Today, I am very happy to welcome fellow Choc Lit (Joffe Books) author Anni Rose to my blog – especially as she is here to talk about her adorable dogs. Over to you, Anni …

Thank you for inviting me on to your blog today to talk about my pets and my writing. I know we both have a soft spot for Labradors. I had a yellow Lab, Henry, from the age of about eight and was delighted, more recently, when work commitments finally meant I could have another dog.

These days my constant writing companions are Brian, a Labrador with absolutely no brains at all. He sleeps on his back and usually with his tongue out! And likes to carry two balls or two sticks around. He hasn’t really got the idea of fetch or drop but will sit and stare at you happily with two balls in his mouth. Then we also have Rockstar, a Romanian street dog, who came to us after a major operation to put pins in both back legs. He’d been hit by a car and left on the side of the road for dead and was the inspiration behind Miss Phyllis in my fourth book, Recipe for Mr Ideal.

We’d never homed a rescue dog before and it was a very daunting prospect, we knew nothing of his history, only that he would need patience, time and a huge amount of love. I can still remember the day when this terrified creature turned up. Three years on, he has settled in beautifully, he still has a very odd gait – the pins are still in his leg, but these days he will happily jump in and out of the car or to catch treats. In fact, there is little he won’t do for cheese or bacon – a dog after my own heart!

He is, however, very much the boss in this house. A fascination with shoelaces, he can untie the trickiest knot and has his favourite chairs in the house – don’t try and sit one of them! If it ever comes down to a battle of wills, it’s best to give in gracefully, Rocky can be very stubborn, but he is immensely protective of Brian, and he has stripped the squeaker out of all Brian’s balls (for which we are very grateful!)

All my books have at least one animal; I feel they add more depth to the story. They are as important to me as my hero and heroine and always fun to write.

I like to be able to picture all my characters before I start writing a book, and the dogs, cats or horses are no exception. But, when I say that none of my human characters bear any relation to somebody, living or dead, the animals always do.

Charlie Brown in Recipe for Mr Super was really a Shetland Pony with a thing about Wellington boots and who upended me more times than I care to remember. Dragon was a beautiful horse with asymmetrical hips who needed constant vocal reassurance when faced with a jump. Elvis from Recipe for Mr Banksy was a tribute to our two previous black Labradors, who we lost during Covid before Rocky and Brian came along. Up and coming books have a Lurcher-Weimaraner cross called Fergus, who I met on a walk one day, and a Harlequin Great Dane called Colin. Then there’s also a book in the pipeline with more to come from Miss Phyllis.

I love having animals around me. They get me out for walks in the morning without complaining, whatever the weather, and are both great cuddlers. What’s more, they never complain when I read chapters to them over and over again. Who could ask for more?

Thank you for inviting me onto your blog Carol, and I look forward to reading more about Luna in your books to come. Anni x

You are very welcome, Anni. It was lovely to hear about your dogs. They are both gorgeous; Brian is, of course, Labradorable! Thank you for the great post. x

Anni Rose’s books are all available via Amazon.

About the author:

Born and raised in Berkshire, Anni Rose emigrated to Wiltshire six years ago, where she lives with her husband, sister, two dogs, a cat and Midge, the grey, speckled hen.

As a child, she could usually be found either reading or writing fiction, producing reams of stories over the years.

On leaving school, the need to earn a living sort of got in the way, and her writing was limited to financial reports or employees’ handbooks, but a local writing course and an encouraging group of writing friends re-ignited the fiction flame many years later, and Anni went on to have several short stories published in various magazines.

Anni would describe her writing these days as mainly modern romantic stories with a healthy dollop of humour thrown in. Away from writing, Anni can usually be found behind a camera, walking the dogs, enjoying one of her husband’s curries or one of her sister’s bakery treats.

Discover more about Anni Rose and her work here:  Website | X (Twitter) | Facebook