I’ve been a major animal lover all my life. From my earliest
childhood, I can’t remember ever not having at least one pet. Over the years, the
Post place has been home to a variety of four-legged friends—cats, dogs,
rabbits, even an iguana.
After losing our 16-year-old long-haired dachshund last
fall, we now only have two cats, both solid black. I live in Florida and North
Carolina, driving back and forth almost every month. Midnight and Zorro love to
travel, so I always take them with me. Regardless of where I’m going, they try
to make sure they’re not going to get left.
 |
"If we're packed in your suitcase,
that means we're going, right?"
|
My cats are great company when I write, although they can
sometimes be stinkers. Last week, my husband and I went to dinner with friends.
When we got home, I found Midnight on the dining room table. Unfortunately, I
had forgotten to close my laptop. While I was enjoying dinner, he was making
changes to my current manuscript. He added several lines of gibberish, deleted
some of the stuff I had written, moved chunks of text around, then did a “save
as” (F12), naming the file “kkk.” (I’m pretty sure that stands for “kitty-kitty-kitty.”)
Apparently, he thought my work needed some help. Fortunately, I had track
changes turned on, so I was able to reject everything the cat had done.
“Hmmm, misplaced modifier, shallow
characterization, unnecessary backstory…
Still needs some work.”
Since I love animals so much, they often find their way into
my books. My hero, Bryce, in Lethal
Legacy has a black lab that he rescued from neglect. When he wants to loan
him to the heroine as a guard dog, he’s pretty sure he’ll behave. But getting
to that point has involved some hard work and a whole lot of patience. In Bryce’s
words, “Six months ago, you’d have rather taken your chances with an ax
murderer than share a house with him.” Fortunately, my two are pretty good. As
long as I keep them away from the computer.
What about you? Do you have any furry friends who don’t
always behave? I’d love to hear about them. And I hope you’ll look for Lethal Legacy, coming out September 1.
Someone wants her family secrets buried
He's her only chance to survive
Andrea Wheaton thought her parents’ tragic deaths were
accidental—until she’s attacked during a burglary at their home. Now she’s also
being targeted. Her ex-sweetheart Sheriff Deputy Bryce Caldwell insists on
protecting her, though she refuses to trust him again. But with a killer
closing in, can she and Bryce uncover her family’s secrets before it’s too late
for them both?
Connect with Carol on:
Facebook - www.facebook.com/caroljpost.author
Twitter - www.twitter.com/caroljpost
Newsletter - www.caroljpost.com/newsletter/
Check out her other books:
www.caroljpost.com/my-books/
Posts
I’m laughing so hard at your editor kitty! My cats have always given me that critical eye but they’ve never tried to correct my work! Lol love your cover and the book sounds great. Can’t wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Virginia! I've had them make changes before, but resaving the file was a first!
ReplyDeleteEditor kitties are funny, but where's the snake???
ReplyDeleteI have a rescue dog and cat. The shelter people told us the dog was part lab, part hound. I'm pretty sure it's 99%hound, but he's awesome! Someone told me they always say part lab because that makes people want them more.
Love your books, so I'm looking forward to the new one.
Thanks, Kate! You must have seen my Facebook post last night. I don't have a fear of snakes, but walking into the room and seeing one striking at my cat almost gave me a heart attack, especially not knowing whether it was poisonous. Fortunately, it was only an eastern rat snake. He's somewhere in the woods now, where I hope he stays!
DeleteRescues are amazing, aren't they? They always seem to know what we saved them from and give us their undying love.
My cats have made me laugh so many times.
ReplyDeleteThey're such great company, aren't they? They each have their own unique personalities.
DeleteCarol, Lethal Legacy sounds great! Can't wait to read the story. I'm chuckling about kitty. Such a writer...or should I say editor? Too funny!
ReplyDeleteI had two grand dogs that played a role in two of my books. Sadly, Bear, our sweet big lab mix, passed a few months ago. He lives on in our hearts! Thankfully, Angelo is still with us. A real charmer!
Thanks, Debby! So sorry to hear about Bear. They're such an important part of our lives it's always hard to say goodbye. I hope you enjoy Angelo for many years to come.
DeleteNow I want to know more about the rat snake!
ReplyDeleteI have Lucy the dog (1/4 German shepherd and 3/4 Husky - Yikes)
I also have Tyre the cat (100% furball)
My cat changes my laptop stories also.
LOL! I'm at my sister's place in North Carolina right now. After playing games last night, I came downstairs, and there was a snake inside. Zorro was trying to play with it and it was striking at him. I grabbed both Zorro and Midnight and ran from the room with 30 pounds of squirming cat! Then my sister and I got the snake into a plastic waste basket, took him out and deposited him in the woods.
DeleteLucy and Tyre sound like fun. Yeah, kitties are pretty good at messing with our stories!
With two dogs and a cat in the house, at least one of them is usually pestering me while I'm trying to write! But honestly (most days, anyway), I wouldn't have it any other way.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Myra. Writing would be a really lonely job without my kitties.
DeleteCarol, what a great post! I'm an animal lover too so I appreciate them in stories. I have two dogs, a German shepherd and a schipperke-miniature-pinscher. Thankfully, neither has learned to type, but there's nothing like a cold nose on my arm while I'm writing a suspense scene to scare me right out of the chair.
ReplyDeleteI loved this post!
ReplyDeleteWhen the World's-Best-German-Shepherd passed on, I resolved not to get a new dog for a while. I didn't think it was fair to a new dog, as I'd expect her to behave as well as my old dog. I figured God would send me a dog when the time was right. Instead, a little all-black kitten showed up in my backyard crying for food. At 5 a.m. every morning. She was too small for the traps we set, but I found that leaving food out meant I could sleep to a reasonable hour in the morning. It took months before I could earn her trust enough to get close to her, but when I did, I warned kitty that I was a dog person. "You're not my cat," I told her.
Fast forward to four years later: every morning a very smug NotMyCat demands her due of hugs and kibble. Apparently the fact that she's not my cat doesn't mean that I'm not her human.