Favorite Books about Animals and Pets

Since the theme this month is pets, I’ve looked back at some books that are about pets and working animals.

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (30 March 1820- 25 April 1878)

As a teenager, Anna Sewell fell and damaged both her ankles. She never fully recovered, and always had difficulty walking. In Black Beauty, her only novel, the title character ‘breaks his knees’ after a fall, perhaps mirroring Anna’s own suffering.

Black Beauty, which raised awareness of the treatment of horses during the 19^th century, has been called ‘the most influential anticruelty novel of all time’. Anna died only a few months after its publication.

The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford (11 May 1918--20 April 1984)

I guess most of us know this story of three pets—a bull terrier, Labrador retriever and Siamese cat—who travel 300 miles through Canada searching for their owners. Who doesn’t love a story of endurance, companionship and battling the odds?

In 1963 the book won two awards: the ALA Aurianne Award and the Book of the Year for Children Award. Two movies have been made thirty years apart. The first in 1963, the second in 1993 as Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot (3 October 1916--23 February 1995)

Born James Alfred Wight, Herriot chose his pen name after seeing Scottish goal keeper Jim Herriot play soccer. James, a vet by trade, had always been interested in writing. At the age of 50, prompted by his wife, he began putting pen to paper. His books about life as a British country vet were made into movies and a much-loved TV series starring Christopher Timothy.

In 1979 James received an OBE.

Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog by John Grogan (20 March 1957-- )

John Grogan began his writing career as a police reporter for the Herald-Palladium in the town of St Joseph. During this time, he rode with police and photographed murder victims. But he didn’t find his true calling until he took a job as columnist with The Palm Beach Post. Later he worked as columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Marley and Me spent 76 weeks on the bestseller list, 23 of them at number 1.

It was filmed in 2008. John and his wife were extras in one scene. Although he doesn’t reveal which scene, there are hints in his bio. Watch the movie and see if you can spot him and his wife.

I've only touched the surface of books about animals, and there are many more. So over to you. What is your favorite animal movie or book?

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A post about pets wouldn't be complete without a pic of my family's dog. Here he is enjoying the sun and surveying his domain.

Janni Nell writes mysteries. Her new paranormal cozy Secrets, Spells & Murder is coming in fall 2017.

Happy Birthday Carrma!

I think it's safe to say, that were it not for my girl Carrma, my most recent books wouldn't have been written. On April 3rd, she turned 27 years old (that's 81 in horse years.) Lipizzans are a fairly long-lived breed, so she'll be around for a while yet. I don't ride her much (I don't have a saddle, anyway.) Mostly, we use the round pen for a little longeing (which basically means she trots and canters while I wave a whip around) or, if it's empty, I let her loose in the fenced jump arena where she can go for a good gallop. Then we go out for some grass, with the added bonus that since she's not a horse that's easily spooked, I can pretty much just drape the halter over her neck and let her wander around to her favorite nibbling spots.

And in celebration of Carrma's birthday, my birthday (at the end of March) and the upcoming release of Passage on 4/29 from Loose Id (http://www.loose-id.com), I'll give a e-copy of the first two books in the series, Capriole and Levade, to a lucky commenter. Please leave a method of contact in your comment, and I'll pick a winner on Monday, 4/14!

And, as Carrma sez, let the good times roll (and all the better if it's in the mud.)

 

Hi ho Carrma, Awaaaaaay!!!

Fall has finally made it to Southern Arizona. Which means it'll be about two or three weeks of lovely temperatures before it gets darn cold. (Yes, it gets below freezing here in the desert. It will get near zero, though rarely. Let me tell you about the burst pipes and frozen, dying trees...)

So, it being a pleasant morning, I figured it was time to go for a ride. I hadn't been on my horse for probably a couple of months. Got the bridle. Got the whip. (I don't smack her with it, it's more of a guidance tool.) Took Carrma into the round pen and put the bridle on. Lick chew, lick chew, which means she's happy. I don't have a saddle or bareback pad, so we get to ride with her nekkid.

This is how it went:

1. Park horse by mounting block.
2. Step on mounting block, gather reins.
3. Horse moves.
4. Try not to fall off mounting block while going to wrangle horse.
5. Use whip to try and get across, "NO, DON'T MOVE!"
6. Repeat steps 1-5.

Horse: 20. Human: 1/2

See, I managed to get a leg partway over (thank goodness she's a short horse, only 14.2 hands) and Carrma walked away. Having an off-balance monkey on her back made her go faster, so I bailed. Fell on the ground, but not hard enough to bruise. Carrma looks back. Lick chew, lick chew.

Carrma has her quirks. Being a former broodmare, she's bossy. She never was ridden much, and while she has the basics, the finer points need some improvement. (And, admittedly, so does her non-horsey Human.) But Carrma is not an easily spooked horse; she won't run just to be a pest. If she got loose, she'd go to the nearest patch of grass and stop to eat. If she doesn't do something I want her to, it's because I'm not asking right or not listening to what she's trying to tell me. She's a smart pony, and generally when we're in the round pen she'll follow me around, which is great until I want her to stand still. It just took time and patince, but she figured out what I was trying to do, because:

Round 2:
1. Stand on mounting block.
2. Carrma circles around with minimal prompting
3. Get horse parked in front of mounting block.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 until, finally, SUCCESS!

Horse: 5. Human: 1.

And that 1 is all that counts. Then it was VROOM around the round pen until she got used to carrying me and proved that, yes, she would go where I wanted her to even if she protested a bit, and then we went Out to wander around the barn property. We got to the arena, and VROOM, trot, trot, trot with me bouncing along like a sack of flour. We didn't do much of that, because I am chicken (nekkid horses are a bit slippery) and our steering is not good enough that I trust her to just trot around the arena, which is a large gravel area with no fence, and not go zooming out to the nearest patch of grass.

And because she wanted to go ZOOOM I let her loose in the jump arena,, which is fenced, and off she went to race around, looking good for a 26-year-old mare.

But she was happy, and she got her apple, which had to be shared with her three nosy neighbors. Then big yawns, which means she's relaxed and feeling good after her exercise.

Anyway. Adventures in horse-dom, brought to you by the fact that my e-book LEVADE will be out in paperback here shortly, and Carrma's got a cameo in it, so, you know you want to buy it...

Evey Brett

Eliana: Pain and Pleasure

Take an extra 10% off Eliana this week at Loose Id!

While my new book, Eliana, is set in the same world as my previous books (and features a character from Levade), there are no horses in this book. My mare Carrma is somewhat displeased, but I have mollified her by taking her lots of apples.

Thinking back to the inspiration for this book, Eliana whas a character I had created for an ill-fated sequel to my first demon book, Demon's Dance. She was a dominant, no-nonsense kind of woman who knew both how to inflict pain and how to help others heal from it. I didn't want to give her up and started thinking about how she might have gotten involved with the Wardens--a group of men and women dedicated to hunting incubi and aiding their sexually promiscuous offspring. And, more importantly, why and how she became a dominant.

In one way, this book is Eliana's origin story, but  after finishing Levade I realized how Eliana could mesh with Konstantin, one of the characters introduced in that book, and that became an interesting story in itself--how does the son of a crazed Nazi geneticist become a healer as well as a submissive, and what lasting effect will that have on him?

So despite the title, Eliana isn't just about Eliana. There's Kon, and his male dominant, Dane, and all sorts of learning and growing and healing for all three.

Oh, and sex. Did I mention there's lots of sex?

Cover art by the fabulous Anne Cain.

Also--now available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble: Love, lust and Lipizzans. Capriole. In PRINT!!!!

Carrma sez, "Buying my human's books will help her make sure I have enough hay to eat and a warm blankie during freak snowstorms in southern Arizona. Plus you get to read about Lipizzans like me."

Evey Brett

Horses being silly--for a reason

Next month, my new book, CAPRIOLE, will be out from Loose Id. Hooray! It's M/M and features Lipizzans based on this herd.

(No. No cover yet, sadly. I am anxiously waiting for it...)

Actually, for a much more detailed blog by a professional writer and breeder about using horses in fiction and for horsey worldbuilding ideas, I point you her posts on Book View Cafe. Me, I don't claim to be a horse girl. I never had a horse crazy stage. I rode a horse once in summer camp when I was maybe nine. I still don't know what color a bay or a roan is, though I do know that most "white" horses are actually gray.

And all this comes in handy when writing fantasy or historical, since so much of it includes horses, and horse details are so easy to get wrong even when you think you're right.

For a few ideas, I'll give you some Lipizzans in action.

Want to have a mischievous horse? The pose above is something the gelding started, and this mare, Tia, learned. A couple of the other mares can do this too. See the hay on the ground? This is where the horses get groomed and saddled, and we give them a bit of hay to keep them occupied. Tia and her buddies like to reach under the fence to get as much hay as they can reach. See the hose? The gelding has figured out if he tugs on it, he can get a mouthful of hay to come out with it.

Ahhh, nothing like a good roll, as Tia and Pandora like to do. Actually, Tia's down for a nap while Pandora is actually rolling, something all the horses like to do for several reasons. It provides a good stretch, it helps with itching, and the dirt helps to keep the flies from being so bothersome. In the summer we hose the horses off to keep them cool (in 100+ degrees, they ask for it,) and they usually go for a roll right afterwards and come up looking like paint ponies.

And here is my horse Carrma, the matriarch of the herd. That's Tia lying down for a snooze. She slept for about forty-five minutes that day. Horses sleep for around four hours a day, and while they can sleep standing up as their legs lock into place so they don't fall down, they do like to get the weight off their feet and will lie flat like Tia here (which panicked me the first time I saw it, because I thought the horse was sick or something.)

Or the horses will sleep curled up like Pandora is. And they don't often do it in front of humans unless they're totally comfortable. We had eight humans with the herd that day, and three horses decided to take a nap all at once, which means the horses really trusted us.

No, that image is not digitally enhanced to add the tongue. Camilla really is sticking her tongue out. It's a way for the horses to relax. Yawning doesn't mean they're tired--it means they're relaxed and releasing tension much the same way humans do. And if you see a horse lick and chew, it means they're happy.

Anyhoo. That's probably more than enough horse picture spam for today. If you have any horse questions, holler, and if I don't know I probably know who would.

All pictures copyright Evey Brett. Thanks. :>)