Give a character a scene with a pet or a kid and that character’s instantly more relatable. That is, as long as the pet doesn’t steal the show. Fortunately Essie, the heroine of A New Dawn, isn’t the type to complain about being upstaged by a critter, or else she’d have left the building already.

Nearly every reader who’s had something to say about my book so far has commented on Smithy, the lame-legged, smelly, stubborn boar who eats from Essie’s compost heap and guards her house in return. I got a death threat from one of my editors for a scene I won’t spoil for you, because the boar’s fate was up in the air. The lovely Lily declared herself on “Team Smithy” from the outset, and the overly optimistic spouse said I could live off the merchandising rights for Smithy alone. Read On