Mind Palaces, and Dogs

I've been so deep in my writing the last few weeks. Obviously; I don't blog worth a darn anymore and I Tweet seldom and my FB posts are almost afterthoughts. It's been a bit like...this.

Which is fitting in many ways.

I've had dogs on the brain lately. Dogs and Dogs, for that matter. My one-year-old Doberman, Viktor, had a bit of a health scare this past week, in which me thinking he had a bladder problem led to the vet thinking his kidneys were malfunctioning (WTF?). But the good news it, I got the word on the blood results and he's fine. Momentary mild panic aside, all is well in Viktorland.

But put dogs, Sherlock Holmes and my writing-entrenched mind together, and you've got me thinking Dartmoor.

For anyone who doesn't already know, the Dartmoor Series is named not for the MC, but for the actual place: Dartmoor. Those gorgeous, rocky, melancholy English moors where spirits, spectral hounds, and crossroads demons abound. MCs are steeped in tradition, so old English traditions always felt rife with possibility.



Saddle Tor

The Lean Dogs MC is named for a particular legend, one of many that perpetuate the devil hound myths that pervade the English countryside. As an English literature buff, and a Sherlock superfan, it's safe to assume that The Hound of the Baskervilles, in all its incarnations, is an endless source of inspiration for me as a writer.

If all my Lean Dogs boys are dogs, then I'd have to say that Walsh is a herding dog. Maybe a German Shepherd, maybe more like an Aussie or a Blue Heeler - either way, Walsh is the thoughtful, keep-everyone-in-line sort. The kind ferocious when challenged, but content to work hard most of the time, loyal to a fault to his people.

I'm unbelievably excited for y'all to get inside his head. I'm living his and Emmie's story every day, hours at a time, and I can't wait to share it with you all. Until then, I shall be in my Mind Palace.