Dogs in Romance

Natale's post struck a chord with me!

At the moment, I am reading Georgette Heyer's The Reluctant Widow. I've no business reading for pleasure at the moment because I'm behind on a deadline, but I wanted to see how a classic author dealt with a basically implausible premise.

I've done that. I should put it down, but I'm hooked.

There's a dog. It's name is Bouncer, and in my current mood, I think it is the most masterfully written character in the book. Bouncer certainly steals his scenes. He is carrying the book, at the moment. I want to know what this bad dog will do next, because he is partially trained, and therefore cannot be trusted to bite the villain, or to not bite the heroine.

He's frightening, but endearing. He'll cheerfully take a bribe... but will not necessarily modify his behavior out of gratitude.

Bouncer rocks!

Rowena Cherrry

Animals that inspire

I'm under deadline at the moment, so cannot take long. If you watch this video of MATING NET, at the end you will be offered --by YouTube-- an array of animal videos that have absolutely nothing to do with me or my work.

I did write a scene inspired by the horse and the golf bag... but then I decided it was not in the best possible taste!





If you are on YouTube, check out my sites RowenaBCherry also rowenabeau also rowenacherry.

I've started to collect some videos for my Cherry Picking radio program... sea otters, manatees, seals.

All the best,
Rowena Cherrry

Hybrids in fiction

Hybrids aren't just cars that run on more than one fuel source.

There are hybrid animals, and hybrid plants which occur either naturally or with the assistance of mankind, also hybrids in Greek and Roman mythology. Some hybrids are sterile, and some are not. Some hybrids are called after a combination of the father's name and the mother's (father's name first).

The mythological creatures do not appear to follow this convention... and in fact, now I understand the convention, my mind boggles over the Manticore (man-lion-scorpion).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid
wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid


The etymology is delightful. According to wikipedia, hybrid comes from the ancient Greek for "son of outrageous conduct."

I could have called my Tigron world's black sabre-toothed tigers ... pangers, or tigthers, but I think that would have complicated matters.

After the discussion with Josh about what carnivores in fiction should and should not eat, I spent several hours reading the ingredients on dry pet food for research purposes, I do have to wonder under what circumstances a dog in the wild would eat corn on the cob. Or rice!

There are some schools of alternative healing thought that claim some of our painful ailments (such as arthritis) are a consequence of us eating fruits or vegetables that we are not adapted for, or to which some of us are allergic. My mother cured very painful arthritic swelling in her hands by giving up all produce in the tomato families. Other people have a problem with potatoes. (Some have a problem but don't know it.)

In Insufficient Mating Material, the hero and heroine are marooned on an island on an alien world, and they have to test food and deal with the possibility that the heroine might not have a tolerance for some of the fruits and vegetables growing there.
They also notice some strange and apparently inappropriate alien animal behaviour and wonder how those animals evolved.

(For those who like to watch such things, it's quite instructive to see some of the videos that You-Tube in its wisdom has decided should be bundled with Insufficient Mating Material... a lot of animals going about their business!)

Best wishes,

Rowena Cherry
Insufficient Mating Material
"racy, wildly entertaining futuristic romance" ~Writers Write

Males and other animals

This is not to say that all males are animals, or that all animals are males. Nor are all animal characters in romances either male or female.

That said, this author, is at the Romantic Times Convention, where thoughts turn to the essential and decorative ingredients that make a romance novel charming, and it occurred to me that across all genres, animals play a role in a good book.

Linnea Sinclair has Furzels in her science fiction romances.
My alien royalty keep black tigers as impressive an intimidating house pets.
Deborah MacGillivray has cats in her historical and contemporary paranormal romances.
I've read about crime-solving cats.
I've loved books about shapeshifters, where men turn into dragons, bears, wolves, seals....

So I thought I'd open up cyberspace to an author blog across all genres, to talk about our animal characters, how animals inspire our creativity and move our plots, and even influence our heroes.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry