When Love Breaks Your Heart ~ Saying Goodbye To My True Sir Happy Heart

There is a saying that behind every myth or legend is a grain of truth; no matter how small the grain may be. The same may be said for every story conceived by the heart of man. Somewhere between the layers of fiction and fantasy.....amid the fanciful scenery and unknown realms.....wrapped inside the quirky habits and eccentricities of the characters that draw the reader ever deeper into the story they enjoy lays some truth about the writer's heart. Whether it be a writer's love of the history so artfully woven into a historical novel or a striking resemblance of a villain to a writer's own real-life nemesis, reading an author's stories will tell you something about them, no matter how insignificant the revelation may be.

To read The Chronicles of Mister Marmee will reveal much about me and my heart, for it is a tribute to one of the greatest love stories of my life. It is a love story that will forever shape and influence me no matter where my life may lead me. It is a love I cannot and will not ever forget. On Tuesday, February 19, 2013, the real Sir Happy Heart - the inspiration for the Sir Happy Heart in the Chronicles of Mister Marmee series - died. He would have been 15 years old February 22.

Sir Happy Heart, or Happydog as we were prone to call him, was a miniature black and tan dachshund. He was a small dog - about 15 pounds - but there was nothing small about this bighearted little boy. In so many ways, he was a giant even among giants.

Trying to capture the essence of my Happydog in words is like trying to capture the magnificence of the universe with a single photograph. It is a task which is impossible to accomplish because the tools are inadequate for the task. Oh certainly, he was as much a down-to-earth dog as the next spectacular canine companion, but there was something about Happydog that made him different. It was his spirit, and anyone who ever had the privilege to meet this little dog felt it as clearly as one feels the sunlight on their skin on a warm, summer day.

Happydog survived demodectic mange, 2 serious back surgeries (within a month of each other), and a host of other illnesses that would have put any other dog down. We jokingly called him our million dollar dog because we spent every penny we had and maxed out every credit card to save him each and every time. Had he been any other dog, he would have succumbed to one or all of these physical battles, but Happydog was a fighter that wouldn't give up, so we didn't either. And he pulled through, every time. I thought he would live forever. He marveled his vets and the specialist who worked with him. He humbled them when they said he might never walk again and he did within hours of the surgery, but that was just the way my little miracle boy was. His spirit wouldn't let him give up. He kept fighting, right up to the very end.

Happydog wasn't just a fighter. He was a soul mate, and not just to me but to each member in my family. Happydog was my momma's dog, but I guarantee if you were to ask anyone in the house who his favorite was, they would whisper behind their hand (or paw), "It's me!" He just had a way of making you feel like you were the most important person in his world when he was with you. When I had my tonsils removed and had an arterial bleed.....twice....Happydog lay with me and never left my side. For six weeks, he lay on the couch with me watching and waiting for me to get better. In 2011, when I ended up in the ER where doctors found massive tumors in my abdomen, and we feared it was cancer, after the surgery and for two months during my long recovery, Happydog lay in bed with me watching and waiting for me to get better.

It was just his way to always be there, like my beautiful black and tan guardian angel. When I was in school, he did homework with me and when it was time for a break, we played. Is it any wonder that such a glorious heart would become the breath of inspiration for The Chronicles of Mister Marmee? Oh yes, I know, Mister Marmee is a cat who tells the tales of his adventures with his beloved friend Sir Happy Heart. But if you listen carefully, as you read the words of the story, you will begin to hear the melody of the heart of my boy in the tenderness and charming refrain of Mister Marmee as well. For I can no sooner separate the voice of my boy from my two favorite characters than I can remove the love I have for him from my heart. He is everywhere within the pages of my books.

Through every word of the Chronicles of Mister Marmee ~ The Case of Jack the Nipper and through most of the first draft of the Case of the Wayward Fae, my own Sir Happy Heart lay with my little girl Peanut Pumpkin Pie and watched me write his adventures.

Now that my Happydog is gone, there is a void in my spirit that defies description. I did not know I could feel such pain as this. I know in part it is magnified by the loss of my beautiful Jessie Bess in November of last year, just three short months ago. He was another glorious dog who left me way too soon. For Happydog, there is a special sense of emptiness for he gave life to the stories I love to write so much. For a time, I feared his voice would be silent forever, buried beneath a grief I could not overcome. This weekend however, I dared to try...to face what I feared the most.....the unbearable silence of my boy's stories. I am still working on the ending of the Case of the Wayward Fae, and I need to finish it for Happydog. I need more than anything for his story to continue. For it to end would be like losing my Happydog all over again. The most miraculous thing happened as I once again looked upon the written words that represented in some small measure the spirit of my boy......his voice once again came alive in my head.

I may have lost the precious Happydog that brought such joy everyday to me, but I still can celebrate and share the spirit that gave him life. Sir Happy Heart.....my Sir Happy Heart.....will live on in the pages of each new novel in the Chronicles of Mister Marmee series. It is the greatest testament to his love for me and the greatest way I can honor him for 15 years of selfless love and devotion. I know one day I will see my boy again if God deems me worthy to run among the angels, for surely that is where my Happydog is. He was an angel come to earth for a time who has returned back to heaven. Run free my little love. I will miss you, always.

Why Mister Marmee And Why a Cat?

Any good writer worth their salt knows the single most important decision that can be made when it comes to weaving a truly worthy tale is the careful selection of the main characters. They are the foundation upon which everything else related to the tale is built. If the characters are weak, the story will crumble, unable to bear the burden of whatever action, drama, or comedic relief the writer attempts to add later on. It is, in my humble opinion, the elementary law of writing physics. If you start with a strong character, everything becomes possible.

You know the quintessential riddle - which came first, the chicken or the egg? The underlying principle behind it is, you must have one to have the other. The real challenge is determining which one of the two was responsible for creating or "hatching" the other. In the case of a story, it is often difficult to determine whether a story inspired a character or a character inspired a story. In the case of Mister Marmee, it was as though he sprang from my mind and heart completely formed into what he is, with neither story nor character creating the other. He was simply complete. I could see and hear him so clearly - his face, his mannerisms, his walk, his gentlemanly sensibilities, his particular accent, the way he gestured when he talked. Every detail was as clear to me as if I had observed him my entire life. I knew his heart and what motivated him. And I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mister Marmee was without question a marmalade colored cat.

Animals are amazing if you give them a moment of your time as a human being. They resonate to us, and if we allow them, they teach us a great deal about nobility, loyalty, trust, and unconditional love. Think about it. They can see and experience first hand the worst humanity has to offer and yet still find the capacity to love again when given half a chance. Look at the ways in which they serve humankind. Without degrees or training, they have the innate ability to heal the brokenness within us. They see into the very centers of our being, penetrate into our very souls, and love us in spite of what they find there.

I know there are those of you who are looking at your favorite cat or dog right now trying to see what I am talking about. You are most likely shaking your head because your precious pet is doing something embarrassing like licking their butt or some other wonderful thing they love to do when company comes over. My Pom loves to dig in her ear with her back paw and then sniff it like she is checking for infection. It makes me laugh every single time but it is not exactly the most glamorous maneuver. But before you poo-poo the idea of your precious pet being amazing in the way I just described, think about this.

When was the last time it felt as though your life was falling apart? Now, ask yourself....where was your beloved pet? Chances are, they were right there in your face, loving you, and letting you know that everything was going to be okay. Oh sure, they probably laid in your lap later on when you were feeling better and licked their butts because all was fine, but they were there for you when things weren't. And how many times have you found yourself saying "It's like <insert pet name here> knew what was happening." I am here to tell you........they did. Animals observe more than we realize.

Besides, what cat or dog doesn't get into everything? It's part of their nature, right? It's just what they do. What a perfect foil for two consulting detectives like Mister Marmee and his famous dachshund detective friend Sir Happy. It absolutely ensures that they will be forever unhindered and underestimated by the people they investigate. After all, who would ever suspect a cat rummaging through the trash? Or a dog sniffing through someone's belongings?

So now you know why Mister Marmee is who he is and why he is a cat. Because in real life, some of the greatest characters we know are the pets we live with each day.

To purchase your eBook copy of "The Chronicles of Mister Marmee ~ The Case of Jack the Nipper" for Kindle readers and Kindle apps through Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Mister-Marmee-Nipper-ebook/dp/B0088TEIV2/ref=la_B0088YA1KE_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339344550&sr=1-1.

To purchase your eBook copy of "The Chronicles of Mister Marmee ~ The Case of Jack the Nipper" for most other eBook readers (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others) through Smashwords.com, https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/168569.

Samples are downloadable from both locations. Happy reading!

And Now The Fun Begins...

I find myself tonight with a sense of wakeful excitement with a spinning head, racing heart, and sweating palms...sensations similar to what one must feel when one peers over the edge of a giant precipice. What has inspired such raw, nervous emotion you ask? I am finally within sight of publishing the first in the series of the "Chronicles of Mister Marmee" novels. The cover art is complete; the final edit is almost wrapped up; and the final formatting is the only other thing standing between me and my first published book.

I have spent the last few years toiling (endlessly it seemed at times) to complete my very first novel. In the beginning, I honestly never thought I would make it this far. When I first started on this road, I was pretty certain when I reached 10 pages worth of material that I was very near the conclusion of my whimsical tale. At that time, I wasn't certain what sort of audience this pamphlet would have, but here I am many years later and many, many more pages beyond the pamphlet stage with something considerably more substantial than what I thought possible at its infancy.

It all started with an idea - a vision if you will - of an unconventional character set in one of my favorite time periods. The Victorian Era. I could see this character clearly in my mind's eye as if I was watching a movie about him. I could hear his voice speaking in a very distinctive, cultured British accent. His mannerisms and modes of expressions seemed as familiar to my head and my heart as if they were my own, but I did not know his full story. Not really. Not yet. One thing I knew for certain however from the moment he first stepped into the recesses of my brain; my new character, Mister Tittleewinks Marmalade, or Mister Marmee as he is called by his friends and colleagues, was to become a very close and intimate friend of mine.

Having never written a novel before, I did not know what to expect of myself or of the process itself. I have always been an avid reader so I knew what I wanted to offer to my readers.....what I hoped they would walk away with at the end of my tale. What I didn't want to do was follow someone else's formula on how to write. For me, outlines and diagrams make it harder to write and staunch the creative flow for me. That's not to say I do it better. It's just my way. And no. I don't write a stream of consciousness either. I have my own way of doing things with its own quasi organization, and yes I do break a lot of rules, and I like it. Rules are meant to be broken. That's why it's called creative writing. Jane Austin, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, and Mark Twain made up their own rules. They didn't have a lot of rule books telling them how to do things. They just wrote. If it was good enough for them, I think I can make a few rules up (or at least break a few) as I go along.

Mister Marmee and I have come a long way together. I actually finished the book over a year ago, but I took some really sound advice from someone. I didn't quit my day job. It's not that I don't believe in my writing; it's just I believe that the bill collectors will come after you if you don't pay them immediately so the time to work on the book is not always there. So my labor of love has at times been a "whittle" of love......me whittling away at the many tasks it takes to get a book ready for publication. I almost think at times the getting ready part is harder than the writing part. It certainly takes a lot of discipline and dedication to get it done. Looks like Mister Marmee will finally get to meet the world after all.