I began writing my current work in progress back when the COVID-19 pandemic first started to raise its ugly head. The story is about a middle-aged woman who lives in a very remote area. Her best little friend and only housemate is her dog.

The dog’s name is Topaz, and she is an Italian greyhound. Her color is seal, which is a dark brown, with white markings.

I picked this particular breed, somewhat casually, because I am a long time lover of sighthounds. My heart breed, for over 40 years, was the Saluki. At the time this story began, my last Saluki was old and suffering with cancer.

A writer’s inclination is to write what we love into our books. I am always tempted to toss a Saluki into a tale. My children’s books, in fact, feature a Saluki named Merlin. I decided to shift things down a little bit and go with another favorite breed. I’ve always been fond of Italian greyhounds, so it felt natural to give Eleanor a mini sighthound as her best friend.

As often happens with the animals in my stories, Topaz took on a life, and a personality, of her own. I have a wonderful critique group, with whom I connected through the Sisters in Crime Guppies chapter. They are a group of talented women who also enjoy writing paranormal mysteries. I am pretty sure, out of all the characters in this story, Topaz tops the chart as everyone’s favorite.

This story does have many paranormal elements, but the most intriguing may not be written into the fiction at all. Or, maybe it’s just a strange coincidence.

As I mentioned, my Saluki, Ryder, was old and very ill. After the first draft of this book was not only begun, but almost finished, and Topaz was established as a fairly strong little character, Ryder passed away.

A friend with whom I had been talking online mentioned that she had a little girl dog who, after her puppies were weaned, could not seem to get along with the other dogs in the house. This friend is a well known and highly respected breeder of show quality … you guessed it … Italian greyhounds.

My friend thought that this girl might be happier as an only dog. Even though she loved this dog very much, she wanted to do what was best for Kira, and to see her happy. She asked if I might consider bringing Kira in to our family and see how she adjusted. The family discussed the possibility and decided to give it a try.

Needless to say, Kira … not only an Italian greyhound, but a seal and white Italian greyhound … moved right in and took over.

People talk about life imitating art. In our family, that turned out to be quite literal.

Topaz is everybody’s favorite character in the book that I am writing, and Kira is everybody’s favorite character here at home.

Although I still miss my Salukis terribly, and no one will ever take Ryder’s place, Kira has made a very special place of her own in our home and in our hearts.