Miranda's October Musings
Hello precious people. I'm going to discuss something dear to my heart about precious things in this world. No, not jewels, and not babies - which are the top of my precious pyramid, but pets in romance. I seem to be lacking their presence on my shelves! So I'm going to explore what's out there and see if you have any suggestions for me.
What kicked this off? I downloaded this beauty this morning, and can't wait to read it. Oh my goodness, the cover is adorable.
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| Photo credit: amazon.com |
That puppy is to die for, all tongue and soft pat-able furry gorgeousness. A bundle of love. The hero isn't too bad, either! He's a wildlife firefighter (which is code for 'instant hero'), and needs a service puppy. Aww. Tempted by the cover and blurb? Obviously I was, even though Lucy Gilmore is new-to-me author. And just look what's coming out at Christmas, be still my heart. I'm so getting that one, too:
Photo credit: amazon.com
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Lori Foster is another author renowned for her love of animals. Feast your eyes on these two romances - I sort of don't really care about the blurb, because I'm already absolutely convinced I'm going to lurve the story from the cover. Who can resist those kitty eyes in Shelter From The Storm? And yet behind the cute cover is a story about domestic abuse and foster homes. Just cuddling the kitty and hearing its soft purr would be enough to give anyone comfort. That is a perfect cover, IMHO.
Photo credit: amazon.com
Photo credit: amazon.com
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And Cooper's Charm has a furry rescue baby on the cover. Again, rescuing fur babies is immediate code on my personal honour role for wonderful heroes/heroines.
I adopted a rescue kitty with Christmas money one year, a crazy, beautiful torty called Tess. Her paw prints are all over my heart. Here she is in all her regal magnificent-ness.
Curiously, however, there seems to be more dogs than cats on romance covers. Why is this, gentle friends? Is it because cats can sometimes be seen as evil, vicious, snarky animals? (Cough, well, maybe sometimes they are, but I'll never admit it...)
Kandy Shepherd, our beloved Aussie romance author, has a personal menagerie of animals. I know this because she blogs about it (and I love reading it). I absolutely adore her romances with dogs, they are fabulously romantic and heartwarming. But where are the kitties?
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| Photo credit: amazon.com |
So, what's your opinion, readers? Do we need more kitty love like these Valentine Kittens? (Which I would totally buy for the cover. Seriously, an overload of romantic hearts and cuteness.)
Photo credit: amazon.com
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Or do you prefer your romances with barks and tail wagging? Or, for that matter, feathers or fins?
Will enjoy a bit of debate on this issue!
Love from Miranda xx
Love to love:
Well, you all know it... Cats and dogs in romances.
Love to laugh:
At cute animals, making us fall in love with them.
Love to learn:
What romances you've read with fur, feather, fins - or other - that's captured your romantic heart.
Hi Miranda. I love any type of animal in my romance as long as their antics don't take over the romance.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Cassandra! And, I confess, I extend that to babies or children in romance. The central relationship between H&H must stay on focus. At the same time I do love the antics of animals and children in romance.
DeleteDefinitely more dog romances, because everyone knows that dogs are the best people. Mind you, anything with horses in it will do just fine too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. Thanks Miranda. I'm off to check some of these out.
Oh, and Kandy's Home is where the Bark Is was a gorgeous read.
Love it, Cathryn, you're obviously a dog and horse person! To be honest, it's about time horses feature more in my life... And maybe dogs, although I truly am a cat person. Let me know if you enjoy your new reading, Cathryn. And anything Kandy writes is a gem, isn't it? Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteThank you Cathryn!
DeleteHi Miranda,
ReplyDeleteAs you know I love animals. I have two books by Jill Shalvis in my TBR pile right now that each have a dog on the cover "Lost and Found Sisters" AND "Rainy Day Friends". I know Jill is very fond of her own "fur babies" who keep her company while she writes so I'm guessing from that and the covers, there are dogs in both stories. Will let you know when I read my way through the pile and get to them.
Wasn't there a Jennifer Cruisie story we all read that featured a dog as well?
Alyssa, I love you love animals! I've never forgotten the Christmas card you sent one year that featured a camel. Extraordinary! And often your blog or Facebook posts have lovely photos of your animals. Very special. I do know about Jill Shalvis including many dogs in her books, they make for terrific 'side characters' in her stories. I think maybe the Jennifer Crusie you're thinking of might be 'The Cinderella Deal' - but ALL her books feature dogs. She seems to be a true dog lover in real life and on paper, and certainly shows through with great fondness in her romances. Golly, you've made me want to go and reread one. Happy day.
DeleteLovely post Miranda and I do love animals in stories I think they add so much more character to stories they offer lots of love, Stefanie London has a fairly new release called The Aussie Next Door and it has two dogs that are gorgeous in it, and an older book from Anna Campbell Untouched has a fabulous dog in it as well
ReplyDeletehave Fun
Helen
Oooh, thanks Helen! Two more I didn't know about, and both Aussie authors. Love that there's so many people out there who enjoy pets in romance. Somehow or other these fur/fin/fang/feather babies make for special reading. Okay, maybe not so much the fang baby. Still! :)
DeleteHi Miranda! Like Cassandra, I'm all for pets in romance as long as the romance itself stays centre of focus.
ReplyDeleteGood answer Marilyn. Probably one of the good suggestions from Romance Writing 101. After all, we're in it for the romance, aren't we, not the animals. Although combining both sounds good to me.
DeleteHi Miranda, what a lovely topic for a blog. And thank you so much for your kind words about my stories! Needless to say, I love reading about animals in books. They are so important in our lives. My two “dog” books, Love is a Four-Legged Word, and Home Is Where the Bark Is, were so enjoyable to write—and the dogs were important characters, sharing the pages with the humans.
ReplyDeleteAs I now write mainly for Harlequin Mills & Boon, the shorter word count doesn’t leave much room for secondary characters, including cats and dogs. However, I have managed to sneak them into some of my stories, not there gratuitously but to help with the developing romance! Most recently, in Second Chance with the Single Dad, there is a ginger barn cat who plays a role in revealing the characters of the hero Wil and the heroine Georgia.
The “black moment” falls after Wil makes a big emotional blunder and Georgia storms out of his house, where she has been helping him with his baby daughter. Wil’s home seems incredibly empty without Georgia’s sunny presence. But he isn’t the only one who misses her. “He heard a scratching sound, turned to see the ginger cat with its paw plaintively up against the outside of the glass sliding door. Looking for Georgia. The cat had never come up to the house before. But it knew, in that instinctive way of animals, that she had gone. ‘Sorry, mate, she’s abandoned us all,’ Wil said.” There are some nice horses in that story too!
My next book for Harlequin, One Night with Her Millionaire Boss (April 2020), is Wil’s brother Ned’s story. Ned’s beloved very old, half-blind border collie, Molly, plays a pivotal role in this romance, more than I imagined I’d be able to get away with! Freya the heroine, for very good reason, is terrified of dogs…
Kandy, thanks so much for stopping by! You certainly have a few reader fans here. And so exciting you've included more animals in your forthcoming romances. EVERYTHING to look forward to! Esepcially the ginger cat...because I'm so a cat girl.
DeletePS, I love your tortie, Tess. Torties are so special. Our tortie, Tabitha, is now nineteen and half and continues to give us so much love!
ReplyDeleteTorties are wonderful, aren't they? So full of mad personality. We lost our Tess when she was just shy of her 16th birthday, but I still 'hear' her around the house, and when I see something out of the corner of my eye, I think, 'Oh, there she is.' You never forget them - and I'm sure your Tabitha is very very cherished.
DeleteCats, I like, but it's dogs that hold my heart and when a romance features a dog, well, I love it. Especially if the dog has a special role to play, like saving his master or mistress from danger and thereby earning eternal treats as reward. There's a few Nora Roberts books that come to mind. ,😀
ReplyDeleteEnisa, when it comes to saving the day, dogs are probably more 'heroic' than cats. Cats are more a comfort, a furry purry warm cuddle in your lap. I do remember some Nora Roberts books where dogs feature - she must like them too. And although cats certainly welcome you with upraised tails and miaows when you return home, dogs go a bit berserk with excitement. I love both. :)
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