Chet The Dog

Archive for the ‘Chet The Dog’ Category

The Nation Within to the Rescue!

https://www.sciencealert.com/dogs-deployed-at-helsinki-airport-can-detect-covid-19-with-near-perfect-accuracy

Too Soon For Christmas Shopping?

Another Beauty Snippet

“What’s all that panting? Thirsty?”

Not in the least. And then extremely.

We parked by what looked like a glass-fronted store in  a strip mall. Bernie read the sign. “’Frontier Gazette. News you can trust since 1901.’” He filled my portable water bowl and I lapped it all up, then he refilled it and I lapped it all up again, and after that I gave myself a real good shake, some water droplets flying from my mouth and making tiny rainbows in the air. There’s all kinds of beauty in life. Thatwas my thought as we entered what had to be the office of the Frontier Gazette, if I was following things right.

(from Heart of Barkness, now available in paperback)

Reader Mail

Here’s a very recent email:

“Love this series. Just starting Heart of Barkness. As a dog lover/guardian I wanted to express my hope that the series won’t end with Chet’s death. Please let them retire somewhere after a successful investment payout. I would be heartbroken if Chet dies and could never reread the series. Anyone who has ever loved and lost a dog would surely agree. Here’s hoping!”

We get similar messages quite often. How can a writer answer without giving too much away and thus undermining his own suspense? I’ll take a swing at it:

1. I don’t mind eliciting tears from the reader, but I won’t do it in cheap and easy ways.
2. Chet is the narrator and sole voice of an ongoing series I love writing.
3. I myself have no intention of retiring.