Dogs in my books

Just back from a fantastic long weekend in Coogee at the RWA conference. So much inspiration and so many enthusiastic writers--Wonderful.

I heard someone say there that she'd read anything with dogs in it and it made me think about my own books. Dogs make major appearances in two of them and a minor appearance in one. Cats are in two.

Woof, a malamute, features in The Right Chord. In fact the dog next door inspired the story by howling when he heard sirens. It wasn't a big leap to have a fictitious dog who howls when the heroine plays her violin. Of course he lives next door to her and belongs to the hero.

In my latest release The Tangled Web, the heroine has two dogs. One is a bouncy, friendly terrier called Fidelio ( Fid ) and the other an elderly black Labrador called Hannibal who leaves nasty smells about the house. The hero doesn't like dogs at first but becomes very fond of Fid.

The hero in Stuck takes his young daughters along to the Animal Shelter to choose a kitten. The heroine has a disdainful fluffy white Persian called Aladdin but she calls him Big Al.

In my next release Instant Family, the children are upset because the cat has disappeared, but, as cats sometimes do, it does turn up, much to the youngest girl's delight.

I write pets into my stories quite naturally. We always had cats and a dog when I was a child and my family has had a cat until recently. I hadn't thought much about it until I heard the comment at the conference and realised pets have wiggled their way into all my books except one. Although--there is a cat in Coming Home, he just doesn't belong to either main character!