Why I Love to Include Cats in My Books, by Sarah Hamaker

Move over, dogs—there’s a new sidekick for the hero or heroine and it meows! Now, I have nothing against canine companions, but I do love to bring a cat into the story. Must be because I’ve always loved the furry felines and grew up with Siamese companions.

To me, cats are the perfect complement to a writer. For example, Ember, a seal point Siamese, likes to curl up behind my laptop while I’m typing while her brother Odin, a ragdoll, will hop into my office chair whenever I leave. And yes, they are from the same litter but are two distinct breeds, which can only happen in cats.

Cats are also wonderful companions when you’re reading a book—they never want you to get up and do anything once they’ve settled in your lap. We have a saying in our family to avoid doing anything—C.O.L. Cat on Lap.

Recently, one of our cats died unexpectedly at nearly 10 years old. A male Siamese seal point, Finn came to us when he was a year old, and his friendly nature—and love of a good lap!—quickly endeared him to our family.

Naturally, we miss the big lug, who weighed twenty pounds. One way I’ve found to honor our past feline friends has been to incorporate them into my books. I already have which upcoming story will include Finn, who will be my hero’s pet (because men love cats too!).

Another beloved cat, Goliath, already had his moment to shine in Justice Delayed. The real Goliath, a Siamese Blue Point-Main Coon mix, lived to be twenty and delighted us with his twenty toes (two extra toes on each front foot). In Justice Delayed, Goliath is the feline my heroine Melender Harman rescued. It was fun to include him and some of his more distinctive attributes in the story.

I also include composites of cats I’ve known or seen in my stories too. In Fatal Past, my heroine adopted a stray tiger cat who’s missing part of an ear. The cat, who I named Willoughby after the scallywag in Sense & Sensibility, plays an important role in helping the heroine bond with the hero’s son.

But that’s not to say I ignore dogs altogether. In fact, I gave my heroine a rescue dog in Justice Denied—and the dog, named Bingley (sense a theme here with names from Austen books?), brings the hero and heroine together. In my as-yet-unwritten sequel to Fatal Past, my heroine has a therapy dog, so I’m branching out into the canine world too—much like I do when I allow my characters to drink coffee, which I don’t like, rather than tea, which I love.

What kind of animals do you enjoy reading about in books?

Sarah Hamaker loves writing books “where the hero and heroine fall in love while running for their lives.” As a writers coach, her heart is encouraging writers along their journey to publication. She’s written romantic suspense novels and nonfiction books, as well as stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul volumes. She’s a member of ACFW; ACFW Virginia Chapter; and Faith, Hope and Love, and Capital Christian Writers Fellowship.  Her podcast, “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” can be found wherever you listen to podcasts. Sarah lives in Virginia with her husband, four teenagers, a preschool foster child and three cats.

Find out more about Sarah Hamaker on her BRRC Author page or website

 

 

 

In this week's Pages of My Life, @Sarah_hamaker gives us the insider view of her four legged characters. Share on X