Tag Archive for: pets

It Was A Sign

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by Sparkle Abbey


So last
week, we were on our way to work and of course that means a trip through the
Starbucks drive-thru. Our Starbucks is very popular, especially in the
mornings and on the weekends. It’s not unusual for there to be a five or six
car wait before you even reach the speaker to place your order. Why not go
inside, you ask? Well, like most of the U.S., we’ve been hit with bone-chilling
subzero weather and over ten inches of snow. So regardless of the line, you don’t get out of your vehicle
unless you have to.



On this day,
the drive-thru was almost deserted. There were only three cars in front of us.
That’s a good thing, right? The lack of customers certainly didn’t have
anything to do with icy roads, a wind-chill of twenty below, or the fact that
it was after 8:00 am and the morning rush had already passed though. It was a
sign to proceed! So we did.

Just one example of our many Starbucks stops 
In what felt
like seconds, but was probably more like five minutes, it was our turn to order
our usual: grande non-fat no water chai, and a grande skinny hazelnut latte.
The only problem was that the driver’s window wouldn’t roll down. It was frozen
shut. There was no way that window was moving.

You see
where this is going.

Since there
were cars behind us, keeping us from backing out and a making a clean getaway,
we had only one choice—open the door to place the order. We looked rather silly, and felt
a little foolish. And while we were hoping no one was paying attention to us,
we weren’t that lucky. We caught the driver behind us was smiling at us. Our barista also got a good chuckle at our predicament and casually mentioned we weren’t the first customer with a frozen window.

Within a few
minutes it was our turn to pay. Once again, we opened the door, allowing the
freezing wind to slap us around for a few seconds and to steal our breath. As
we reached for a Starbucks card to pay, the barista informed us there was no need-—our drinks had
already been paid for. Turned out the driver in the car before us felt so bad
about our window, he paid for our drinks! A true random act of kindness. It was
completely unexpected and it totally made our day.

February 9th
– 15th  is Random Act of Kindness week. The idea is to cheer up,
inspire, or help a stranger. There are many simple acts you can do: a
smile, let someone cut in front of you in line at the grocery store, or
pay for someone’s drink at your favorite coffee shop. Most acts of kindness
are free, you don’t have to spend money to “pay it forward.”

If you’re lacking
inspiration and need some “kindness” ideas, check out the Random
Acts of Kindness website. If you’re social media savvy, take part in
helping #RAKWeek2015 trend by flooding your social media platforms with
kindness. Look for us as we’ll be taking part in the fun.
What about
you? Have you initiated a random act of kindness? Have you ever been the recipient
of an act of kindness? Tell us about it! You never know who may read your comment
and feel inspired by you!

**The
Starbucks story is mostly true. It happened to only one of us. We’ll let you
guess which one.

One last shout out! If you’re in the Ames area this week, we’ll be at the grand opening of Treats on a Leash for a book signing from 10:00 am- noon. Stop by and say hi! Click here for more details!

Bad to the Bone!

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Is it November already?


This last
week has been jammed packed with activity in Sparkle Abbey’s world. Besides the
typical day job and normal family craziness, book six, The Girl with the Dachshund Tattoo hit the virtual bookshelves. We
knew it was coming, but we didn’t realize it was coming so soon. Not that we’re
complaining!
We’re
really excited about our latest cozy mystery. In The Girl with the Dachshund Tattoo, Mel is tracking a killer in the cutthroat world of dachshund racing. Cheating. Doping. Gambling. Who
knew doxie dashes were surrounded by so much controversy? Certainly not us.

We had a ball researching this book. 








We even attended a
couple of wiener races just to make sure we captured the enthusiasm and
competitive nature of the racers. We can attest that these pooches may
have short stubby legs, and long wiggly bodies, but they are all heart. 







If you’ve
never seen a Dachshund Dash, check out this YouTube video. We dare you not to smile.
Running of the Wieners at Oktoberfest Zinzinnati




Next week
we’ll be on a jet plane to Long Beach, California to attend the Bouchercon Mystery Conference! If you’re there and see us, make sure you say hi. 

If you’re not familiar with Bouchercon, let us explain. Bouchercon is the Annual World Mystery Convention for anyone who loves mysteries. Readers, writers, authors, librarians, and booksellers all gather for a weekend of fun and conversation. And we like to hangout in the bar. Attendees can pick from a plethora of panels and attend author signings, along with other programs. There’s even an awards ceremony. If you’d like to learn more about this wonderful mystery conference, here’s a link. Bouchercon 2014, Murder at the Beach.

Our question to you is this: If you could hang out in the bar with any mystery author, who would you choose?

A Sense of Place

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One of the comments we
see frequently in reference to the beautifully written and award-winning Louise
Penny series is: “I want to live in Three Pines!” Or words to that effect.
And isn’t that exactly
what we authors hope for when we create a fictional world? We hope readers love
our worlds so much they want to take up residence! It’s true with all books
but seems especially true with a series where the community created is revisited with each book.
Also this sense of
place is a big part of who the characters are. Just like where we’re all from tells
so much about us. How they feel about where they’re from is important. And whether they’ve always lived there and continue to do so; or
perhaps they couldn’t get away from their roots fast enough.
Some strong examples
of series with a sense of place are:

  • Stephanie Plum and her
    irreverent Jersey burb surroundings,
  • Jessica Fletcher and
    her cozy Cabot Cove community,
  • Tess Monaghan’s rough
    and tumble Baltimore,
  • And, of course, the aforementioned,
    Three Pines with     Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du
    Québec and the cast of complicated characters who invite us into their village.
We chose Laguna Beach, California for the
setting of our Pampered Pets mystery series for several reasons.
Our two amateur sleuths aren’t originally from
California, they’re from Texas. Those Lone Star roots are a big part of Caro
and Mel even though they both have pretty distinct reasons for leaving the
great state of Texas. 

Laguna Beach is not only the perfect place for
a pet-themed mystery with its pet-friendly merchants and off-the-chart number
of pet owners (more registered dogs than there are kids), it’s also the perfect
place for Caro and Mel.
The community is a seaside resort in southern
Orange County located midway between Los Angeles and San Diego. It has
spectacular cliffs, glistening beaches, and breathtaking views of the Pacific,
but it also has a uniquely artsy and almost European feel. The quaint
boutiques, coffee bars, and sidewalk cafes provide a sense of place that
brings together people who care about their community and each other. A
community interested the greater good and setting things right when they go
wrong.
In our fictional Laguna Beach there are some
great restaurants and stores, just like in the real village. However, though we’ve used a real place we’ve populated the tree-lined village area, the Hills
and the fabulous beachfront homes with characters from our imagination.

In our make-believe world you’ll find: 

  • Judd Malone, no nonsense, stay-out-of-police-business homicide detective, 
  • Diana Knight, former screen star who still brings to mind the magic and glamour of a bygone era in Hollywood, 
  • Darby Beckett, wholesome and sometimes naive owner of Paw Prints pet photography, 
  • Ollie Hembry, former rocker turned pet rescuer, 
  • Kendall Reese, flamboyant dresser and pet groomer extraordinaire, 
  • Fan favorite, Betty Foxx, silk pajama-wearing senior with a strange sense of fashion and an eye for the gentleman, 
  • And, of course, assorted adorable cats and pups.

They all, like us love the unique and close-knit community. We think it’s the perfect place for Caro and Mel. And for a bit of fictional murder… 


What specific things do you love about the settings in your favorite mysteries? Do you enjoy returning to those favorite places? 



Our most recent book, Fifty Shades of Greyhound, has been called “A real tail-wagger!” (That’s from Buttercup aka Trixie the smart puppy who stars in the Paws & Claws series by NYTimes bestselling author Krista Davis). It follows Desperate Housedogs, Get Fluffy, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, and Yip/Tuck. Next up is, The Girl with the Dachshund Tattoo. 


Find out more and sign up for updates by visiting our website!

Memorable Moments

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Posted by Sparkle Abbey


Hello, we’re
“Sparkle Abbey.” There are actually two of us, Mary Lee (Sparkle) and Anita
(Abbey). We created our pen name by combining our rescue pets’ names, Sparkle
(ML’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). If you’ve seen us at a mystery convention
or a book signing, we make it easy–we wear shirts with our names. 

If you do see
us, we hope you’ll stop and say hello. One of the very best things about
conventions or signings is getting to meet in person those of you we’ve already
met out here in cyberspace. We also love to hear about your pets! You see our
current series, set in Laguna Beach, features two former Texas beauty queen
cousins, Caro & Melinda. Caro is a pet therapist and Mel owns the Bow Wow
boutique and though you’d think that would be enough to keep them busy, they
also frequently find themselves in the middle of murder investigations. 
So that’s us!
We’re excited to be here every first Thursday.

Our fellow
bloggers have been talking about fall. For us, November is a month of
thankfulness….

We’re so
very thankful and blessed to have amazing families, our health, steady jobs and
our love of writing. November is also one of our busiest months. Between the family
birthdays (ten between the two of us), Thanksgiving, Christmas prep, and the day
job, we’re so busying doing that we sometimes
forget to pause and treasure the truly important things. Some events in your life are so
important that the magical moment is imprinted in your memory forever. Marrying
the love of your life, the birth of your children, the birth of your
grandchildren.



Then there
are other times. You know the ones. The times when you’re so busy you know you
can’t possibly add one more item to your “To Do” list. That’s when it takes a
little more effort to realize that you’re making memories.

We’ve found
those types of memorable moments often involve laughter. Sometimes the laughter
comes right away, other times it comes later. Like the time we were
road tripping to a mystery convention in Cleveland by the way of Iowa and
somehow managed to wind up in Michigan. Oops. Probably too much talking. Still, it turned out to be a wonderful scenic route filled with beautiful woods and
winding rivers and we’re still shaking our heads about how it happened.

Once you start
talking about one memorable moment you’re flooded others. Some more emotional
than others, like when we sold our mystery series. Our families wearing their
Team Sparkle and Team Abbey shirts to our first book launch. The first time
someone told us they came to a book signing just to see us. Others are more
light-hearted. Like when we had our picture taken with an Elvis impersonator,
or the time we just wanted to take a picture of our feet in the sand at Laguna
Beach and almost got swept away by a huge wave. And still others add to the mix
of memories like dinner and plotting with our critique group, swapping stories
with Lee Goldberg in Chicago, as well as the opportunity to meet wonderful people like fellow
Stiletto Gang members Dru Ann Love and Linda Rodriguez and so
many others who we now count as friends.

So before
November can run us over like road kill, we’ve decided to pause and enjoy our
first blog with The Stiletto Gang. We are thrilled to join this talented group and we look forward to making new friends here.
Now that you
know some of our memorable moments, we’d love to hear one of yours. It’s a
great way for us to get to know you. And it’s always fun to laugh, or cry, with
others.

Guest Friday – Sarah Anderson

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Hi all!  Welcome to Guest Friday!  Today we are lucky to have the lovely and talented Sarah Anderson don her stilettos and chat with us for a while.  She was nice enough to subject herself to an interview with yours truly! Her new book, A Man of Privilege, hits shelves next Tuesday.  Trust me when I say, after getting to know Sarah, you aren’t going to want to miss it!

 

(Joelle) Why did you get into
writing?  (AKA – what the heck were you
thinking?)
Sarah – I love this question, because it implies there was actual
‘thought’ involved. I had always wanted to be an author, but had never had any
idea how to do it and hadn’t even thought about it for some years. Then, when
my son was 2 ½ and my Gram was 92 ½ we took a weekend trip. Everyone was worn
out on the way home, and I desperately wanted both of them to sleep the whole
way home. I didn’t even turn on the radio. But I had to do something to keep
from falling asleep, so I let my imagination run wild and saw this scene of two
people fighting in the rain and then kissing. The whole thing intrigued me—who
were they, why were they fighting, and what was up with that kiss? This sort of
thing had happened before—I’ve been accused of having an overactive
imagination—but this time, instead of the scene slipping off into the void of my
faulty  short-term memory, those people
stayed with me. I finally had to write down what they were saying just to get
them out of my head!
What was one of the
most surprising things you learned while writing/researching a book?
That writing the book wasn’t the hardest part. Oh, it was
hard, but that first book, with the kissing in the rain? I loved writing it.
Something inside me had been released, and it felt good. Then, after I typed
‘The End,’ I started looking around the Internet and saw how much work it would
take to learn the business, to get published, to be a professional author. That
was a terrifyingly daunting prospect. I almost didn’t do it, it was so
overwhelming.
What do you do to
unwind and relax?
Unwind? Relax? What are these words? Seriously, I watch a
lot of kid’s movies with my son, play solitaire, and, if I have the time, read
a book. If I get really wild, I knit. I’ve been working on the same scarf all
year!
Tea or coffee?
Tea. Lots and lots of tea. Black, green, white, oolong—anything
but mate. And, in the summer, water and lemonade. But tea.
Chocolate or potato
chips?
No contest—chocolate. I’m really enjoying the chocolate with
the hint of chili in it—that edge of spice is wonderful!
Do you ever suffer
from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?
When writer’s block hits, I take a calm, reasoned step back
and freak the heck out. Then I force myself to remember all the other times
I’ve drawn a blank—after I had the flu, when I wasn’t sleeping, etc. Sleep is
the first step, getting back into my routine is second, and third is reading a
book or two. I might as well enjoy the writer’s block, right? By then, usually
my Muse has had a nice little vacation and she’s raring to go again!
What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?
As I said, I always thought I’d be an author. My mom had me
in a creative writing summer course for kids back as far as third grade. I’d
taken a couple of cracks at stories in college, but never could get back my
Dreaded Backstory Problem. (Trust me, it was a dreadful problem!). I’d
basically given up on achieving that goal, but through a caffeine-fueled road
trip, I found that spark I’d been missing. It took a hell of a lot of hard
work, but it’s really wonderful to say that, all those years ago, I knew I was
going to be an author and now I am.

What would you say is
your interesting writing quirk?

I write best with music—with lyrics. Part of my brain needs
to be distracted so the rest of it can focus on the words I want. I know a lot
of writers who cannot write with music or with music that has words, but
humming along with Toby Keith or Motley Cru keeps me from worrying about
laundry or dinner or whatever so all that’s left is the story.
Do you read reviews
of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence
your writing?
I do. I know I’m not ‘supposed to’ because I’m leaving
myself open to the slings and arrows of outrageous reviews, but I do. So far,
they haven’t overtly influenced my writing, but I gotta tell you, reading a
positive review makes me smile for days. I know that one day I’ll hit the
negative review that rips my heart out, but I just can’t quit those reviews!
Which of your characters would you like to invite to
Thanksgiving dinner and why?
Well, which one can cook the best? Probably Maggie in A Man of Privilege. She’s been baking
cookies and carrot cake for about nine years!
What is the best
thing about being a published author?
Ooh, it’s a toss-up between being paid to do something I
really like and having a reader tell me how much they loved something I wrote.
Both are pretty awesome!
What’s next for
you? 
It’s more a case of what’s not next for me! In addition to having A Man of Privilege out on July 3rd, my next book, A Man of Distinction, will be out on
September 4th. All three of the A
Man of books are loosely related—Rosebud, the heroine from A Man of His Word, shows up in all
three.  After that, I have my very first
release from Samhain due on January 1st called Mystic Cowboy, a Valentine story from Desire called The Real Cowboy on February 5th,
and then a series called the Bolton Biker Boys from Desire out later next year.
Whew! I got tired just typing that!
Finally, tell us
about your pets!
I love my dogs. We have always rescued dogs. For almost a
decade, we had a three-legged wiener dog named Jake. Sadly, he went to Dog
Heaven last year. Right now, we have a beagle-terrier mix—a teagle!—named
Gater, as in Al E. Gater (say it out loud!). He doesn’t look like a beagle, but
boy, he sure barks like one. And a few months ago, we got Fifi, a ‘shepard
thing.’ She’s supposed to be Australian Cattle Shepard and Border Collie, but I
highly doubt the collie part. She’s mostly just a smallish shepard dog with a
whole lot of energy! 
Readers, is there anything you want to know that I forgot?
I’m giving away a copy of A Man of Privilege to one lucky commentator! Plus—bonus—every week I’m
giving away one of these handcrafted (by me!) book necklaces from everyone who
commented throughout the week! Check the Authorial
Moms blog
every Sunday to see if you were the winner!

A Man of Privilege :  She isn’t what he expected.

Blue-blood lawyer James
Carlson is working on the case of his life.  After winning this trial, his
career will be set.  He won’t let anything…or anyone… alter his
course.  Then he meets his witness.
Maggie Eagle Heart makes
him question everything–his family, his goals, his future. Because she’s the
one woman he wants, and she’s the one woman who is completely off limits. Yet
even as he struggles to keep their relationship all about business, he can’t
deny the attraction is mutual–and irresistible. James has always done what
is expected of him…until now.
A Man of Privilege is available! Visit
your favorite bookseller, at Amazon, or for the Nook.
Bio:
Award-winning author Sarah M. Anderson may live east of the Mississippi River,
but her heart lies out west on the Great Plains.
With a lifelong love of horses and two history teachers for parents, it wasn’t
long before her characters found themselves out in South Dakota among the Lakota Sioux.  She loves to put people from two different
worlds into new situations and to see how their backgrounds and cultures take
them someplace they never thought they’d go.
When not helping
out at school or walking her rescue dogs, Sarah spends her days having
conversations with imaginary cowboys and American Indians, all of which is
surprisingly well-tolerated by her wonderful husband and son.
Blog Boilerplate
This post is brought to
you as part of the A Man of
Privilege/Distinction Blog Tour.  For a complete tour schedule and
rules, visit www.sarahmanderson.com. Comments on this blog will be entered
to win a signed copy of A Man of
Privilege.
Next tour stop is July 3: Video Interview at Happy Ever After

Learning from our pets

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by: Joelle Charbonneau
It’s still pet week (or weeks to accommodate those of us who
post every other week) here on the Stiletto Gang.  When the group talked about doing some themed
blog posts, I was happy to hear we were going to chat about our pets both past
and present, because you can learn a lot about a person by hearing them talk
about the animals that share their lives.
But while I had a great idea for a funny blog post in mind, I
have chosen not to write it.  Why?  Because my heart is breaking for a friend.
Yesterday, I learned that a dear friend and fellow author,
Ellery (Jen) Adams, lost a member of her family.  Her sister-in-law gave birth through c-section
to a beautiful baby girl and then passed away before she ever had the chance to
look into her baby’s eyes.  This year, I,
too, have experienced the loss of a close family member, so I admit that I
broke down and cried when I heard the news. 
There never seems to be enough time with our loved ones.  Sometimes the final goodbye lasts months or
years, but often, as in Ellery’s case, the final moments come too soon leaving
us with thoughts of the things we wished we said or did.  Making us long for extra moments where we
could share our love without reservation.
Too often in our lives, we hold back.  We don’t say what is in our heart because we
worry that someone will think we’re overemotional, or dramatic or just plain
odd.  Sometimes we don’t express what is
in our hearts and minds because the people we care about are not demonstrative
in their affection.  Sometimes, we are
scared to risk sharing our feelings in case they are not returned.  Other times we just take for granted that
there will be moments in the future to embrace what we feel.
But those moments don’t always exist and too often we are
left sad and unhappy that we didn’t grab those precious moments as we should have. 
Which is why we should learn from the theme of the last two
weeks….our pets 
Dogs don’t worry about whether showering you with affection
is going to embarrass them.  (If they
did, we probably wouldn’t see quite so many dogs sniffing crotches.)  Cats don’t fret about whether the love they
give is returned.  At least my cat doesn’t.  He just worms his way onto my lap and insists
that I make him feel loved.  Rabbits,
camels, gerbils, guinea pigs, parrots, ferrets…none of the animals we welcome
into our lives worry about the proper time to express their love.  They just love us.  And because of that we love them.  Unashamedly. 
Without reserve.  Without waiting
for the right moment to express what is in our heart.
So today, I say that we should learn from our pets and learn
to express affection to those we love every time the moment strikes.  We should go to those we care about, wrap our
arms around them so tight they try to wriggle away and let them know they are
important.  So we are never left
wondering or wishing.
And for those of you who pray….please put a special prayer
in your heart for Ellery and her family and send as much love and affection as
you can her way.

A Bonded Pair

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From the cat who literally
swallowed the canary (and then threw it up on your aunt’s antique Persian rug)
to the dog who ran away, we at the Stiletto Gang put our collective heads
together and thought: what could be better than walking down memory lane with
thoughts of some of our favorite–and not-so-favorite–pets? Join us for the
next two weeks as we reminisce about the animals we loved and those who loved
us.

Tragedy brought me Bonnie, a
13-year-old cat who was as tiny as a kitten, first. Her owner was my
almost-brother. Steve was my little brother’s best friend. They’d lived with my
husband and me briefly, and when they moved out, they rented a house just a few
blocks away and continued to eat supper at our house every night. Once my
brother married and moved out of town, Steve kept coming to our house for
holidays or any time he needed family support. Steve was a shy geek with a warm
heart. One day, someone tied a litter of five kittens in a plastic bag and
dumped them in the middle of the street to be run over. Steve found them, took
them to the vet, and spayed and neutered them. Thirteen years later early on a Sunday
morning, Steve was killed by a hit-and-run driver, leaving five old cats in his
house waiting for him to come home.

His friends gathered and parceled
out the cats among us. I already had two elderly cats and a young one, all
rescues, at home, but when no one would step forward for Bonnie, the runt of
the litter, I took her. Within a week, several of the littermates turned out to
have liver cancer and had to be put to sleep. Over the course of the next year,
this happened to all of them, except tiny Bonnie.
From the first, Bonnie hid. One of
her favorite places was behind the refrigerator. She had a bell on her collar,
and once the lights were out and we were in bed, we would hear her venturing
forth. It took me so long to get her to venture forth voluntarily and sit on my
lap to be petted, but once there, she decided that was where she always wanted
to be. If I were doing some chore around the house and not paying attention to
her, she would wind around my legs, scolding me.

Shortly after we took Bonnie into
our home, we ended up rescuing a beautiful seven-year-old Shar Pei/Husky mix.
We took Mina on what would have been the last day of her life otherwise. When
we brought her into our house, all the cats fled, except Bonnie. I was set to
try to gradually introduce them to each other when Bonnie walked straight up to
Mina, who was giant in comparison, and touched noses. From that second, they
were the best of friends, never apart.
Bonnie was the dominant member of
the pair, though. She would go nibble a few pieces of Mina’s dog kibble, and
Mina was then allowed to eat some of Bonnie’s food. They made a point to drink
out of each other’s water bowls also. At night, Mina would curl into a circle,
and Bonnie would curl up within its center. Mina showed affection by licking
Bonnie as if she were a puppy, and Bonnie tolerated it. Mina would bark at
suspicious noises at night, and Bonnie would stand behind her, mimicking her
stiff-legged posture and give the best imitations of a bark you ever heard from
a cat.
Then, Bonnie started eating less and
having bouts of loud crying that could only be assuaged by my holding her and
petting or by Mina licking her. When I took her to the vet, the word was that
the deadly liver cancer had finally hit this last living member of that
five-cat litter. We think she held the cancer at bay for those almost four
years by sheer strength of personality. She was finally somewhere where she
wasn’t the bullied runt—and we’d even found her a giant pet! She wasn’t about
to die when things were finally going so well for her.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to
be done. As she got sicker, she cried more. Until Mina would wash Bonnie with
her big tongue, leaving her looking like a little drowned rat. But she was
always at peace and purring when Mina licked her or I held her. The vet said we’d
know when to bring her in one last time, and that point became clear one day.
We packed her carry-crate with lots of blankets and soft fabric because she was
so bony by then. Mina was licking her one last time. At the vet’s, Bonnie lay
in my lap, purring, as she slipped away peacefully.
Mina was disconsolate for months and
then rallied to remain our wonderful friend for five more years before she left
us the same way. We laugh when we think of the surprise and joy those two friends
must have felt when their spirits encountered each other again. It’s a comfort
to think of them curled around each other at night as they were for so many
nights in our house—a true bonded pair.

by Linda Rodriguez

___________
Linda Rodriguez’s novel, Every Last Secret (Minotaur Books), won
the Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition. The
second book in the Skeet Bannion series, Every
Broken Trust, will be published in spring of 2013. Linda reads and writes
everything, even award-winning books of poetry and a cookbook, and she spends
too much time on Twitter as @rodriguez_linda. 
She blogs about writers, writing, and the absurdities of everyday life
at http://lindarodriguezwrites.blogspot.com.

The Dog Was Doing What in the Bathroom?

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From the cat who literally swallowed the canary (and then threw it up on your aunt’s antique Persian rug) to the dog who ran away, we at the Stiletto Gang put our collective heads together and thought: what could be better than walking down memory lane with thoughts of some of our favorite–and not-so-favorite–pets? Join us for the next two weeks as we reminisce about the animals we loved and those who loved us.

by Bethany Maines

If you’re friends with me on Facebook then you know of my
picture-snapping obsession with my dog Kato.  He’s a two-year old Lab Rottweiler mix with a belief that
people-chairs are really dog beds and that dishwashers are where we put the
silverware to be licked. We named him after Inspector Clouseau’s surprise
attacking valet, so that we could yell, “Kato, now is not the time!” whenever
he jumps out at us, which he does frequently. My friends, acquaintances, and
frequently strangers are forced to listen to my “hilarious” dog stories and
occasionally shown the “baby” photos on my phone.  Yes, I’m that “pet parent.”  I try not to be, but my dog is just that darn cute.  (See photographic evidence below.) 

However, it occurred to me, as I tried to integrate a dog
into my latest manuscript that pets are rather like the bathroom in most books
– they never get mentioned. That is, unless they’re important to the plot line
or they ARE the plot line (see The Cat Who…
series by Lillian Jackson Braun). Both bathrooms and pets are important
features of everyday life. Pets require feeding and water and are generally
greeted immediately upon entering a house, as well having a host of other
little ways of integrating themselves into their owner’s lives. Bathrooms, for
obvious reasons, are visited multiple times a day and usually have their own
attendant routines of make-up, showering, and dressing. But both rarely rate a mention in most
books. What gives?
Well, like all the strangers I accost with my Kato stories,
most readers probably just aren’t that interested in the heroine’s pet. And
really, who wants to spend that much time with a protagonist in the restroom?
And of course, with space at a premium, it’s a bit hard to justify giving
paragraphs of space to the pet while the plot languishes about looking for a
little attention. But is a well-written story with a fast moving plot mutually
exclusive with pets and bathrooms? 
Can’t a character blurt out, “I have to pee,” when faced with shocking
news? Can’t the dull routine of feeding the dog, feed a characters wish for
excitement and adventure? Why should the pets and restrooms not at least get
the recognition they deserve for being a meaningful part of our lives?
All of which makes me want to write a story that takes place
in the bathroom… with a dog. I just need a plot and some characters and I’m
golden.