How animals enrich my stories

I love incorporating animals into my writing because, let's face it, many of us have them and they're part of our families. My first uplifting romance - Sunshine at Cherry Tree Farm - was inspired by the loss of my little Westie. You can read about that here, if you like. The book acted as a catharsis, encouraged me to adopt Poppy, my adorable cockapoo. Millie is the pooch on the left, by the way.

Then when writing about Nell, the Border collie in The Tanglewood Flower Shop, I realised just how much I missed having a dog in my life and we acquired the sweetest and most loving little cockapoo. We called her Poppy and she filled the paw-shaped hole in my heart.

I couldn't resist putting her at the centre of a sweet romance, and The Summer of Falling in Love (published under my pen name Liz Davies) was the result. This story is told from the male character's POV, because it had been such a joy to see my OH fall in love with the little scrap of fur. He's still besotted with Poppy now.

Whilst animals aren't usually the stars of the show in my books, they frequently play a big part. For instance, Peggy, the cat in The Tanglewood Tea Shop, is just as much a character as the human ones, and she's one of the driving forces behind some of the tension in the story. And the rest of books in the Tanglewood Village series feature an animal of some description, although Donald the sheep in The Tanglewood Bookshop is actually the result of a dare by a certain literary agent by the name of Donald Winchester. Challenge accepted!!

Hello Donald, the hand-reared and rather entitled sheep.

But my favourite furry character in the Tanglewood novels is Mary, the cute white rabbit from The Tanglewood Wedding Shop. Mary is actually based on my own childhood bunny, Dylis. Dylis started life with us as Dylan - until my dad took her to the vet and was informed that he was a she. And what a character she was! She loved crisps, sweets and chocolate (probably not the best things to give a rabbit, but I was eight-years-old and wanted to share my treats with my friend), and she used to bang on her metal water bowl if my dad forgot to feed her. Feeding her was his job, mine was cuddles and playing.

My mother's, apparently, was to think up daft ideas - like the time she suggested my father took Dylis for a walk, for instance. My family home backed onto a pretty meadow which had once been an allotment but had fallen into disuse, and I remember it being full of long, waving grasses and wildflowers. My mum, bless her, thought it would be the ideal place for Dylis to stretch her legs. 

Unfortunately, our nextdoor neighbours, who had two Dalmatian dogs, were thinking exactly the same thing. None of the animals were on any kind of leash, which was understandable where the dogs were concerned because they often used to be let loose in the meadow to run about to their hearts' content.

Not so Dylis. She'd never been out of the garden before, therefore what happened next was inevitable. The dogs spotted the rabbit. The rabbit, sensibly, ran like the clappers with the dogs hot on her fluffy white heels. My dad chased after all three, with our neighbour following, and me racing hysterically after them. My mother's contribution was to stand on the side screaming at the top of her voice. 

I can't remember what happened next, but I do know that Dylis was safely caught and returned to her pen, and was never taken for a walk again. She had to make do with hopping around the garden. My dad blamed my mum for suggesting such a ridiculous thing as taking a bunny for a walk, and my mother blamed my dad for listening to her in the first place.

Tanglewood aside, there's a rather naughty but extremely affectionate Siamese cat in Waste Not, Want Not, and a cute Dachshund in The Christmas Fayre on Holly Field. And The Not So Golden Oldies also has a dog as the driving forces behind some of the events.

In fact, animals seem to slip into most of my books, especially the sweet romantic novellas which I write under my pen name Etti Summers. Every single one of my Muddypuddle Lane stories has an animal of some kind, usually several. I suppose with series set in a horse riding stable, on a farm and in a dog rescue centre, there would be animals, wouldn't there! Goats, a donkey, horses, dogs, sheep...

My absolutely favourite animal character, though, is Pepe the poodle in my Liz Davies A Typical Family series. He's an utter scamp and causes all sorts of mayhem, and is loosely based on my Aunt Lillian's toy poodle, who was also incredibly naughty. If you read A Typical Family Christmas (book 1 in the series) you'll understand what I mean.

Then there's The Cafe in Sweet Meadow Park which has one of the most delightful meet cutes ever (even if I do say so myself), involving two dogs and their respective owners...

So yeah... I think it's safe to say I love writing about animals.

I hope you enjoy reading about them just as much.

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About the Author

Lilac Mills writes heartwarming romance inspired by life in the Welsh countryside, her love of simple pleasures, and the beauty of everyday moments. She’s the author of over twenty feel-good novels, and also writes as Liz Davies and Etti Summers. Meet her here.