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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

A Dog Barked In The Distance

In keeping with my current dog theme (we pick her up TODAY!), I thought I'd share this interesting article by Rosecrans Baldwin at Slate.com. Baldwin examines novelists' use of unseen dogs barking, particularly during moments when the author wants a little break for emotional resonance.

Curious, I checked my completed novel THE CHARMED BRACELET. No dogs--not the anonymous, invisible barking kind anyway.

Do you have a dog barking in your novel?

3 comments:

  1. I do actually, sort of. They are made of iron and magic and don't care about anything but food. (They were made by a human wizard in Faerie, as a gift to an elven queen. Except for her, they're immune to fae magic and in fact, are drawn to it. Yummy nom noms.) I do have a scene where a random dog does show up. It isn't invisible, but it does jar things, 'cause the characters are looking for the magic-eating ones at the time.

    I wonder if Baldwin includes wolves in his assessment, considering all the werewolf UF out there.

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  2. I love your Fae dogs! They sound intriguing. Now I'm curious: why did the human wizard make these dogs specifically out iron? Does it bother the elven queen? Or in your world is iron not a concern for the Fae?

    Thanks for sharing a little insight into your own world!

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  3. It is. He made them as a gift centuries ago, when iron (steel to a smaller degree) was more prominent, and he bespelled them to follow her command. After he gave them to her, they realized that although her magic could contain them, they hungered for fae magic in general, and their iron bodies made them even more uncontrollable and resistant to spells. It was draining to have them near, so she sealed them away. But they (mysteriously!) get free and find their way to the mortal world, which also has plenty of fae, and their magic, to eat.

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