Happy National Puppy Day! Yep, it’s a thing. How fitting that I’m blogging today, because I definitely have a thing for puppies. Apparently I’m not alone in my obsession affection for these furry friends, either. According to this article in Forbes, the ASPCA estimates 44% of American households own a dog. The American Pet Products Association says American households spent 63 billion on their animals in 2016 (a substantial increase from 21 billion in 1996).
When we were newlyweds, my husband and I adopted an 8 week old black lab/sharpei puppy from the Humane Society in Portland, Oregon. Jake was a part of our family for 13 years, and we were heartbroken when he passed away in 2015. For a short time, we convinced ourselves we didn’t need a dog. Too much work, too expensive, too high-maintenance. However, our house and family without a dog just wasn’t the same. So I changed my mind, as we women are sometimes known to do. My husband took some convincing, but at last Finn became ours in September of 2016. He’s a Goldendoodle (golden retriever and standard poodle) and a delightful addition to our family. By the way, he and my husband are crazy about each other, so I think we made an excellent choice. Is he adorable or what?
Not only am I a dog owner in real life, I also try to weave a fictional dog into the stories I write whenever possible. I was thrilled when I heard a senior editor at Harlequin Love Inspired mention at a conference last year that puppies/dogs are consistently popular with readers. Well. Have I got a manuscript (or three) for you, ma’am.
In the world of inspirational romance, I enjoy crafting the relationship between the characters and their pets. Readers (and heroines) have been known to fall in love with a hero just by the way he interacts with an animal. The photo included at the top of the post reminds me so much of Hershey, a rescue dog I spontaneously added to one of my manuscripts. The hero seemed like a guy who needed to adopt a puppy in a moment of weakness. This four-legged cutie pie also gives the hero and heroine a secondary reason to interact more often. Puppies are great like that. It’s not quite time to pitch this story idea to my editor yet, but when I do, I hope she’s as crazy about Hershey the make-believe pup as I am.
While this is a wonderful day to talk about puppies, today is also my last blog post with Inspy Romance. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you, dear readers, and I appreciate your voracious reading habits and loyal following. It’s very rewarding to interact with you here, as well as elsewhere on social media. My first novel with Harlequin Love Inspired, The Farmer’s Daughter, will release in 2018, and I can’t wait for you to meet Natalie, Shay, and his adorable toddler twins, Aiden and Liam.
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Thank you very much for allowing me the opportunity to share my work and snippets of my real life with you. It’s been a pleasure.
Your turn: what’s your favorite novel featuring an animal?
photo credit: Jairo Alzate via Unsplash
A Pacific Northwest girl at heart, Heidi was blessed to spend her formative years in Alaska. Her unique upbringing, coupled with Alaska's breathtaking scenery, fueled her active imagination and loosely inspired her debut novel, Unraveled. Heidi graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Sports Medicine from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington and a Master's Degree in Athletic Training from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. After a brief career as a Certified Athletic Trainer, Heidi married her husband, Steve. They live in North Carolina with their three active little boys. When Heidi isn't stepping on Legos, chauffeuring the boys around suburbia or watching one of their many sporting events, she loves to read and write heartwarming romance.
Cute photos, I have actually never seen a picture of a Goldendoodle before so thank you (and he is CUTE!). We used to look after Customs puppies for their first year of life- it was awesome and I miss the cute little labrador puppies!
Will miss your posts Heidi, but will keep looking out for your books.
Many blessings:)
You know how I love Finn, Heidi. The first time I saw him on Facebook, I melted. I’m so sorry to hear you’re leaving us, but I can certainly understand. I’ll look forward to reading The Farmer’s Daughter and seeing more pictures of Finn. :)
Thanks for you post but sad to see you leave. Maybe you will guest post/blog in the future.
I’m sorry to see you leave. Thank you for all your posts so far. I’ve learned about your books in this blog and enjoyed reading every single one. I’ll continue to follow your new books through your newsletter.
What a fun opportunity, looking after Customs puppies. Thanks for reading my posts and faithfully commenting. Yes, I look forward to releasing more books in the future. I’m sure 2018 will be here before I know it. Blessings to you, as well. :-)
Thank you, Jill. I will definitely post more pictures of Finn. I just can’t help myself. I’m excited to share The Farmer’s Daughter with the world, too. By the way, I started Second Chance Romance last night. Nicely done, my friend. I’m quite smitten with Jackson already.
Thank you, Colleen. Yes, I hope to guest post when The Farmer’s Daughter is available next year. Take care.
Thank you very much, Priscila. That is very encouraging. I look forward to sharing more bookish news with you in the future. Blessings!
Your book sounds great. I love stories with dogs/puppies in them. Sad to see this is your last post. Can’t wait to read your book when it comes out!
Hi Heidi! Finn is adorable and what a great picture, too. Your book sounds great!
Thanks, Sally!
Thank you very much, Melanie. :-)
Thanks for your posts! God bless your new endeavors. I think my all time favorite animal book is Lassie Come Home. Since I’m allergic to dogs, we prefer other pets. We’ve found rabbits to be affectionate and they are easily litter box trained. As always, thanks for writing,so we readers have fun books to read!!
It’s been such a pleasure getting to know you and blogging with you at Inspy Romance, Heidi, and I hope you’ll blog with us again in the future! Best wishes on your Love Inspired release next year, and finding Hershey a publishing home!
We’ve usually had a dog in our home — my husband is more the dog person than I am. Some of my characters have dogs, while some have cats or goats or… other animals. And some don’t have a pet at all!
Thank you very much for commenting, Diana. My sister has pet rabbits, too. They are super cute and affectionate. My boys love to see them when we visit. Thanks again for being a faithful reader.
Thank you very much for including me as in the Inspy Romance family, Valerie. I’ve enjoyed it and hope to return if time and space allow. I like to see a variety of animals in stories, too, although I agree sometimes there just isn’t an appropriate role for them.
Sorry to see you go! My dad was a dog person, my mom and I both cat people. So growing up we usually had both :-) One of our dogs wanted ALL the family to be together. We quickly learned that you didn’t take him along to pick up my dad from work, because that dog would throw up in the car until ALL his people were together!
Thank you for your kind words, Margaret. I’ll miss blogging in this space. I enjoyed your story about the dog. Aren’t they clever creatures? Our Finn is so intuitive and he gets so irritated when my husband leaves the house without him.
Gorgeous dogs! A hero who doesn’t like dogs is no hero!
Sorry to see you go, Heidi! Hope all goes well for you Love Inspiring!
Thank you, Autumn. That’s right, a hero who doesn’t like dogs can’t be a hero. ;-)
Your dog is adorable. We will miss you here.
I love it when animals are included in stories, and think they can add a lot to the story as far as the hero/heroine interacting. Finn is a cutie btw. :)
Thank you so much, Merrillee. On both counts.
Thanks, Andrea. I believe we are kindred spirits. :-)
I love Barnabas in Jan Karon’s Mitford series and how she wrote about the bond between him and Father Tim.
Me too! Barnabas was a fantastic part of that series. Thanks for sharing.