Category Archives: writers’ pets

Cat on a Hot Night

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Sophie doesn’t do well in the heat and is feeling sorry for herself and a bit grumpy. So is the cat. It brings back memories.

black and white photograph of a white wine glass falf full of water

Image by Samuel from Pixabay

Writing this week has been taking place between the hours of 5.30 and 8.00am. After that it is just too damn hot in London. During working hours I find I am either suffering or snoozing involuntarily. The head has actually hit the desk at least once a day.

If I sit down for a refreshing glass of cool, cool water, straight from the fridge, I’m quite likely to fall asleep before I start.

Which, of course, means that I’ve not been sleeping properly during the dark and steamy nights. And oh boy, have they been steamy. My room runs the width of my house so I can have two windows open, allowing a refreshing breeze to flow through. At least theoretically.

No breeze has obliged, so far.

substantial fruit bun, cut in two to with a slice exposed that looks as dry as cardboard.

Image by robwiggly from Pixabay

Result: I get up sleep-deprived and then try to apply myself to writing.

It comes out over-cooked and distinctly stodgy. This does not surprise me. It adds to the accumulated sum of unwellbeing. General grumpiness ensues.

So then I look at the Met Office weather forecast and see that tomorrow will be cooler. Lovely. Except that was what they said yesterday. And it isn’t. At least, It doesn’t feel like it. My thermometer agrees with me.

So does my cat, Perdita. Continue reading →

Writers and their cats…

Liz ponders writers and cats:

“In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.” ~ Terry Pratchett

Cover of Seriously Funny. The Endlessly Quotable Terry PratchettWriting tends to be a solitary business. Many of the authors I know have a dog who will happily sit at their feet while they’re working.

Egyptian cat goddess

Egyptian cat goddess that lives on Liz’s desk

Cats, on the other hand, are unfamiliar with the “sit, stay” command. It’s not that they don’t want to be with you. On the contrary. When they aren’t sleeping, they demand your full attention.

American fantasy author, P C Cast, put it perfectly.

“You know how it is with cats: They don’t really have owners, they have staff.”

“Authors like cats because they are such quiet, loveable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons.” ~ Robertson Davies

I like that quote for obvious reasons, but how accurate is it? Continue reading →

Yikes, I’ve won the Libertà Award : Guest Blog by Kate Hardy

As a follow-up to last weekend’s blog on the virtual ceremony for the RNA Awards 2021, this week we’re delighted to be able to welcome Kate Hardy, the winner of the LIbertà Books Shorter Romantic Novel Award 2021 for A Will, A Wish and A Wedding.

Kate is an old mate of the Libertà hive. She was one of the very kind authors who welcomed the then unpublished newbie, Joanna Maitland, to her very first RNA meeting. That was well over 20 years ago and Kate says she doesn’t remember. But Joanna does and is still grateful.

Kate Hardy's spaniels, Archie and DexterKate comes—be warned—with hairy hangers-on. So this is partly a writer’s pet blog too. It’s about time we did another of those, don’t you think?

Kate’s hangers-on, Archie (the big one) and Dexter, rejoice in the title of Edit-paw-ial Assistants.
More from them later.

Keep reading, as Kate tells us about how she became a published author and how she came to write the lovely butterfly-filled book that won our award.

Kate Hardy writes…

I’m thrilled to be here, as the winner of the 2021 Libertà Books Shorter Romantic Novel Award. It’s a glorious collision of numbers: for my 90th M&B, in my 20th year of being a M&B author and my 25th year of being a member of the RNA. And it’s also the third time I’ve won the award. As the photo below shows, I really wasn’t expecting it — and I’m so delighted!

Kate Hardy is announced as the winner of the Libertà Books Award 2021

Continue reading →

Puppy Love : Guest Blog by Jane Godman

Jane Godman, author, Libertà Award Winner

Jane Godman
Libertà Award Winner

Cover of Secret Baby, Second Chance by Jane Godman

Jane’s Prizewinning Book
Click image for Amazon

This month, we’re delighted to welcome a new guest, the winner of the Libertà Books Shorter Romantic Novel Award, Jane Godman. Jane writes thrillers and paranormals for Harlequin Mills & Boon and St Martin’s Press and self-publishes historical and gothic stories as well! Quite a range and certainly enough to keep her very busy.

Jane Godman is much travelled too. Born in Scotland, she’s lived in Germany, Wales, Malta, South Africa, and England. Jane says she still gets the urge to travel, but these days she prefers to head for a Spanish beach, or a European city that is steeped in history.

When she isn’t reading or writing romance, Jane likes cooking, spending time with her family, and enjoying the antics of her dogs, Gravy and Vera. For more about them, read on…

Puppy love — Vera’s Story

Jane Godman's Cairn terrier, Gravy

Gravy

He was unlike anyone she’d ever met before. A darkly handsome Highlander, with perfect features and melting brown eyes.

She wasn’t even going to try to pronounce his name, but it was intensely attractive to her.

Aloof and distant, he ignored her efforts to be friendly, turning away when she approached, and sometimes even leaving the room when she walked in. Continue reading →

A Dog : A Writer’s Best Friend?

The Dog in Fiction

Dogs are very popular with writers. Think of fictitious ones like Heyer’s Italian Greyhound, Tina, in The Grand Sophy, Bulls Eye the fighting dog belonging to Bill Sykes in Dickens’s Oliver Twist and Timmy, the fifth member of Blyton’s Famous Five. Even Conan Doyle’s “gigantic hound”. We love them all.

image of Italian greyhound but not Heyer's Tina

Not quite Heyer’s Tina

The Dog in Sarah’s Life — Willow

Many writers have dogs of their own (some, like Liberta’s very own Sophie, have cats, but that, as they say, is another story). I must hold up my hand. I have a dog.

Sarah Mallory and her dog Willow

Sarah with her faithful friend

First things first, let’s get something straight. Willow is a dog. Yes, yes, I hear you say, we can see that.

He is a male dog. He looks so elegant, even pretty, and being called Willow, it is no wonder that many people think he is a girl.

We adopted Willow as a rescue dog when he was just over three years old. We thought it would be better to keep his name than change it to something more, er, butch, such as Bouncer or Max.

Adopting Willow was one of those serendipity moments that happen, sometimes. Continue reading →

Female names : flowers, fashions and faux-pas

single blush-pink climbing rose flower against blue skyvariegated ivy growing up a stone wallleaves of a rather leggy laurus nobilis (bay) tree

The images above (in case you were wondering) show various plants from my drought-ridden garden, specifically: rose, ivy, catmint, bay (laurel). Anything strike you about them?
Yes, three of them also provide female names.  At least, they do in English.

I don’t think it’s usual to call a baby girl “Catmint”. Unless you know someone called that?

But Rose, Ivy, and Laura (Laurel) used to be fairly common.

bee on lavender flowersspikes of blue delphiniumsAlong with Pansy,
Lily,
Hyacinth,
Lavender,
Poppy,
the occasional Delphine (Delphinium),
and loads more… Continue reading →

Writer’s Pet? Sort of — Guest blog by Catherine Jones

Catherine Jones, AuthorOur latest guest blog comes from multi-published author Catherine Jones, who also writes as Kate Lace and Fiona Field. Like many writers, she has domestic pets but she’s writing about something different here. Catherine’s “pets” are wild and wacky. Not as wacky as Joanna’s pet troll.
But nearly.

Catherine’s excuse is that she’s always been interested in wildlife. Even when she was in the army (a long time ago) she would spend her time on battlefield tours searching for the local flora and fauna rather than paying attention to the details of the tactics used to give Johnny-Foreigner “a damn good thrashing”. [Her words, not ours!]
Catherine’s “pets”, as she explains below, are… Continue reading →

Veronica the crafty companion : Guest blog by Judy Astley

Judy Astley authorThis month, we welcome another Libertà friend and much-loved author, Judy Astley, to the blog.

Like so many of our guest bloggers, Judy has a fascinating portfolio of skills. She spent several years as a dressmaker, painter and illustrator before writing her first book, Just For The Summer. She’s since written nineteen more. Phew! And now, after a two-year rest to refill the creative well, she’s working on book number twenty-one. Her many fans will be delighted.

Like many other writers, Judy has a furry friend — Veronica. And Veronica sounds to be quite a character, as Judy explains…

Veronica has her own ideas about what to wear…

Veronica the crafty Burmese cat (+ friend)

 

My cat’s collar was starting to look like a charm bracelet. From it dangled her metal tag with her address and phone number, a magnetic gadget that opened her catflap and then this new addition: a soft blue disc that held a new device — a tracker.

“I’m sorry, but you’ve brought it on yourself,” I told Veronica (a blue Burmese, sweet but crafty).

She gave me a look that clearly said, “You expect me to go out in this?” Continue reading →

My Hairy-Chested Hero : Guest Blog by Christina Hollis

portrait of author Christina HollisToday, we welcome our first guest blogger of 2018, Christina Hollis, a writer with quite a pedigree.

Christina has written non-fiction, historical novels, and modern romances for Harlequin Mills & Boon and other publishers, selling nearly 3 million books in more than twenty languages.

But today, Christina is not talking about her writing.
Today her guest blog is about Alex, her beloved hairy-chested hero…

My Hero with the Hairy Chest…

Intelligent, a good listener, the perfect companion for long country walks—but that’s enough about my husband. I’m here to tell you about Alex, our retriever/labrador cross. Continue reading →

The Writer’s Pet: Who is Joanna’s Boon Companion?

Continue reading →