Writing can be a lonely job. So we often need that extra little help with things like editing, computer dusting, and of course marketing. When we need to read our drafts out loud? Our cats, dogs and hamsters are our best audiences. When we are wracked with self-doubt? They’re our biggest fans. When we need a little pick-me-up? They let us literally pick them up. Hugs and walks and devoted love help a writer immensely. And they’re some of my favorite posts on social media! So today I’m devoting this article to some wonderful writers and their fabulous pets.
James L’Etoile
James is one of my favorite pet people and author friends with his two fantastic therapy corgis, Emma and Bryn. He also has an accidental cat #notmycat who even has a little stuffed look alike toy that gets to travel with him to conferences!
BURY THE PAST: A detective Penley mystery Sequel to AT WHAT COST. Sacramento Police Detectives John Penley and Paula Newberry are enlisted to investigate a case involving the trafficking of stolen street drugs. But they quickly find it’s more difficult than they first imagined when the crime is being committed by a group of corrupt cops undermining the system.
Gabriel Valjan
Gabriel is a cat whisperer at heart and manages to have fabulous help in the marketing department with Munchkin. (And she’s one tough editor to boot). Gabriel just received an Agatha Award nomination for Best Historical! Naming Game is about the McCarthy era in Hollywood – blacklists, navigating the 1950s in the film industry and is full of savvy characters with an engaging mystery. He also just had a new series launch that takes place in 1970s Boston: DIRTY OLD TOWN.
DIRTY OLD TOWN: A Shane Cleary Mystery Shane Cleary, a PI in a city where the cops want him dead, is tough, honest and broke. When he’s asked to look into a case of blackmail, the money is too good for him to refuse, even though the client is a snake and his wife is the woman who stomped on Shane’s heart years before. With both criminals and cops out to get him, the pressure is on for Shane to put all the pieces together before time runs out.
NAMING GAME: The Company Files Book 2 Whether it’s Hollywood or DC, life and death, success or failure hinge on saying a name. The right name. When Charlie Loew is found murdered in a seedy flophouse with a cryptic list inside the dead script-fixer’s handkerchief, Jack Marshall sends Walker undercover as a screenwriter at a major studio. Paranoia, suspicions, and divided loyalties begin to blur when the House Un-American Activities Committee insists that everyone play the naming game.
Jess Lourey
Jess Lourey is one of my favorite authors to follow on social media because of her fantastic novels AND because she and her family work with rescue kittens. Come on!!! It’s a work of love and that kind of creative devotion comes out in her writing. Check out her latest:
UNSPEAKABLE THINGS was Inspired by a terrifying true story from the author’s hometown, a heart-pounding novel of suspense about a small Minnesota community where nothing is as quiet—or as safe—as it seems.
And of course, I have to include my own helpers (top article pic is Monty helping me edit and just above Maverick is helping me take notes). I’ve always loved animals and I grew up with large dogs, a Great Dane and a Golden Retriever. With city life in New York City, having a dog is a much more difficult task. I ended up with two cats and they have been the most wonderful companions for me and my family! And obviously they are excellent assistants ;-).
My third book in the Art Deco Mystery Series is THE PEAL DAGGER. I write a fresh take on 1930s New York with Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, the art and innovation of the time, and mysteries inspired by real stories of the era where gangsters were taken down, iconic buildings were going up, and the recurring theme of beauty out of adversity wins it all. It was just nominated for a Lefty Award, an Agatha Award, and the GANYC Apple Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literature.
THE PEARL DAGGER: book 3 in the Art Deco Mystery Series
Pets make life better. And they can even make books better! (But you can never EVER kill the dog or cat, right crime writers? EVER.) Go check out these authors and follow them on social media! You’ll love them.
Please send us comments and pics of YOUR animal helpers, editors and managers! We’d love to hear about them!
Be sure to check out FaceBook and Twitter on this article! It’s SO FUN! People are posting great pics – and you’ll just love these authors. Pets add SO MUCH to our lives. 🙂 And I’d love to see YOUR furry assistants!