The holiday season is a great time for writers, for all of us really, to look back over the past year and decide if they’re happy with that they’ve produced. Be it an essay, a short story, or a novel, it’s good to figure out if the work we’ve done had meaning or a point, were we proud of what we accomplished, or did it simply make us smile.
Well, the last year has definitely left me proud and smiling. I left me crying to, because I lost something very important in my life. I lost my Rudy, a dog I’d raised from a pup until he passed away 13 years later. Rudy was my inspiration and my joy, and I miss him each and every day. And that makes things difficult, because he’s one of the lead characters, the star actually, of a new series I started. The books are my first step into mystery and Rudy is the star.
I transitioned from straight romance, all right, paranormal romance, to mystery with a pause. I don’t like killing or gore. I don’t like guns or violence of any kind. But I was a bit bored by straight, all right, paranormal, romance, and wanted to do something different. It was then I remembered an old idea I’d had and brought it out. I ran the thought of compiling a mystery by my agent before I wrote a word. Helen said yes, and when I talked it over with Rudy, he said yes, too.
Once I decided that Ellie, my New York City dog walker, would never have to see any of the gory details, the rest was easy. Ellie and Rudy would stumble across the bodies or be drawn in some way, and their hunt would begin. Book one, Hounding the Pavement, was easy to write once I decided how to kill the victim. Rudy was with me through the entire writing phase, so I knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it.
Book two, Heir of the Dog, started out easy, but when fate stepped in and took my darling boy away, my career stopped cold. Could I finish this book without him? Did I even want to? I worried over it for weeks, cried every day, prayed to God Rudy was in heaven, because if I got there and he wasn’t, well, it just wouldn’t be heaven for me. And as each day passed, I came to my senses a little more. Of course I was going to finish this book, and the next. Rudy was the star. How better could I honor him, than keep him shining in the eyes of my readers?
Book three, Death in Show, started out slow, because I had to write the entire book with my boy looking down from above. But once I began, I knew he was there pushing me to do my best. So the murder was committed in front of a thousand fans. That story will be out in June, and for those of you who, like me, don’t approve of blood and gore, don’t worry. When the victim drops you don’t see a thing.
When my agent received a call from my editor, informing her that they wanted to give me a second three book contract, the plot thickened. If I committed to THREE more books, I’d be fixed, entrenched firmly in the mystery genre. And firmly committed to writing about my boy. For me, it was a huge decision to make. But Rudy stepped in and convinced me I had to continue. If I didn’t he’d be lost and his star would stop shining for the world, even though it would still shine for me.
And so I’ve continued to write, but I’ve coined my own genre. It’s Romantic Mystery With a Dog and No Blood or Gore. And maybe, someday, if Rudy has his way, that title will sit atop a set of shelves in one of the ‘big’ bookstores. And Rudy’s picture will be next to the sign.
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Thank you for visiting Novel Thoughts, Ms McCoy!
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