

Do you know any pet owners who wouldn't like to have their own pets appear in a a novel? When I asked myself that question a couple of years ago, I couldn't think of anyone, so I pitched an idea to two organizations whose causes I strongly support. My proposal was this: let's team up to raffle off guest parts for two dogs - one for each group's winner - in The Money Bird, my second Animals in Focus Mystery. I wrote about the raffles last year in "Could Your Dog Be a Sleuth?"

The first group to hold its raffle was LABMED,  an Internet-based non-profit organization created to distribute financial aid to injured or ill rescued Labrador Retrievers around the country, giving them a second chance at adoption and love from a permanent family. Since The Money Bird spotlights retriever training, and since character Tom Saunders has a black Lab named Drake, LABMED was a natural choice.  (Besides, I've had Labs in my life since 1988, founded Labrador Retriever Rescue of Indiana, Inc., in 1993, and wrote the award-winning Simple Guide to Labrador Retrievers, so how could I not support Labby dabbies?)

LABMED made $200 on the raffle to help with medical expenses for a rescued Lab. The winner of the LABMED raffle, seen here with his owner Diana Holman, is Lennen, who was a ten-year-old rescued boy who was turned in by his owners. They had kept him out in the backyard all his life. Aside from having landed in heaven with Diana, her six other Labs, with a comfy indoor couch to sleep on, Lennen also landed a part in The Money Bird, my second Animals in Focus mystery. Doesn't he look pleased about it all? Sadly, Lennen is now playing at the Rainbow Bridge, but he lives on in his fictional role ~ a heroic one, at that! ~ and I'm sure he is smiling at us from the Bridge.

I won't tell you what he does in the book, but the "Money Bird" Lennen has an interesting job, to say the least. You can tell by the grin on his face that Lennen liked the idea.

The second raffle was sponsored by Canine Health Events, a diverse gathering of dog lovers from across the country who are dedicated to improving the lives and health of dogs. Using normal dog events, they raise money for canine health research both through entry fees and additional fund-raisers, such as raffles, auctions and sponsorships. They held the main part of the raffle online, with additional sales and their drawing at their big agility trial on June 8, 2012. I'm delighted to say that CHE raised $2,000 with this raffle, all of which went to support research on canine health issues. 


The winner of the CHE raffle is Pilot, whose official name is MACH3 V-NATCH Gallopin'Jet Pilot CDX JH FTC WC VCX ADHF CCA CGC PS1. According to owner and compeitition partner Stephanie Schmitter, Pilot "is a very athletic and versatile golden retriever." That should be obvious from his titles! (For the unitiated, he is a Master Agility Champion three times over and has additional titles in agility, obedience and field, with a lifetime ranking of #66 for Golden Retrievers in AKC agility). Stephanie says, "He loves field work and will retrieve on land or in water until you make him stop" - which makes him perfect for The Money Bird, which features retrievers of all flavors training in the water and on land!

Stephanie writes, "Pilot will retrieve just about anything and is very helpful in picking things up around the house, including any shoes left around as well as his food bowl when he is finished eating.  But the thing he loves most in life is a tennis ball.  Although he is 8 years old, he acts like a puppy when he sees a tennis ball.  And he loves to carry 2 balls at a time!"

The third book in the series, Catwalk, has canine and feline agility, a cat show, and a feral cat colony, so when it came time to think about a character raffle, I went to the cats. Mackenzie, pictured here and owned & loved by Matt & Lisa Chin, won a guest role in the book, and her raffle ticket helped Support F.I.P. Research. Sadly, FIP took Mackenzie much to young, but she lives on in her fictional role and in hope for healthy cats.

A new character raffle is in the works for the fourth book in the Animals in Focus series ~ I will share details in a month or so, so please stay tuned! I'd like to thank EVERYONE who enters these raffles, because in my book ~ the big book of life ~ you're all winners for supporting such worthwhile causes and having faith in my new mysteries, too.

For more information about the Animals in Focus mysteries, and the series, please visit my website Mysteries Page, and for immediate news join me on Facebook at my author's page.

Autographed copies of Drop Dead on Recall, The Money Bird, and my nonfiction books, including Rescue Matters, from Pomegranate Books.

Also available from your favorite bookseller (think Indie!) and online: Paperback and Kindle editions HERE

Audible editions HERE

 

 

 

Writers & Other Animals are Coming!

What's this Aussie grinning about?

Writers & Other Animals launches this coming Sunday, March 2!

So cuddle up with your favorite critters and join us for a variety of posts from writers across the genres. We'll have interviews, excerpts, posts about this & that, plus occasional nonverbal art. The common link is animals, wild and domestic, furred and feathered and scaled. New posts will appear each Sunday and Wednesday. 

Please sign up for email notifications if you like. New posts will also be announced on the Writers & Other Animals Facebook group and through my blog link at Goodreads. 

I hope you'll join us, and invite your friends!

Sheila Boneham