My favorite cockatiel, Happy… gone but not forgotten!
Edit: Thank you so much for all the awesome names! I finally decided to go with Jessica B’s suggestion: Barrington, with a nickname of Bear. It fits the book’s plot beautifully! And the book will be out with a collection of novellas in January, so stay tuned… you all can meet Bear!
Lots of novels explore the glories of the two most popular pets in North America: dogs and cats. I include dogs in all of my Rescue River books for Love Inspired, and a few cats have appeared in my novels, too. But one of the greatest`things about being an author is getting the chance to explore your own interests, no matter how obscure. I did just that in my latest release, A Bond of Hope. And the obscure interest is… birds!
I have always liked birds, outdoor and indoor, but I have a particular fondness for birds in the parrot family. I’ve owned a number of parakeets, two cockatiels, and a Senegal parrot. For many years, when I moved frequently from apartment to apartment, the only allowable pets were small ones, and for me, that was birds.
In A Bond of Hope, Esperanza Lopez has made a business of raising birds. Birds steal earrings and comfort those in distress and, at one point, bring the hero and heroine back together after an awful fight.
Love birds? You bet!
So, even though birds rank seventh on the list of most popular American pets—right above snakes and reptiles—they get their day in A Bond of Hope.
I would maintain that dogs and birds are the two most romantic of pets. Why? They’re active and needy enough to get themselves in trouble, forcing the hero and heroine to work together to help them–arguably more colorful than hamsters, cats, or guinea pigs. But when it’s time for human romance, the dog can be relegated to his doghouse and the bird to its cage. Thus they’re far more convenient than that other standby of romance novels, babies… who, as all readers know, demand so much attention that they often block romance rather than enhancing it.
What would you name a romance-novel dog? Specifically, a large male standard poodle? Put your name choice in the comments by midnight November 8th, and I’ll pick one to use in my upcoming novella. And if you’ll stop by my website and sign up for my not-spammy newsletter, you’ll get a free story, Before the Bond. It gives the background for how the Sacred Bond brotherhood got its start.
Lee Tobin McClain read Gone With The Wind in the third grade and has been an incurable romantic ever since. Lee is the author of the Sacred Bond series of contemporary inspirational romances and also writes the Rescue River books (angsty, but full of fun kids and dogs) for Harlequin Love Inspired. When she not writing emotional Christian romances, she's probably driving around a carload of snarky teen girls, playing with her rescue dog and cat, or teaching aspiring writers in Seton Hill University's MFA program. She is probably not cleaning her house.
So right about dogs/birds and babies in romance- babies do demand a lot of time and attention, something that is rarely acknowledged in most TV shows and books. My dad had a pet Galah when we were growing up, it didn’t really like me or my sister, but was fairly tolerant of dad.
Hi Lee! Enjoyed your post. As a young married couple, living in an apartment we had a Canary Winged Bee Bee parrot named Laura. We received her and her cage free. She loved sitting on our shoulder and reading the newspaper, as well as nibbling it. She was a vibrant green, like a love bird only slightly larger. She scared my German grandma when she decided to take a bath in her water dishes, changing her color to gray. I love birds.
A good name for a romantic male poodle is Valentino. Happy Writing.
I love birds too, Lee, particularly hummingbirds and Black-capped chickadees. When I think of a large male standard poodle, the name Blue comes to mind.
We had goldfinches growing up. They’re not as good a bird pet as a parakeet, I think, as you don’t really take them out of the cage. But they were pretty to watch.
See I am OK with some birds but not all. Like the woodpecker here at my new apt. Drives me nuts. Or the black head chickadee or whatever it was at my last apt that would tap on my window. As for pet bird, well I grew up with cockatiels and all I can say is never again. That screech is like nails in a chalk board to me. The first one we thought was a boy so I named him Max, then we got “Max’s” parents so I named them Maxer and Maxine. Then “Max” laid and egg and became Maxie. Yeah apparently I had a thing for Max names between the age 5 and 8 dunno why. But you could name the poodle Max or maybe Sammy?
I like the name Chip for a dog.
i pick Roscoe or Samson
I love standard poodles! Such adorable dogs. For no obvious reason, I think Henry!
The name that popped into my head was Buddy :-) I’ve never had pet birds, because I was born loving cats :-)
I had a toy white female poodle that we named Missy. She was my first anniversary present. Next summer we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary. Still miss our Missy. She died 1 week before her 15th birthday. For a male standard poodle – Bandit, Pepper, Dragon, Mischief, and all of my male dogs we named My Buddy…….. and the name added to it different based on personality. Oscar, Charlie, Lucky, Harold, Spot & Foots (my first dog was small but had the largest feet-he never grew into the size of his feet. I used to dress him up in doll clothes & he would chase cars down the street in them.) Just a few of the names I’ve named my dogs.
Had to look up Galahs online–beautiful!
Oh man, another type of bird I’ve never heard of! Thanks for commenting, Renate.
So far we’ve got Valentino and Blue…. very different personalities implied. Thank you!
Yes, goldfinches are beautiful. They seem more like wild birds–a little bit of nature in your home.
Too funny! It’s true, birds can be very annoying when they’re loud. Max and Sammy are two more good choices.
more good names: Chip, Roscoe, Samson, and HENRY!!!!
I think that Barrington could work, with Bear as a nickname.
Great names, Pat! My senegal parrot was named Lucky. I was also one to dress up my pets. Even now, my little dog has a Halloween costume!
We’ve never had a bird indoors just chickens, ducks, and turkeys. All are interesting to watch. We had a turkey named Mister that liked to perch on your shoulder. He must have had identity issues or something, he was huge and heavy.
Carson, Duke, Watson, Winston, Charles, Howser, Carl, George… I always feel bad for the frou frou dogs that have frilly names to boot. The poofy hairdo is torture enough ;)
Ralph
Haha, too funny about Mister! A turkey on your shoulder would definitely be heavy, especially if he dug in his claws. Those are more great names, and I will keep in mind not to name the poodle Fifi or something like that.
Ooh, Robin, great choice except… I dated a man named Ralph not too long ago, and I’m afraid I’d get him mixed up with the poodle!
Hi Lee! I have to tell you, the most unusual pet I’ve read about in a novel is a precarious goat named Ladybug in Victoria Bylin’s “Someone Like You”. I’ve read a lot with dogs, especially K-9’s, but having a goat in a story was a nice change of pace; and lots of laughter at her antics :-) I think birds would be fascinating too and add their own unique personality!
We have occasional neighbors next door (vacation home) and when they visit, they bring their two standard poodles. Both of them are male and one is white and the other is black; Ozzy & Jasper. So I’ll go with those names since I’m no good at coming up with my own :-)
I love birds too. I liked them before I met my husband and then turned out to love them as I’ve learned so much about them with him. He took me into a few bird watching trips and it was like seeing a kind in him trying to figure out who was singing and what birds we’d see.
I had a very bad experience with dogs while growing up and never warmed up to them (Tommy, Toby, and Teddy were my grandad’s dogs when I was a kid and although I find the names really cute for a dog, one of them bit me), so it is really hard for me to read romance novels that put the dogs in a “special” place and take too much focus from the story–I’m particularly annoyed when it’s time for human romance, and the dog is not relegated to his doghouse. Not very often (thankfully), but still. I do like stories including working dogs (e.g., herding, guide and hearing, seizure alert) and ones in law enforcement (e.g., search and rescue, police).
One of my best friends has a large standard black poodle named Eric. Eric is such a strong, Scandinavian name for such a gentle dog, it makes me want to make him a Viking cap (complete with horns) to help him live up to his name!
I’ve never been around any pet birds! Not a pet I’ve ever thought about having…
As for dogs, my family has usually had small dogs, but none at the moment. As for a name for a large male poodle, how about Captain!