
(For an audio version of this post, click H-E-R-E.)
Writing my first novel is hard work. Veteran writers have a lot to teach us. Take Jacqueline Diamond, for instance. She’s published — drumroll here — 102 (maybe more by the time you read this) books! It’s no wonder she won a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and is a two-time Rita Award finalist. Her books range from mystery and non-fiction to romances for all ages (including some about couples over 50) that span the 1800s to present.
This week I’m working especially hard on meeting a couple of novel-related deadlines I’ve set for myself, so I hope you don’t mind if we get right to our guest. (Oh, but first, for the many readers who enjoyed the guest blog post here at Happiness Between Tails by The Wheelchair Teen, check out the heartfelt dialog within the comments of her reblog of it to her site.)
Jacqueline began her life in Texas. Now she and her family reside in Southern California. At her site, learn more about her, her books, sign up for her newsletter, and find more of her writing tips.
Here’s a video of her discussing how to develop interesting characters. And here she describes the storytelling ins and outs of point-of-view.
Read on for her take on how animals and pets can help round out the writing of fiction, as well as make it that much more fun for readers…

Like Cats and Dogs! by Jacqueline Diamond
Characters in a novel take on a life of their own—and not always what the author expects. Animals are no exception!
There weren’t any furry creatures in sight when I began writing Really? At Your Age?, Book One of my Sisters, Lovers & Second Chances series. My heroine, Dr. Cody Matchett, has no pets. She’s too busy delivering babies, risking romance at the age of 52, and losing her heart to the possibility of finally having children of her own.
Then her older sister, Mandy, a resolutely single nurse, has to move in with her for a few weeks…bringing her cats. Beanie and Queenie arrive with attitude! For me, they added a lot to the fun.
Next, while searching out cover images for my next book, Don’t Be Silly! At My Age?, I came across a cat who looks just like Beanie, squaring off with a German Shepherd. And since I wanted Mandy and the new man in her life to (more or less) fight like cats and dogs, it was irresistible.
Suddenly, my hero—a mystery novelist—became the owner of an aging rescue dog. Throughout the story, the animals play a key role.
One of my favorite scenes occurs when the heroine’s ex-boyfriend worms his way into her house by bribing her cats. A furious Mandy tells him, “You are literally something the cat dragged in!”
How did I develop personalities for my cats? That was the easy part! I’ve been owned by several of them and, seriously, have you ever met a cat that didn’t have a distinctive personality?
My experience with dogs is spottier…literally. My family once owned a Dalmatian, a rather high-strung fellow. My hero’s German Shepherd, who gazed at me with soulful eyes from the photo, turned out to be mellower.
On reflection, I’m surprised animals haven’t figured into more of my novels. Perhaps that’s because many of the stories are set in hospitals, such as my Safe Harbor Medical series.
But I’ll be looking for more furry possibilities in the future. After all, they’re fun to read about and fun to write!
What’s your fiction right now? I’m in the middle of Ernest Hemingway’s “The Garden of Eden,” published posthumously. The protagonist is a writer much like Hemingway and apart from the main story, it’s interesting to read of his writing routine and philosophy. Also, I just finished “Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows,” by Balli Kaur Jaswal, a fun yet thoughtful novel that wins beaucoup points for the title alone!
Hey da-AL, I hope all is well with you and yours, I’m reading Agatha Christie “And then they were none”
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I love her! do you read her in French?
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in English !! 🙂
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wonderful – btw, the Hemingway book I mentioned might hold some interest for one of your posts? in it, he discusses gender, cross dressing, etc, in 1921…
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ok thank you !!
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Over 100 novels? Wow! And I thought I was doing well having two come out this year! Good for her, and happy writing!
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Thanks for reading! And it took me four decades to write all those books, so no worries!
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Suzanne, you are doing quite well, imho ❤
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Aw, thanks!
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Reading V.Woolf and Tim O’Brian at the same time. I want so much and have so little time.
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Me too, Bojana – I listen to a lot of audiobooks for that reason – great selections!
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I’m really impressed that Jacqueline has Diamond has sustained enough creativity to write over 100 books. Well done!
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Thank you! It’s hard work but fun, too.
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makes me so happy to hear it’s fun, Jacqueline – quite inspiring 🙂
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I agree, Sharon – hoping your writing & art are going well 🙂
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My congratulations Jacqueline !
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Thank you! I appreciate it.
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HI da-AL, 103 books is incredible. It takes me two years to write a novel so I am completely in awe of Jacqueline.
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I’ve spent as much as a year on a book. Sometimes I write (much) faster. It really varies!
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That is good to know.
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you’ve got a hefty shelf of books of your own, Robbie 🙂
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Yes, but some of them are anthologies and children’s books which are not as time consuming as novels.
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you are too modest, Robbie 🙂
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She sounds like a great role model. I love the sound of her books with the animal characters and will look them up. It’s what we all need. 😀
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Thank you! I really love my readers–that’s why I write.
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& it shows, Jacqueline 🙂
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I agree, Leslie 🙂
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Wow! 100 novels is a lot!
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Seems like a lot to me, too. It’s kind of weird to think I wrote that many, but when I review them (as when I reissue them as ebooks), the stories and characters bring back great memories.
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I much appreciate your positive encouragement to all us writers, Jacqueline ❤
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You’re really awesome, I’m kinda speechless right now. Because I thought that you were posting about an author who published 100 novels. But now that I noticed that it’s you yourself, I really don’t know what to say except I’m in awe of you ♥♥♥
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Hi Sonali – just to be clear, I, da-AL, who runs this site, unfortunately haven’t published over 100 books — however, our guest for this post, Jacqueline Diamond, has 🙂
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Oh I see. Hope you have a lovely weekend ♥
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amen, Sonali!
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♥
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Thank you for sharing this very interesting information, daAL. I hope you are well, and enjoy the wonderful higher temperatures. Will now visit the recommended author page.
Let me tell you about my virtual moving to https://books.eslarn-net.de. In future i will reblog, or better “repost” there, because the Germans are not able to bring up a detailled version of the GDPR, and so WP.com’s Jetpack(R) is not allowed to use. Means all the funny things like the reblog and the like button and the comment form are restricted to use. ;-( Have a beautiful weekend! xx Michael
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much appreciate your re-blog/re-posts, Michael – I just use wordpress dot com – just a heads up, when I went to your site I couldn’t find them, nor how to comment, like, etc
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Oh, i am sorry, da-AL! You will find the new blog at: https://books.eslarn-net.de, but you can not comment or like, because this is a essential feature of WP.com’s Jetpack-plugin. Just this plugin is not allowed to use by the German unadapted version of the GDPR. Will try to find a compatible solution.
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good luck, Michael – your site is lovely! I recommend all to visit 🙂
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Reblogged this on DEEZ – NOW: —-> BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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