Dogs and their Writers: Molly and Stephen King; Chester and Nick Mackie; Mickey and Jo Franklin

By Olivia Levez
Stephen King has one. So does Neil Gaiman, and so did Kurt Vonnegurt and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and John Steinbeck.
 I know I couldn’t do without mine.  He’s there now, jumping onto the bed as I write.
Basil. Rescue Jack Russell. A little bit bite-y. Breath warm as sewers. But my constant writing companion when writing The Island.

As he realises it’s one of Mummy’s writing days, and snuggles under the duvet with a contented little huff, it makes me wonder about the bond dogs have with their writers.

Basil, aka Dog

He's even inveigled his way into my book, and plays a starring role as Dog, a castaway canine companion to survivor Fran.

But how many other dogs influence their writers in this way?

Molly and her writer, Stephen King

Molly the corgi appears in several of her writer's novels, and luckily for her corgis do not seem to suffer the horrible fate of King's most famous canine creation, Cujo.

"It might be that the biggest division in the world isn't men and women but folks who like cats and folks who like dogs."

Chester and Nick Mackie

Chester asleep

1 Have you ever featured your pet dog in a book? Which and how?

Chester is my 7 yr old border terrier. He is a constant companion as I predominantly work from home. I titled my recent children's picture book 'Chester and the Eggie Boo'. The train's dog conductor is styled on Chester.

1  Is your dog an essential part of your daily writing routine? How? Where does your dog like to be when you’re writing?

I walk Chester twice a day - often when I need inspiration, to clear my head, or simply to let off steam. Some of my better ideas have come during a long walk.
Chester will either sit upstairs in the attic (my studio) with me or at the bottom of the stairs - whichever is warmer at the time!

  How does your dog help/inspire you in your life as a writer?

He makes me go for walks - which I probably wouldn't do as much of if I didn't have him. He is also a calming & entertaining influence.

I'm fortunate to live near the coast and we both enjoy some lovely beach walks. (Weston super Mare, Somerset, UK)

What Nick gets up to when he's not walking Chester...

So what does Chester think of your current WIP?

Well, I'll let him tell you himself...

I'm slightly miffed as my walking companion has been very busy lately illustrating a new book. This means I'm not getting as many long adventures as I would like. It's boring watching him tap away all day at the computer when all I want to do is go out and have a run on the sand. 

Chester with his writer, Nick

For some reason Nick likes tweeting better than barking, so find him @nickmackiebook

Mickey and Jo Franklin

At last Mum is off the computer. Time to write my next blog post.

    Have you ever featured your pet dog in a book? Which and how?

I’m working on it! It’s taken me a while to get the right story and the right voice. 

    Is your dog an essential part of your daily writing routine? How? Where does your dog like to be when you’re writing?

We go out for our morning walk before I start work. Either to Peckham Rye Park or to Nunhead Cemetery. I use this time to get my thoughts together and I have started doing a workout app while we are out. But Mickey likes to go off on his own and as soon as he gets a whiff of fox scent he turns his ears off and won’t come back. I have been known to be wandering the cemetery for 2 hours looking for him which is very bad for my writing day. When the weather is better I can sit and make notes on my phone until he decides to come back to me.

We take a shorter walk towards the end of the day which is useful if I have a problem to work out. Mickey has a chair in my study or he sits on the sofa watching GardenHD out the window.

A bit of tasty inspiration

   How does your dog help/inspire you in your life as a writer?

He is good company and forces me to go outside even in bad weather. It’s also lovely to have a big hug when I’m feeling fed up with my paltry word count or the latest rejection. Dog walking is very sociable. Most days the only people I speak to outside of my family are fellow dog walkers.

Jo Franklin writes for 8-10 year olds. Her first book Help I’m an Alien is published by Troika Books 

And Mickey, what do you think of your writer's current WIP?

It’s about time you started writing a story about a dog, but why did you have made your dog character so naughty? I thought you were going to write about me. 

Btw did you know I have my own blog page and twitter?

www.jofranklinauthor.co.uk/mickeys-dog-blog

@Mickeydogsblog

And here's my writer's one: www.jofranklinauthor.co.uk

@jofranklin2