May 3, 2021
Do pets (or other animals) play an important part in your books? Tell us about them.
Let’s begin with a philosophical debate. I have a series of shifter books. My main characters are human-to-wolf shifters, but I sprinkle a variety of other shifter forms into my stories as well. (Imagine a rabbit shifter hanging out with the wolves!) My characters are aware of their animal nature when they are in human form and they don’t lose their human nature when they are in animal form. So, I don’t consider them animals.
My shifters also know the impact they have on the animals they interact with. From Wolves’ Gambit: “It’s not like we can take up ranching. Have you ever seen how cattle react to our presence?” and later “Chickens don’t care that we are shifters.” I’ve made jokes about how they can’t have pets. I’m going to exclude the animal side of my shifters from this discussion.
But animals are a natural part of my shifters’ lives. Crows play a minor part but are an important tribute to Dot’s (My female MC) Native American heritage in Wolves’ Pawn. (Yes, I know birds are technically not animals!)
A raucous noise broke her meditation, and she opened her eyes to find a large crow sitting in front of her. It cocked its head, uttered a single caw, and flew away. One large black feather drifted down from the sky. Dot picked it up and stuck it into the scarf wrapped around her arm.
In Wolves’ Knight, there’s a scene that explains how my wolves interact with wildlife:
Tasha cautiously lifted her head the same time the wind changed direction. “That’s a beauty, and not another shifter,” she sent as a large white-tailed buck stepped into a patch of sunshine. She counted the points on his rack. Ten. “What’s he doing here?” They hadn’t been quiet before the deer showed up.
Although the pack didn’t depend on the local wildlife for food, hunting was a natural part of their lives, and few large animals were found on pack land anymore. Even rabbits and squirrels were not as plentiful as they were years ago.
“It’s almost hunting season. He probably got chased out of his territory by someone scouting for a good spot for a blind. Are you going to take him down?”
“Does the pack need the food?” Tasha’s other-self licked its lips in anticipation of fresh meat, but the deer was larger than she and Elder Fenner could eat in one sitting.
“No.”
“Well, crap.”
I’ve been considering adding to the Free Wolves’ series. There are so many potential stories. Heck, I could see a whole different series coming out off Wolves’ Gambit. If you’ve read the series, you know Counselor Carlson deserves his own story. What part would animals play? I can’t predict. But I have the feeling they’d be worked into the story somehow.
How do our other authors incorporate animals into the books? Follow the links below to find out!
As always, until next time, please stay safe.
May 3, 2021
Do pets (or other animals) play an important part in your books? Tell us about them.
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I think animals are a natural part of the human situation, as prey, pet and partner. Other than in a truly sanitized world, I can’t imagine not including them.
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Animals and our relationship to them can provide a rich source of context, emotion and drama.
True. The way we treat animals can be a reflection of how we treat other people.
Shape shifters is an interesting topic in itself, Patricia. I was introduced to this concept in the Harry Potter books and have seen it used in fiction a few times since. I am sure the idea was not created by JK Rowling, I just hadn’t come across it before her books.
The concept exists in the myths of many cultures, I pulled from the Native American stories for Wolves’ Pawn. That’s what inspired me to give my female MC a Native American connection.