Attached Link: http://www.absolutewrite.com/novels/going_to_the_dogs.htm

Novelists Share Tips on Writing About Animals

Jane Kozak ... 'believes that giving a character a pet can be a shortcut to creating reader empathy. "It adds an element of humanity to a character, and gets people invested in them," she explains. In her debut, Dating Dead Men, a ferret named Margaret figures into a plot involving stolen diamonds, the mob, and a woman's quest to date 40 men in 60 days. While the ferret isn't central to the mystery plot, it nonetheless tugs at the reader's heartstrings, especially as it is the beloved pet of a temporarily mute child.'

Find out more about tips about how novelists incorporate animals into their stories and why: http://www.absolutewrite.com/novels/going_to_the_dogs.htm

Brenda Scott Royce is the director of publications for the Los Angeles Zoo and editor of the Zoo's award-winning magazine, Zoo View. She has written for Writer's Digest, Women's Circle, Movie Marketplace, and many other magazines. Her debut novel, Monkey Love, in which a stand-up comedienne becomes the temporary guardian of a mischievous monkey, was published in February 2006 by NAL. Visit her website at: www.brendascottroyce.com.