As you may have noticed, dogs are a very popular element in many of our Harlequin novels. These furry friends show up in everything from the sweetest, most wholesome romances to suspense-filled and steamy adventures (sometimes they’re even helping to solve the crime!). If you’re thinking about adding a four-legged character to your novel, we’ve got some tips for you from one of our authors. Tara Taylor Quinn is a prolific USA Today bestselling author and an avowed dog lover, who features canines in many of her books. Here is her advice on writing dogs.
Harlequin: Dogs are certainly a popular theme in Harlequin series. What do you think makes dogs such great animals to add to your stories?
Tara Taylor Quinn: Dogs are such intuitive beings. It’s been proven that they can sense human emotion as well as human physiological function. To me, this is like having angels in my stories. They see and hear what we do not, what my characters do not, and give me an avenue to put these things on the page. Dogs also are most definitely bearers of unconditional love. Love in its purest form. What better way to get true love on the page?
H: Do you think about the dog more as part of the setting or as their own character?
TTQ: My dogs are most definitely characters in my stories, just as they are members of my family in real life. Dogs may not speak words as humans do, but they communicate every single day. They clearly have feelings – dogs exhibit joy, fear, sometimes anger, and love – and they have needs. In college I had to write a paper for one of my English classes. I was assigned to write a paper convincing someone of something. I wrote a thousand words entitled “My Dogs, Angel and Cherie, Are People.” When I got the paper back the professor had written two words along with my A+. “I’m convinced.”
H: How much research do you do before adding a dog to your story? Do you stick with breeds you already know?
TTQ: I do very little research as I have been a dog person my entire life. I sometimes feel as though I know and interact with dogs better than I do people. There was a fire once, in the neighborhood. My aunt was asking whose home burned. I could give her the dog’s name, not the human’s. She said that was so me. That said, if I’m writing a breed I’ve never owned or personally interacted with on a regular basis, I do look up things like life span, particular markings or traits, are they good with kids, what kind of atmosphere suits them, known health issues, that sort of thing.
H: Are there any parallels between writing human characters and their animal companions?
TTQ: I don’t think so. At least, not any more than the parallels between any of my human characters. My dogs truly are characters in my stories in every sense. They bring their own life to the page, as do all of my characters. In my mind, there aren’t two lines that would be parallel – one for dog, one for humans. In my mind, it’s all one line. And actually, the line is a circle to me!
H: What advice would you give an author who’s new to writing animals into their stories?
TTQ: You can’t fake it. If you don’t like dogs, don’t try to write them. Same for other animals. You have to be authentic. Bring your own animal experience to the page. You don’t have to know a ton about the animal – you can research that – but you have to have a true understanding of what it is to have an affinity with an animal. You have to believe in their three-dimensional existence in order to write it.
H: Who’s your favourite dog in one of your novels?
TTQ: I can’t choose favorites. That’s like asking me to choose which of my brothers I love the most. I love Jedi, in Love Off the Leash, because he’s a replica of my aunt’s dog. And because he has his own character arc and growth. I love Lillie, in Old Dog’s New Truths, because she’s fashioned after one of my own dogs. She’s old and wise, she knows things. And still loves and needs to be loved just like everyone else. Probably the better question would be, who’s my favorite character in one of my novels – the dogs would likely win every time! Dogs are trustworthy, way beyond imperfect human beings!
Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestselling author of more than 110 novels in twenty languages. Her books have sold more than seven million copies. Known for her intense emotional fiction, Tara’s next book is The Bounty Hunter’s Baby Search, coming in May 2023 from Harlequin Romantic Suspense. You can find this book on the Harlequin.com website.
Tara also has an upcoming book for Harlequin Special Edition with a dog at the forefront of the story. Readers will fall in love with Lillie in Old Dogs, New Truths, available in August 2023. You can order this title on the Harlequin.com website.
