Chris Verstraete - Pets and People

Chris hosts Sianach the Stag and Cusith the Hound from Scotch Broom. I thought she'd like some unusual animals. But can a magical being be considered "only" an animal?

* * * Here's Chris Verstraete * * *

Pets and People By Christine Verstraete

I have a confession... I love dog movies and dog books, and well, dogs.

It's the people who are often less interesting.

Take the preview I recently saw of Diane Keaton's new movie, Darling Companion. First glimpse of the male character - and he lost the dog! Well!

It's not just dogs, it's horses and baby animals and... Love them all.

Saw War Horse. Made me sad.

I read all the horse books as a kid and later, actually for a while had a crazy Appaloosa named War Chief, along with his happy-go-lucky buddy named Apple. Heaven.

Put an animal in the book or story and you better have strong, and at least remotely interesting people if they expect to make any kind of impression.

For me, the two friends in my kid's mystery,Searching for a Starry Night are strong enough, what with their quirks and tiffs, but having a canine friend adds another dimension. And the dog has a way of "digging up" clues as well. How can you beat that?

Giving the dog a personality and having him interact with his human companions was what made writing the book fun. And even though I had a dog make only a brief appearance in my proposed book about a girl who's part zombie, the dog does make an impression - especially on her since she's afraid of him and wonders if she'll smell different. ha!

Since I enjoy collecting and writing about hobbies, many of the authors appearing on my blog this month will also include something on their hobbies. Dogs also seem to make an appearance in my own collections. I create miniature rooms and houses, and yes, just about every one has a dog. Well, one project - The Dogcatcher's House - has many more. See the project links on my miniatures page.

My point? You mean other than just talking about dogs? ha! It's that writers, and readers, want to care about a book or movie's characters. Giving them a pet, or making them interact with an animal, is one good way to do that.








Where to find Christine Verstraete 
http://www.cverstraete.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/christine.verstraete 
MSII Print: http://tinyurl.com/4ockdh2 
Searching for a Starry Night: #1 Kindle for minis eBook! 
Blog: http://candidcanine.blogspot.com

Chris Verstraete - Killer Valentine Ball

Writing Scared – Christine Verstraete

I love getting scared. You know, the scream-your-head-off, no one can hear you kind of scared? Roller coaster scared. Halloween haunted house scared.

I keep saying I'll go sit in a graveyard in the dark or go in a "real" haunted house. Haven't done it—yet. But what I have done and enjoy doing is writing scary. Being a fan of Stephen King, I guess it's natural I gravitate to horror, though I do like to add a touch of humor. Weird sense of humor, I guess.

In my short fiction eBook, THE KILLER VALENTINE BALL by C.A. Verstraete, Jess decides to go out with her mother's friend's son as a favor, after all, why spend Valentine's Day alone? Still... a blind date, on V-Day? Yikes! Can you say loser?

Well, this will be one memorable blind date—one Jess will never forget. It's a weird little party.... the lights are low and seem to be playing tricks on her eyes...

Excerpt:

"... The music played quietly in the background. When the shadows brightened, Jess caught a quick glimpse of one of the couples. The young man's mouth gaped open. His partner's gown glistened with streams of dark ribbons. The light flashed again and Jess gasped. Those weren't ribbons! The girl's dress shone with dark glimmers. Like-like blood, she thought. No, it can't be! She looked back at Dylan, who shook his head and urged her on.

"Light tricks," he whispered. "It's not real. It's Halloween stuff, like the movie. Don't worry."

Yes, it's a weird little story, with a touch of humor. (I couldn't resist!) I think it plays on that funny feeling you get when you know you should've made a different choice, and the things that play out as a result.

Of course, in the end, Jess is vindicated. Well, kind of. That's the fun of writing horror. It doesn't have to be all blood and guts. It can be a little ghoulish—with a funny, odd little twist. Call it horror with a smile! So I had some fun with Jess... but you have to read it to see!

(Buy: Kindle, http://tinyurl.com/3pu8hu2  - or Muse Bookstore, http://tinyurl.com/647pn87 )

Bio: Christine Verstraete http://cverstraete.com is an award-winning journalist and author published in fiction and nonfiction. She loves writing short horror as in her eBooks, "Motherly Love" and "The Killer Valentine Ball." Her recent short stories were published in DAW Books anthologies such as the latest, Hot & Steamy: Tales of Steampunk Romance. She also is author of a nonfiction book on miniatures, IN MINIATURE STYLE II, and a children's mystery, SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT, A MINIATURE ART MYSTERY. All books are linked at my website (above) or blog, http://candidcanine.blogspot.com/