For the most part, the rest of the characters in the story were a combination of people I needed to write the story and characters I remember in my life. Kind of like a stew, a little of this and a little of that.
And their names were almost all names of people that I wanted to pay homage to. Friends who have played a role in getting the book to publication, either by gentle nagging or reading drafts.
But their characteristics were not linked to the name at all. No one I know wears bright lipstick or wild coloured nail polish! But it was fun to create characters that do.
The dogs were named for people I know well or just cute names that go together. How could you not have a pair of dogs named Fred and Barney?
I cared for dogs in a rescue center for a year once, and there was a St. Bernard named Larry there for a while. He was large and intimidating but also a teddy bear. Once I got to know him we got along well.
I had a number of dogs in my life, and one was named Cocoa, a beautiful offshore poodle, and one named Lucy a multicoloured Bichon-shitzu. They, like my grandmother, were very special in my life. We had many great times together that always made me want to have another dog.
