My next novel Dangerous Past is coming out soon, and one of the things I have in this book is dogs. I don't typically have animals in my stories because there is so much action, I don't think it's practical to have pets. I can't have them leave the pets in the car, we can't just pretend they're okay, and ignore their existence except for when it's convenient, so what do we do with them?
In my case, they are the meet cute. They are cared for, they are included, and the silly dogs get dirty and slobbery, and behave like actual dogs. I really thought long and hard about how to handle the dogs in a Romantic Suspense novel. I wanted to make sure the reader never has a moment to say, "Wait, how is she doing that? I thought she had dogs with her?" I wanted it authentic, and I wanted it to really work.
And I did it. My editor thinks it's my best book yet, and the early reviews are incredible! I don't want to say it was the dogs, but I'm not not saying it was the dogs ;)
I drew from real life for the meet cute. My lovely dog Lily tore her CrCL chasing rabbits one day and my hunky husband had to carry her home. For reference, my dogs are both close to 120lbs, so that's no easy feat. He had to carry Lily, and keep Conan from trying to "help" Lily. This was easily for about a mile. (Spoiler: Lily has a new knee and she's now 14 years old and going strong)
Here are my dogs, on our trail, Lily is closest:
In Dangerous Past, I had the heroine out for a potty break with her dogs as she drives cross-country with them. Her dog hurts her knee, but luckily she won't have to carry her alone! Several very buff looking men are near the trail she's on! And of course one of them is her true love...they just don't know it yet. One thing I really wanted was the dogs to be represented on the cover. What do you think? I love it!
She’s running from her past…
Lark Seawell is the daughter of a serial killer. His reputation has long been a shadow looming over her since his arrest when she was a child. Especially since she’s the one who called the police. She has spent her entire life trying to live as anonymously and quietly as possible. She is not her father’s legacy.
He wants to be her future...
FBI agent Jay Sutherland is visiting a friend in a small mountain town when free spirit Lark asks for help with her injured dog. He is instantly enamored with her, and their one night stand stays with him far into the next morning, though Lark is long gone. When his partner realizes that she is the daughter of The Highwayman, Jay refuses to believe Lark is anything like her father.
What happens when she stops running…
When a trail of dead bodies follows Lark on her cross-country drive, the FBI believes she’s the killer. How can the sweet woman who rescues injured animals and makes him feel things he hasn’t felt in years be a murderer? The bodies don’t lie. Jay knows there’s more at play. If he’s wrong, and Lark is as much a monster as her father, he may be the next target…
Sunshiney heroine, gruff hero, one night stand leads to more.
I love the story you took from true life for your story! And I like pets in stories, too. I've been known to write them and forget they're there, though. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI feel like in a character-driven plot you can totally get away with that! But when I have someone being chased across the state, I don't know what to do with Fido! lol
DeleteI love it when a novel gets pets right, as long as they survive to the end. I won't watch movies where the pets get killed off, either.
ReplyDeleteI almost titled my post "Don't Worry, the Dogs Don't Die!"
DeleteYou had me at "dog"- I have three and two cats- and all of them together do not add up to just one of yours - Very clever storyline! Good luck with your launch!
ReplyDeleteThanks! What kind of dogs do you have?
DeleteI have a shih tzu, a Pekingese/ shih tzu mix and a Coton de Tulear/ Poodle mix. Two are rescues I got this year. ;)
DeleteThey sound adorable!
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