I have to admit I was a little surprised when a reviewer said Ranger was her favorite character in A Latte Difficulty since, you know, Ranger is a dog. But this made me think of all the pets I’ve written into books.
Honestly, I added dogs to my CafFUNAted Mysteries for two reasons:
1.) I needed to make the snarky, city girl likable, so I wanted to give her a soft side for a pet.
2.) I’d heard that books with dogs in them sell more than books with cats. (No offense, cat lovers, this is just a statistic.)
But it kind of took off from there. I wanted Tandy to connect with Connor, so I gave him a black Lab. Then I thought it would be interesting to have a deaf character, so I gave him a hearing dog, which I named Sheila just for fun. And, of course, I had to put the dogs in a costume contest for the Americana Fest. My editor even wrote me about this scene because she loved it so much. (In case you are wondering, Sheila won in her red, white, and blue tutu.)
I’ve given other characters pets, as well. Finding Love in Eureka has baby goats that Gen’s sister keeps in her backyard for goat yoga classes. And no, I didn’t make up goat yoga. It’s a thing.
I also didn’t make up the story from Finding Love in Big Sky where Josh asked Santa for a horse then found a neighbor’s escaped horse in his front yard Christmas morning. That really happened to my dad as a kid. Poor guy.
As for Tracen’s dog going on jet ski rides in Finding Love in Sun Valley, I can only wish that was something I’ve done before. Maybe I’ll try taking my pups out on the paddle board this summer.
In all these books, the pets make the stories more fun just like they’ve made real life more fun. This brings me back to Ranger being a reader’s favorite character in A Latte Difficulty. I don’t want to ruin the surprise (a.k.a. plot twist), but the crazy thing that Ranger does is from real life, as well. It’s too unbelievable to be made up.
The whole idea of making a character likable by having them take care of pets comes from the famous book Save the Cat, but now that I reflect on how important they are, it very well may be that pets save us.
Can you think of other books you’ve read where pets make a difference?
Angela Ruth Strong was first published by a national magazine while still in high school and went on to study journalism at the University of Oregon. She has won both Idaho Top Author and the Cascade Award for her novels, and she started IDAhope Writers to help others pursue their dreams. She is also a member of Team Love on the Run.
Besides writing, she teaches group fitness classes, travels with her kids on youth group mission trips, and often gets herself into silly situations like hamster ball races or riding on the shoulders of a unicyclist.
Can two baristas track down a gunman after the espresso shot heard ’round the world?
When Marissa witnesses an attempted murder during the 4th of July parade, it starts a battle for her independence. She is forced to hide out in a safehouse, leaving her co-owner, Tandy, to run their coffee shop, track down the criminal, and, worse, plan Marissa’s wedding. Thankfully Tandy has help, but can she really trust the P.I. in a bow tie, her new deaf barista who acts more like a bartender, or a wedding planner who’s keeping secrets?
The threat on Marissa’s future goes from bad to worse when her bridal gown is covered in blood. Though her fiancé, Connor, agrees to give up his identity to join her in the Witness Protection Program, Marissa refuses to wave the white flag. Instead, she enlists Tandy to help her fight for truth, justice, and the Americano way.
