I’m Kendra Elliot, an author, mom, and procrastinator. I have two Pomeranians. The one on the left is seven-year-old Max and the other is five-month-old Liesel.
What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine?
We have coffee every day together. Liesel is an early bird who gets us up at the latest by six—Max prefers to sleep in and doesn’t join us until later. Liesel is hyper; Max is mellow. When Max goes down the stairs in the morning, he always stops on the second to last stair and looks over his shoulder at me because Liesel is spazzing out at the bottom, thrilled to see him and unable to climb up the stairs. The look in Max’s eyes says “Dude. There isn’t enough coffee in the world to deal with her first thing in the morning.” As soon as he hops off the last step, she attacks and chews on his ears and feet. It’s all in love, but Max doesn’t appreciate it first thing in the morning.
Do your dogs do more to help or hinder your writing?
There’s nothing better than the soft snore of a dog nearby when I’m at my desk…but I don’t care for the hyper barking at every dog that walks by on the sidewalk.
If Hollywood made a movie about your life in which your dogs could speak, who should voice them?
I’ve mentioned this on Facebook before. Max would sound like Hodor from Game of Thrones and Liesel would be Elmo on fast-forward.
What's brewing?Decaf drip brew. I gave up caffeine a year and a half ago (waits for exclamations of horror). During the withdrawal, I was in physical pain for a few days and then I was perfectly fine. I was shocked to discover I didn’t need caffeine to function in the morning once I shook the addiction. It was more that I needed a hot cup of something in my hand. I occasionally indulge in caffeine when we’re at a coffee shop.
Any treats for you or your dogs on this occasion?
Today we have dried turkey jerky for the dogs and jicama sticks for me. I’m trying to lose some vacation weight otherwise I’d be having anything chocolate.
How did your dogs get their names? Any aliases?
It’s hard to agree when there are five people to please. Max was easily voted on and the only holdout was my oldest daughter who wanted to call him Jasper after a vampire in Twilight. Liesel was hard. We had a huge list of names and voted and voted again. By process of elimination, Lila won. I didn’t like the name and overruled to the protests of my kids. A few hours later Liesel came up. Two of my daughters immediately shrieked yes, and I made an executive-mom decision. I’d always loved the name from The Sound of Music.
Cat, postman, squirrel...?
Both dogs love to play with our cats and bark their heads off at the postman and squirrels. Ball, squeaky-toy, stick...?
Liesel loves balls and leaves. Max prefers to simply sit and chew on snacks.
Who is your dogs' best pet-pals?
Max’s best pal is our cat, Paris. We got her as a kitten last fall and she immediately attached herself to Max. Liesel loves Max to death, but right now he finds her a bit ridiculous.
Have any actual dogs ever inspired dogs in your fiction?
My main characters in Chilled, Buried, Known, the Callahan & McLane series, and the Rogue River series have dogs. I can’t say they were based on any particular dog. I had a stray attach himself to the main character in the Callahan series because he seemed so unlikely to have a dog.
What is each dog's best quality?
Max is mellow and loving. Liesel shows us how to find joy in the simple things…like leaves.
If your dogs could change one thing about you, what would it be?
Liesel would want me to play with her 24/7, and Max would prefer that I give more snacks and back scratches.If your dogs could answer only one question in English, what would you ask them?
Why must you bark at the doorbell every time??
What advice would your dogs give if asked?
Max: eat more peanut butter
Liesel: Play! Play! Play!
Visit Kendra Elliot's website.
The Page 69 Test: A Merciful Truth.
Writers Read: Kendra Elliot.
--Marshal Zeringue
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