Welcome Wednesday – Going to the Dogs

Welcome Wednesday – Going to the Dogs

Welcome to this week’s edition of Welcome Wednesdays!

Today, let’s talk about our four-legged friends – all the animals that appear in books.  What would “The Wizard of Oz” be without Toto?  Or “The Thin Man” without Asta?  Dogs, cats and all kinds of other animals can steal a scene or even a whole story.

So for today, tell us about an animal who plays an important part in one of your books (some of you probably write books that have animals as your heroes; all the better!).  Give us some background, share an excerpt, and make sure you include a link so we can learn more about you and your book!

I’ll begin…

In the Dream Series, Sara has a dog in nearly all the books.  The series follows Sara over almost 25 years across ten books, so it’s not the same dog throughout.  In the first two books, her canine companion is a golden retriever called Lumpy.  In the fourth through ninth books, her dog is a retriever-labrador mix named Chrissy.  And in the final book, DREAM WEDDING, she’s got a beagle named Bucky.

Here’s Chrissy, in action (sort of), helping Sara out during a dream, in WAKING DREAM:

Sara sees no sign of the woman.  She’s obviously on the ground already, so Sara jumps after her.  It’s probably a twenty foot drop onto the icy, hard driveway, but Sara lands easily and without any injury.  She sees footsteps leading away from her landing spot, heading out to the sidewalk.  She begins to follow them, thinking, I wish Chrissy were with me.  She could run that bit – that woman down.   

Sara’s thought is answered immediately; Chrissy comes running out of the house through a dog-flap that Sara knows isn’t a feature of her front door.  “You know what to do, girl.  Go get her!”  Chrissy runs off, barking madly.  In the distance, two blocks away, Sara sees, just for an instant, a woman-in-red-sized shadow pass below a streetlight.

Despite the distance, Sara hears a surprised, or possibly terrified, yelp.  And then, quite clearly, “What the hell?  She can’t do that!”  Sara runs after her dog, in the direction of the voice, but by the time she gets to the streetlight, there’s nothing there but a very confused Chrissy.  All sign of the woman is gone…
And now it’s your turn!

(when you’re done here, please stop by Exquisite Quills, where there are daily memes just like this one and plenty of fantastic authors you can discover!)

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3 Replies to “Welcome Wednesday – Going to the Dogs”

  1. Thanks for this opportunity, James! In my new release, HEARTS UNLOCHED, my hero, Marco Lareci, is a successful investment broker who lives in an upscale apartment in Manhattan. His roommate is Cleo – short for Cleopatra, an Ocicat. This is an exotic domestic breed of cat that looks very much like a miniature leopard. Twice in the story, Cleo is the first to see the ghostly apparitions that appear to Marco. They say animals, cats in particular, have a sixth sense about this sort of thing. Cleo is a perfect example.

    Here’s an excerpt, just preceding the first ghostly encounter:

    “What is your problem, Cleo? Did you miss me so much?” Marco squatted and spoke to the cat, his hands lifted in question. He’d never seen her this agitated before. Was she sick? He checked the clock on the kitchen wall. After five already. If a trip to the vet was warranted, it would have to be the emergency clinic.

    He stood and reached for the fridge door. “How about some cream? Nice, fresh cream always seems to soothe you.” Retrieving her china bowl from the window ledge, he’d begun to pour the thick, white liquid. The cat’s sudden snarl caused him to slosh cream all over the counter.

    When he looked down, Cleo’s back was hunched high, and her spotted hair was standing on end. She was staring at his door, her amber eyes were huge and round, and a threatening growl rumbled from her throat. Marco followed her gaze, half expecting to see a rattling door handle. But there was nothing. A glance to the keypad on his security system told him it was set and armed.

    Perhaps there was someone lurking outside his door. Cats could sense things like that. But how could they have gotten past lobby security? He hadn’t buzzed anyone through.
    He jumped when Cleo screeched again and bolted, scrambling around the corner into his office. Seconds later, he heard a crash and his heart sank.

    Cazzo. Which one of my monitors just met its demise?
    ~~~

    You can find HEARTS UNLOCHED here: Hearts Unloched

    Book Trailer here: Book Trailer

  2. Nice to join you with this topic, James, and others who bring dogs or other creatures into the mix. I write suspense/mystery/romance, small town sleuthing…a bit edgy. My three book series about boutique funeral planners, includes a Scottie named Elwood (as in the story about Harvey, the imaginary giant rabbit). Elly, the dog, has an interest in tracking shadows, you see. He also builds his capability at predicting the fainting spell of his mistress, the heroine of the series. She has Syncope, a fainting disorder. Elly warns his mistress with a special bark…so she has time to sit down or lay down before she faints. Turns out her faint-dreams are predictive, too…helps when one is trying to solve mysteries 🙂 Not easy developing an arc for a dog, but I did it!

    Check out the series at my website: http://www.rolynnanderson.com

    Amazon:
    FADEOUT: http://amzn.com/B00YWE3Z2U
    SWOON: http://amzn.com/B00A1P6P3U
    FAINT: http://amzn.com/B0180LJBRI

  3. Well in all of my books, I have a cat named Diesel who can time travel. He is Troianne’s cat, who gets to help her daughter Diana’s Magic and then moves on to Rheanon’s Heart. Diesel is a former Egyptian who was murdered back thousands of years ago. Now in the 18th-19th century he is the protector of the family of mystical, magical Wicca women in the Time Travel Society Series. Read about Diesel he is quite the character annnnnndddd he is my real life cat. Yes, he is a big boy who told me he is a former Egyptian. http://www.amazon.com/Troianne-Time-Travel-Society-Book-ebook/dp/B01069ZJEQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1460566321&sr=1-1

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