The dogs of "Ghost"

I hope 2026 brings wonderful sparkly things for all of you!

 

Happy new year and thank you all so much for your support of “Ghost.” Since its release two weeks ago, you’ve bought it, shared it on social media and left wonderful reviews. I’m loving that you’re loving it! 

I’m especially loving reviews where readers highlight what they felt made the book relatable and enjoyable. That gives me ideas to build on for . . . um . . . possibly . . . another McAllister/Sinclair adventure. Maybe by then Jess will be able to go for a walk without falling into an open grave or onto a skeleton or off the edge of a river bluff. Seriously. Looking back, I’m not sure how I got her through three-hundred-plus pages without her breaking her neck. 

 

On to this week’s topic: if you’ve known me for longer than five minutes, it’s no surprise I found it easier to create the canine characters of “How to Live with a Ghost” than the human ones. If we’re relatively new acquaintances, I’m glad you’re here, and it might be beneficial to point out I am a certified crazy dog lady. I earned my first AKC obedience title on the family beagle when I was 11 and things . . . escalated. Fifty years of dog sports later, it’s that connection with another species that meant many of the supporting characters in “Ghost” were naturally four-leggers.

 

The main canine, Raider, Jess’s Belgian Malinois, was the first to interact with Fox Hollow’s invisible resident. He enjoyed connecting across the veil while Jess was either oblivious or in denial or both. It was easy to use him to create tension, serve as comic relief or save the day. 

 

Raider the fictional Malinois is based on my very real Malinois, OTCH, U-OTCH Carousel’s Call of the Wild, UDX, MX, MXJ, TT (Phoenix). Phoenix liked who he liked, and if he didn’t like you, well, sorry. One of my favorite scenes in “Ghost” comes late in the first chapter, when Dan Sinclair drops in to meet Jess, as the new owner of Fox Hollow. His initial attempt at a friendly handshake quickly changes to “Is your dog going to bite me?” while Raider gives him the classic Malinois FAFO look.

OTCH, U-OTCH Carousel's Call of the Wild
(Phoenix the real Malinois who was the
prototype for Raider the fictional Malinois)

 Raider, my very real Australian shepherd, is named after Raider the fictional Malinois. That weaves some kind of twisted connection with Phoenix, the very real Malinois. When Raider the Aussie goes over-the-top nuts or gets spicy, I feel like there’s a bit of Phoenix still with me.

Cedarwoods Macallan Red Label, UDX, OM2
(Raider the Aussie)

 Through the years, all my dogs’ call names and/or registered names have shared a literary theme linked to either a character or a book title. Raider the Aussie was the first one to deviate from that path. While his call name referenced a canine character in the unpublished manuscript that absolutely no one had read at that point but which would eventually become “Ghost,” his registered name, Cedarwoods Macallan Red Label, was a nod to whisky, no literary connection in sight. 

 

Now, I’m laughing even harder at the whisky reference because after “Ghost” went through several rewrites, well, if you know, you know. 

 

Having spent decades experiencing dogs’ intelligence and ability to problem solve, not to mention being blessed with the soul-deep relationships that come from working so closely with them, I wanted to present dogs as sentient, intuitive beings whose behaviors fill the lives of those around them with a richness that defies description. I hoped to capture my four-legged characters exhibiting normal canine behavior but with the underlying current of thoughtful intelligence and more often than not, a sense of humor.

 

Raider the Malinois was easy to write because I spent eleven too-short years with a Mal who never let anything stand in the way of what he wanted (including but not limited to fences, vehicles, farm fields, furniture, crates, trees and buildings). He was also obsessed with tennis balls.

 

Ruby, Dan Sinclair’s Australian cattle dog, is a nod to every tough, loyal, bossy, herding dog out there who not only thinks they know better than you do, they don’t GAF whether you agree.

 

Kerri Grimm’s Aussies reflect all the wonderful Australian shepherds who convinced me to switch breeds in real life from Belgians to Aussies. Seely, Kinna, Julia, Mia . . . you know who you are. I had written quite a few more of Kerri’s Aussies into original drafts of “Ghost” but they didn’t make the final version. Damn word count.

 

Cannon, Susanne Bartacheck’s fabulous BIS, BISS German Shorthair Pointer, was inspired by Carlee, the GSP who went BIS at Westminster in 2005. I remember watching her gate and stack and thinking she was absolute perfection on a show lead. When I needed a breed dog for Susanne, she immediately popped into my head. 

 

Mare MacGregor’s “incorrigible corgi” Poe doesn’t get a lot of press, which is a shame because corgis are wicked cute little beasts who deserve a supporting character role. Maybe he’ll get to shine in the future.

 

The other dogs who trot through the pages of “Ghost” were chosen more or less at random, because they seemed to fit their owners’ personalities, as well as represent the variety of breeds taking part in dog sports across our nation. If there’s any subliminal text here, it’s the message that all dogs should receive a baseline minimum of obedience training to make them good canine citizens in a world that expects them to conform to human demands while at the same time, neglecting to give them the skills to do so.

 

Thanks again for reading and reviewing and being part of my marketing team by telling your friends about “Ghost.” I’m doing some book signings in eastern Iowa this month. They are listed on the right side of this page. If you don’t have anything better to do, come and listen to me prove that I write better than I speak.

 

As always, I invite you to follow me at my author’s page at https://www.facebook.com/melinda.wichmann.author.