Characters of All Kinds

This is Merrillee, and I'm thinking about characters other than human beings that can populate our books. I've only written a couple of books that feature animals. Mommy's Hometown Hero is set on a farm, and my upcoming January 2012 book, Montana Match, is set on a ranch. Farms and ranches are natural places to find animals.

Below is a photo of my cat Nomar. He's relaxing on the couch that sits near my desk. The heroine's daughter in Mommy's Hometown Hero gets two kittens for her birthday.



The photo below features a black and tan coon hound. The heroine of Montana Match gets a coon hound for her birthday.



This is a photo of a mourning dove that built her nest in the corner of the roof that covers the patio at my daughter's house. I watched this bird feed her baby until the day the baby left the nest. Maybe someday one of my books will include a bird leaving the nest.



What kind of animals do you like to see in a story? Does having an animal in a story make you more interested in reading it?

Also stop by the blog tomorrow and leave your comments for Lyn Cote who will be asking your opinion about why you decide to buy a book.