Animals in Novels
I thought I would guest blog about something unexpected: Animals in Novels. It’s easy to write about them, right? You simply describe them and their personality, and leave it at that. Wrong. How do I know? I wrote a dog into my novel, Dreams Unleashed.
When writing in an animal, the author has to decide whether the animal is adding dimension to an existing character’s life, or whether the animal will be a character in the story himself. (I’m not referring to an animated story, where animals act like humans.) For example, in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, she writes in a dog, Bouton, who actually diagnoses patients at the Paris l'Hôpital des Anges, in the year 1744. In this story, Bouton is a multidimensional character himself. Contrasting this, are the dogs in Dean Koontz’ book The Darkest Evening of the Year, where the dogs improve the dimension of the main character, Amy. Even though dogs are part of the subplot of Koontz’ novel, none of them are a multidimensional character themselves.In the first book of The Prophecies trilogy, Dreams Unleashed, I’ve introduced a dog, Lulu. In the novel, she adds dimensions of kindness, compassion, and loyalty to the protagonist, Ann Torgeson. But as the trilogy continues in the next two books, Lulu will become her own character, as Ann’s unexpected challenges increase. I remember watching the Lassie series on television when I was a kid. I loved watching the heroism, and the close bond between Timmy and Lassie. I never missed a show. In my trilogy, I wanted to give the world another dog hero, if only for a while. <
All three novels of The Prophecy are being published this year, so if you start reading Dreams Unleashed now, you won't have to wait years for the rest in the series. Book two will be published this summer (2011), and book three will be published December of this year (2011).A free sample of Dreams Unleashed is available at: Amazon
The eBook version of Dreams Unleashed can be purchased at:
Smashwords: Smashwords
Amazon: Amazon
The print version of Dreams Unleashed will be published the week of June 10th.
Follow the author and get insiders' tips on The Prophecies trilogy:
http://lindahawley.com/
GIVEAWAY TIME!
Linda has generously offered up a copy of her book, Dreams Unleashed for a giveaway! :D
The details:
*You must be 13 or older to enter.
*INTERNATIONAL!
*If you're in the USA or Canada you can win either a print book or an eBook, and for International you'll receive an eBook. (You'll have the option of choosing this in the form.)
*No requirements for this giveaway, but extra entries will be given for sharing this giveaway.
*Extra entry for commenting on this guest post too. :)
*Giveaway ends June 30th at 11:59 PM (M.S.T.)
****To enter just fill out this FORM. (This giveaway is now CLOSED.)****
And don't forget to leave Linda a comment! :D
Happy Reading!!!!
♪♫ Ambur
I am not sure I have read a book where an amimal was the hero...but I have read many books that have animals as sidekicks though and they are usually pretty good!
ReplyDeletethanks! mmafsmith at gmail dot com
thanks for this great giveaway! :D
ReplyDeleteI also think that animals can tell you a lot about the character in a book.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine books without animals! Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think animals in novels are interesting. They usually tend to be one sided so it would be nice to see a full-flesh-out animal character. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteBeing an animal lover, I love it when our furry friends are incorporated into novels.
ReplyDeleteI'm following you on GFC (Darlene), and my email address is darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com.
Thanks for the giveaway!