Winter 2023 Newsletter
I considered using this newsletter to write about the dearth of public-minded, dutiful leaders in the world. It seemed topical with Queen Elizabeth II’s passing last month. I know she led a privileged life, and I know the British monarchy has a long, complicated, and sometimes very dark history. But still, her absence puts the attributes of other current world leaders in sharp contrast. Angry, scheming, selfish, power-hungry, narcissistic. You know the type.
But then I thought better of it. There is enough darkness in the world right now, and I don’t feel the need to contribute to the current canon of we’re in a global crisis opinion pieces. I mean, we are, but other writers are tackling that topic as well as I can, and I’ve decided to set it aside. For now, I’m in the mood for something more positive, a more uplifting topic…to chew on.
The magic of dogs.
Do you have a dog? My own dog sits next to me as I write this. Romeo is a six-year-old Cocker Spaniel, and when I’m home he’s never far from my side. A loving, funny creature, he may not be able to talk but he can sure communicate. Romeo always has one large ear attuned to the possibility of someone walking past our home (how dare they!), and another listening to…things I cannot hear. Higher frequency sounds? Vibrations in the fabric of time? Ghosts? If you have a dog, you know they live in two worlds – our world and a dog world humans cannot experience. There might be magic in that dog world. I hope there is.
That’s why I chose a dog to be a major character in How the Invisible Woman Learned to Fly.
Yoodles is Marcie Blanchard’s dog. She rescued him as a pup, and bestowed the horrible name of Yoodles on the poor creature.
In case you were wondering, or even if you weren’t, Yoodles is the only character in How the Invisible Woman Learned to Fly based on a real-life character – that of my much-loved and much-missed Angus. Angus didn’t have a flying, talking carpet as a close confidante, (that I know of), but everything else about Yoodles comes from Angus: the obsession with food (including hurling his body into the fridge every time the door was open); hogging the bed; the sweet intelligence. Romeo is an entirely different guy. Were I ever to write something that needed an opinionated drama king who is loyal to a fault, except and until the opportunity to go swimming arises, (no doubt he’d try to swim across Lake Ontario if I let him) – then Romeo would be my model and muse.
Marcie is a complicated, flawed woman. She is much put-upon, but she’s also the author of some of her own misery. Through it all, the one uncomplicated, pure relationship in her life, is the one between her and her dog. In some ways, she understands Yoodles better than she understands her own teenage son. Certainly, it is Yoodles who lightens her heart. And it is Yoodles who brings the magic carpet into her life.
I tested positive for Covid while I was writing this newsletter. I’ve had two vaccines and two booster shots, so it was (thankfully) a mild bout – still, I was laid up for a few days. Without the energy to finish the newsletter, but looking for something to occupy my mind, I went back and reviewed the news coverage produced for the occasion of The Queen’s death. In particular, I was struck by the many, many photos and videos of The Queen and her dogs. I began to realise my instinct to open this month’s newsletter by mentioning her death was right…even if I had the topic wrong. I won’t speculate on whether The Queen’s most uncomplicated relationships were with her dogs, but seeing those pictures did reinforce my decision to make Yoodles a major character in How the Invisible Woman Learned to Fly, (as well in as the other two installments in the trilogy). Because I’m pretty sure dogs are a woman’s best friend.
I’m not sure if Queen Elizabeth II thought dogs straddle two worlds, one of which includes magic.
But I hope she did.