Guest Post: The Wonders of Talking Animal Fiction by Wendy Ledger

Please welcome author Wendy Ledger to the blog today as she discusses life, writing, and more. Her new book, Boardwalk Betrayal: A Black Cat Cozy Mystery (The Maggie and Pepper Mysteries Book 1), comes out on May 17^th.  

 

The Wonders of Talking Animal Fiction by Wendy Ledger

 

 

So why would anyone populate their books with talking animals?

 

For me, it goes back to my crazy, lonely childhood. At one point, I had what I thought was a brilliant idea. I would take a vow of silence. Soon, someone would ask me why I wasn’t talking, and with that question, I could somehow magically find the words to explain all the things that I felt.

 

But it didn’t work that way. No one asked. Perhaps no one noticed. It seemed that this silence could go on forever without interruption. So I wandered into a room where our two majestic Siamese cats, named after Egyptian goddesses, basked in the sun. I sat down by them and quietly unloaded my troubles. They listened. Perhaps, in the grand tradition of Charlotte’s Web, they talked to me, and as I grew older, I forgot. But I still remember the comfort of being in their company, the sense of relief from telling them my stories.

 

Later on in life, a cat came to my rescue again. I’ve always wanted to write novels, and despite many attempts—unfinished drafts, a creative writing MA, writing retreats—I couldn’t seem to do it. I reached a moment where I felt I either had to write a novel or completely give up. So I came up with a plan. I had a home business, day work, where I sat at my desk all day. For my writing practice, I would go back to bed, and with my laptop, my headrest, my heated mattress, and my headphones full of tunes, I would make writing fun, like a mini-vacation every day. Our calico cat also thought this was a lovely idea. She joined me every day while I wrote, and I truly believe that her presence allowed me to write.

 

After I finished my first novel, I dreamed my second book. I had actual chapters in my head. It had to do with horses, and it was quite complicated. When I woke up from this dream in the middle of the night, I thought I should perhaps write it all down. But then it seemed so clear, so profoundly set in my heart and soul, and I felt so drowsy that I told myself I would surely remember everything and went back to sleep. Of course, in the morning, I only remembered that I had dreamed about horses and that it had been an entire novel’s worth of ideas. I was just about to scold myself when I heard this voice in my head call out to me. It was a bass voice, low and soothing, and he told me not to worry about it, that I was supposed to write about him and his friends. Other voices chimed in and re-introduced themselves. I had known them when I was a child, horses in a stable where I was eventually kicked out because I was judged to have no future as a horseback rider. I had tried to block out the memory of these horses and how much I loved them even though I couldn’t seem to grasp posting on the diagonal. But now all the memories flooded back, their names, what they looked like, their personalities, and I wrote my first talking-animal book about a group of horses who comforted a girl who didn’t feel like she could ever belong.

 

When I finished this book, our calico cat suddenly died. It was one of those sudden, out-of-the-blue experiences that left me shaken to the core. It was hard to imagine a life without her in any way, shape, or form, and I wondered how I would get through the day, let alone continue writing.  I decided I would devote an entire series to her, a talking-cat afterlife, where she and other cats who had lived in my family populated the world, squabbled, fussed, grieved, worried about their humans and the animals left behind, and gradually got on to what their new missions would be. Yes, many thought I was a stone-cold weirdo for writing this series. But those kindred spirits in my crazy-cat-person gang understood and laughed and cried along with me.

 

When it was time to start a new series, I decided on cozies. It was eccentric and sweet enough to fit my style. At first, I vowed, “No talking cats.” After all, I had just written a four-book talking-cat series. Surely it was time to turn my attention elsewhere. But then I saw a photo where our black-and-white male cat sat perched on my shoulders. We both looked so pleased. It looked as if we were about to embark on quite the adventure. That clinched it. I knew I needed a talking-cat Watson in my cozy mysteries.

 

And when I examine my life, it all makes sense. After my feline-centric childhood,  I married a man who lived with four cats. We always have at least three running around our home. And we are certified Cat Valets. We have cat routines—I make up special songs that I sing to them. (I’m convinced that my “Garbage Day” song helped alleviate our male cat’s fear of Monday's truck noise.) There’s string time and petting time and unique food rituals for each cat. I can safely say that they have us wrapped around their little paws.

 

Every day, I hope to celebrate the grand literary tradition of talking-animal fiction. We have such a treasure trove of books to dive into: E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan;  Kenneth Graham, The Wind in the Willows; Richard Adams, Watership Down, The Plague Dogs, Shardik, Traveller;  George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Molly Fitz’s Pet Whisperer P.I. series;  Jennifer Chow’s Sassy Cat series; and so many more. These books celebrate the magnificence of the animals around us and how we as humans love them.  It’s something I hope to continue to explore for the rest of my writing days.

 

 

Wendy Ledger ©2022

Wendy Ledger lives in the California Gold Country with her husband and their three cats. She has written two middle-grade novels, Joy Returns! and Kate and the Horses, and a talking-cat fantasy series, Cats of the Afterlife. Her new book, Boardwalk Betrayal: A Black Cat Cozy Mystery, Book 1 in the Maggie and Pepper Mysteries, will be out on May 17, 2022. A preorder of the Kindle version of the book is currently available.