Writing Dogs: What Our Dogs Taught Me

By Eli Easton

 

Last fall I really wanted to start a humorous m/m romance shifter series, with humor being the operative word. But I didn’t want to write the traditional big predators—wolves, bears, lions, etc. My husband suggested that I make my characters dogs. I resisted at first, wondering if I could make dogs ‘sexy’, but the ideas kept coming, so I decided to try it. Thus was the “Howl at the Moon” series born.

Being an owner of three dogs has been very helping in shaping my characters. I thought I’d let you know a little about our dogs and how they influenced the characters of Mad Creek.

First, all dogs have different personalities. There are certainly traits that a given breed has. Our three dogs are all English bulldogs, and none of them are athletes. They’d rather sit on the couch than go for a walk. But beyond breed traits, they each have a unique personality, just like kids (or adults, for that matter).

LUCY: BITCH, PLEASE

Lucy rules over the best spot on the couch or bed like a queen. She’s calm but man, she can be a hell of a bitch if one of the other dogs usurps her domain. She’s the calmest of the lot, the unexcitable one I’d trust around a toddler or the mailman.

LOLA: JECKYLL AND HYDE

Lola is fucking insane. I swear she has doggy bi-polar. She’s either the sweetest and most placid creature on earth, or she’s doing a good imitation of having rabies. And that’s not with strangers either. That’s just ‘I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning’. She has her ‘time out’ spot for when she’s particularly hairy.

LIVY: A! Happy! Dog!

Livy is the good natured clown that both Lucy and Lola love even though they pretty much dislike each other. She also does a most excellent impression of not being able to understand a word you say. She’s the only one of the three that refused to ever learn sit, shake, come, etc. Like, she would literally starve to death rather than do anything on command, but she’s so excited to get up every morning and so enthusiastic. She! Is! A! Happy! Dog!

FEAR THE BOX

Our dogs also don’t like change. They have different responses about new introductions to the environment. A large box is an object of obsessive curiosity for Lucy, a matter of indifference for Lola, but Livy will fearfully avoid the room it’s in for weeks. They all love the outdoors, which is a trait you’ll find in my lead character Roman. They are fascinated by snow, rain, and fallen leaves, and all three are avid sun worshippers. They all love smelly things too—the smellier the food the better! (in “How to Walk Like a Man” Roman loves sardines.) Most importantly, they love touch and it reassures them that they’re okay and you’re okay and everything is okay between you. Like our dogs, Roman needs touch too.

MAD CREEK

For my characters in Mad Creek, I’ve done a lot of research on various dog breeds and watched endless Youtube videos. But breed traits are stereotypes just like you can stereotype people. Each dog in Mad Creek has a personality, whether it’s friendly and welcoming like Daisy at the diner (a golden retriever), a gossiper like Fred Beagle at the post office (as you might guess, a beagle), a mother hen like Lily (a border collie), a worry wart protector like Lance (also a border collie), or a guardian who feels best serving others like Roman (a German shepherd military dog).

I hope those of you with dogs will see some traits you recognize in the ‘Howl at the Moon’ books. Feel free to email me and let me know what you think.

Eli Easton

HOW TO WALK LIKE A MAN – Eli Easton

Blurb

Deputy Roman Charsguard survived Afghanistan where he lost his best friend—his K-9 handler James. Roman was a military dog until two years ago when he developed the ability to shift into a human. It’s not easy to learn how to be a man. He found a place to live in Mad Creek, a haven for the secret world of dog shifters. Finding a reason to live has been harder. That is, until a certain human walks into the Mad Creek Sheriff’s office and starts making trouble. 

Matt Barclay has the worst luck. First he was shot in a SWAT drug raid, then he was sent as DEA investigator to Mad Creek, a little town in the California mountains. Matt’s job is to keep a lookout for illegal drug farms, but nobody in the town wants him there. And then there’s Roman, Matt’s erstwhile baby-sitter. He’s the hottest guy Matt’s ever seen, even if he is a bit peculiar. If this job doesn’t kill Matt, sexual frustration just might.

The town is counting on Roman to prevent Matt from learning about dog shifters, Matt’s counting on Roman to be his work partner and tell him the truth, and Roman’s trying to navigate love, sex, and a whole lot of messy human emotions. Who knew it was so complicated to walk like a man?

Author Bio for Eli Easton

Having been, at various times and under different names, a minister’s daughter, a computer programmer, a game designer, the author of paranormal mysteries, a fan fiction writer, an organic farmer and a profound sleeper, Eli is happily embarking on yet another incarnation as a m/m romance author.

As an avid reader of such, she is tinkled pink when an author manages to combine literary merit, vast stores of humor, melting hotness and eye-dabbing sweetness into one story.  She promises to strive to achieve most of that most of the time.  She currently lives on a farm in Pennsylvania with her husband, three bulldogs, three cows and six chickens.  All of them (except for the husband) are female, hence explaining the naked men that have taken up residence in her latest fiction writing.

Her website is www.elieaston.com

You can email her at eli@elieaston.com

Eli graciously is giving away a copy of the first book in the series, “How to Howl at the Moon” in ebook

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