The Writer, the Dog, and the Tiny Tiger

How a New Kitten Challenged My Dog-Lover Identity—And Changed My Writing Days

With minus forty-three temperatures outside, I’ve been cuddled up with candles, a heated blanket and our new kitten. The only challenge has been that I’ve always identified as a dog person. Bamboo, our small, black Havanese, is such a lovely creature that several of our friends have brought Havanese into their lives.

Here she is:

But now we have Merlin to contend with! A tiny tiger, his purr is louder than his body seems able to contain. He leaps after cat toys and walks over my laptop. And my certainty that I was all about dogs has slid…

Meet Merlin!

My writing days look like rushing out the door with children, getting them to school, then turning around and trying to settle on the page. I’m lucky to break up writing time with great conversations about books and story (when I’m coaching at The Novelry), while in between, I hang out with these two lovely creatures, learning that while I may be a Dog AND Cat person now, that their quiet companionship helps me write and get through these endless edits.

Who works at your side or greets you when you come home? Are you a Cat Person or a Dog Person? Has that ever changed?

Thanks for being here with me and the pets today. I’m deep into edits and it’s such a joy to look up and connect with you. If you want to read more, join me for our Life-Changing Book Club, or learn all about Fictional Characters in a blog I shared with The Novelry earlier this week.

xoxo

Alice

If you’re new here, my name is Alice Kuipers and I’m a writer, mother and dog and cat-owner transplanted twenty years ago to the Canadian prairies from England. I’ve published fourteen books in 36 countries and my writing has been described as: “For storytellers and story lovers,” by Kirkus Reviews; ‘Gorgeous, heart-ripping, important,” by VOYA; and “Intense and wonderful” by Bif Naked. Join me for coffee breaks in my writing life.

Xoxo