I’m kicking myself for not getting my tail in gear and publishing this interview last week. Posting romance (and mystery) author Maris Soule’s interview on Valentine’s Day would have been mighty apropos.
Ah well, I goofed. But…at least it’s still being posted in February, the month of love. That works.
What does Maris love? (Besides writing.) Well, I’ll give you a hint. They’re often furry, four-legged, and what us other pet lovers love…our animals!
Below she tells us about what kind of animals grace both her life and her work.
Courtney Mroch: What kind of things do you write about? (Genre, subject matter, themes, what have you.)
Maris Soule: I have had 25 romances published, many of which could be called romantic suspense, but The Crows is my first true mystery. (Even so, it does have a bit of a romance in it.) Many of my books have involved animals: cats, dogs and horses.
CM: What kind of pets do you have? (Or have you had.)
MS: Right now I just have Zuri, my Ridgeback, and Ziggy, a ten-year-old Siamese cat. We had two cats when we moved into this house (7 years ago), but the coyotes got our 14-year-old barn cat. (Now that I have a 150 pound Rhodesian Ridgeback, the coyotes don’t hang around.) We also had an old half-Arab when we moved here. He lived to be 36.
At our old house, a slew of pets either called our barn home or the house. (Horses, pigs, goats, rabbits, chickens and one steer lived in the barn while a variety of dogs and cats ruled the house.)
CM: Do animals appear in your work? Are they the focus of any of your stories or the main characters?
MS: I’ve never used an animal as a main character (that is, one that has a voice in the story), but many of my stories involve animals. One of my romances centered on the Iditerod sled dog race, another on barrel racing. One of my heroines had a search and rescue dog, one was a horse whisperer, another rode dressage, and one went to work for a wild life rescue camp. Animals have always been a part of my life, so it seems natural to include them in my stories.
CM: Do you ever use your pets as the basis for any animal characters?
MS: The puppy in The Crows was named after one of our first Ridgebacks. For several years before we had children, my husband and I raised and showed Rhodesian Ridgebacks. We kept one of the puppies in the first litter our bitch whelped and named him Baraka. I raised and trained Baraka, showed him to his championship, and owned him until his death. Naming the Ridgeback puppy in The Crows Baraka was my way of paying tribute to that dog.
Writing The Crows led to buying the Ridgeback we now own. Even though it had been twenty years since I’d last owned one, I knew I wanted to include a Rhodesian Ridgeback in my story…and I wanted one for myself. So I started looking for a puppy, and was lucky and found a breeder nearby. Zuri joined our family, and Baraka came alive on the pages.
Also in The Crows, one of the secondary characters owns two Siamese cats, which of course act like my cat. And another of the secondary characters owns a Jack Russell terrier, whose actions were, of course, based on the way ours used to act. (Besides Ridgebacks, we’ve owned two German Shepherds, one beagle and one Jack Russell Terrier.)
CM: Do your pets contribute to your work methods and help with the process?
MS: I’ve been taking Zuri with me when I talk about The Crows to groups. Since Rhodesian Ridgebacks are a fairly rare breed in the United States, people always have questions. Zuri has a few tricks he loves to do for treats, and I find it a delight to introduce the breed to others.
As for my cat, he’s no help at all. If I’m trying to work on the computer, he jumps on my lap and bumps my hand to get me to pet him instead. And the moment I sit down on the couch, he figures that’s a signal for him to get on my lap, again making it very difficult to work. Still, I love him. He has a calming affect.
CM: What are you working on now? Any new releases?
MS: My publisher has asked if there will be a sequel to The Crows, so I’m working on that. I think my Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy will be around six-months-old in this next book, and with the recent news reports about dogfighting, I think I might include that topic, along with information about the wonderful rescue groups found throughout the country.
CM: Can you list your works and how/where we can find or get them?
MS: 26 titles are too many to list here, but if you go to my webpage, you will find a list that includes the year published and if the book received any awards.
And if you type in my name at Amazon.com, any books they have available will be shown.
With the romances being published by Harlequin, Silhouette and Bantam’s Loveswept line, about the only copies available are used ones. Only The Crows is truly available, and right now Amazon is waiting for the next shipment. But The Crows can also be found on Barnes&Noble.com, Borders web page, as well as Kazoo Books. (That’s a new and used bookstore in Kalamazoo that has been very supportive of writers.)
Note from Maris
Maris wanted me to pass along that you can read the first chapter from her book The Crows on her website, as well as see more pics of Zuri!
Related Blogs
Photo credit: Photo of Maris and Zuri provided by Maris Soule and used with her permission.