Ally Broadfield | How My Pets Make Me a Better Writer

From as early as I can remember, animals have been a part of my life. We always had a dog while I was growing up, as well as fish, guinea pigs, rabbits, and later on, horses. Though having animals as a part of my family is natural to me, I never realized just how many ways they enhanced my life. I love being a full-time writer, and am often asked if I find it lonely to be home alone all day, with only my characters to keep me company. But with four dogs, a cat, and a rabbit, as well as several reptiles and fish, I’m never alone, and they give me so much more than companionship. The following are just a few of the things my pets have taught me.

1. The Importance of Exercise

Writing for a living naturally requires you to spend a great deal of time in front of a computer, whether at a desk, in a comfortable chair, or for few a lucky writers, at a standing desk or treadmill desk. Since I don’t have either of those last two, I usually spend my mornings sitting on an exercise ball at the dining room table, and if I meet my word count goals for the morning, I treat myself to an afternoon writing session in a comfortable chair in the family room. But that’s still quite a lot of sitting. Luckily, my dogs not only pester me relentlessly until I take them on their morning walk, they also remind me to let them out in the backyard at least every two hours, thus forcing me to get up and move around.

2. Don’t be Afraid to Take Chances

My dogs spend quite a lot of time and effort chasing squirrels they never catch, digging holes that don’t lead anywhere, and barking at things that no one else can see or hear. They’ve taught me that it’s okay to try something and fail, and that it’s important to have the perseverance to keep trying until you do succeed or discover another way to accomplish your goal. So when a certain scene, chapter, or plotline just isn’t working, it’s okay to delete it and write something better, and when a strange, seemingly out of place idea comes to me, it’s okay to add it to the story. If it doesn’t work out, I can always delete it, but it just might turn out to be brilliant. You’ll never know unless you try.

3. Don’t Take Things Too Seriously

Many animals, and especially dogs, have the ability to live in the moment and enjoy every bit of it. Whether I’m stressing out about a deadline or feeling overwhelmed promoting a new release, a wagging tail, a paw on my knee or a lick to the face always reminds me that there are so many more things happening in the world than my small drama and helps me put things in perspective.

4. Commitment

Aside from the two years I lived on campus during college, I’ve always had a dog. I learned early on what a huge responsibility that was. While my friends we’re heading off to happy hour after work or taking off for a weekend getaway, I had to go home and take care of my animals (or make arrangements for someone else to take care of them). It was a responsibility I gladly accepted, and it helped me develop the stick-to-itiveness needed to accomplish many things, including finishing a manuscript.

5. Unconditional Love

Loving unconditionally is second nature to dogs, but very difficult for many humans. More than anything else, that selfless love they’ve shown me helps me shape the heroes and heroines of my books.

What life lessons have you learned from your pets?

About HOW TO BEGUILE A DUKE

The spirited Catherine Malboeuf has just arrived in England to reclaim her ancestral home, Walsley Manor, and a valuable missing heirloom. Nicholas Adair, the attractive and frustratingly inflexible Duke of Boulstridge, however, is quite unwilling to sell the estate back to Catherine. Unless, of course, she accepts a small wager...

Nick will sell Walsley Manor if--and only if--Catherine secures an offer of marriage from an eligible member of the ton before the end of the London season.

Of course, Nick is certain he'll win. After all, no proper gentleman would ever marry a woman who conceals a cutlass in her skirts. Yet something about Catherine's unconventional disposition seems to ignite a need deep inside him. A need that won't just cost him the wager, but the very heart he swore to never give away...

"HOW TO BEGUILE A DUKE by Ally Broadfield is an enthralling Regency romance which captured my undivided attention from the beginning. Catherine is a wonderfully unique, fiery, independent character who speaks her mind and will go to any lengths for her family." Fresh Fiction Reviewer Linda Green. Read Fresh Fiction's Full Review of HOW TO BEGUILE A DUKE

About Ally Broadfield

Ally has worked as a horse trainer, director of marketing and development, freelance proofreader, and a children’s librarian, among other things. None of them were as awesome as writing romance novels (though the librarian gig came closest). She lives in Texas and is convinced her house is shrinking, possibly because she shares it with three kids, five dogs, a cat, a rabbit, and assorted reptiles. Oh, and her husband.

Ally likes to curse in Russian because very few people know what she’s saying, and spends most of what would be her spare time letting dogs in and out of the house and shuttling kids around. She has many stories in her head looking for an opportunity to escape onto paper. She writes historical romance set in Regency England and Imperial Russia.

You can find Ally on her website, Facebook, and Twitter, though she makes no claims of using any of them properly.