Lenore and Frieda enjoy studying the world together. I think Lenore is looking for food, Frieda for rabbits. But I don’t really know. The Hound of Love has her own agenda.

  August 4, 2009 – Clear, sunny. Two weeks till the next book tour. I measure my years by book tours. I am loving Gerald Martin’s biography of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “A Life,” and while I do not compare myself to this Nobel Laureate, I was affected by reading about the experience of writing a novel, as I am doing just that.
  Lots of people have debated this subject over the year, but I have never doubted the link between creativity and madness, something clear in Marquez’s life and something I relate to as I approach the one-year mark in writing “Rose In A Storm.” I feel I am nearing the end of the fourth draft, and this may be the final one. I have a great and supportive editor who has helped me sort out this most complex of writing tasks: a story told from the point of view of a an animal who does not have language. I have not done anything as difficult or complicated, and I have to confess I am on fire about it, writing long hours from early morning nearly until dark.
  A number of behaviorists worked with me to help me understand what is known about the mind of a dog, and what is possible. I will not look at mine or other dogs in the same way again.
  My head is spinning. The first draft was about finding a voice, or point-of-view for the dog. The second was about pacing and character development. The third was about the action narrative, and balancing the emotional landscape of this heroine with the need for a past-paced and engaging plot. There are all sorts of other elements in this book – imagery, the sensory mechanisms believed to govern dog thinking, and a touch of magical realism about the spirit life of dogs. In a month I will turn this book back into my editor, and hopefully she will feel it is complete. If not, I will keep going as long as it takes. She loves the character of the dog called Rose. I am keeping Rose’s name, even though it is a novel, because it helps me to write it.
  The experience of writing a novel is intense. It turns your head around. The characters never leave your mind and that can be isolating and disorienting.
  It is difficult and painstaking. I can’t wait to work on it every day and can’t wait to tackle another novel. But there is no doubt, if you are not crazy when you start, you will be mad enough soon enough. Most days, I want to stick my head into a bucket of dry ice.
   But this is said with great joy and excitement. How lucky I am to get this opportunity. Every day I am reminded of the great need for focus and space – and peace – to do this kind of work.