Melodie Muses On Rising Tides And Canine Friends
Storm Girl by Linda Nicklin is an eco-thriller suitable for all ages. The whole story plays out against humankind’s relationship with the planet, but Nicklin weaves an intimately human story of a young woman called Angel and some very special relationships with animals along the way.
Things are pretty desperate and Angel doesn’t know — indeed can’t know — who to trust. That even stretches to the animal kingdom. There are creatures out there who see her as a meal. But not all of them.
That special bond between person and dog
We meet a man called Mac and a dog called Leila who becomes a key part of Angel’s escape from the Reapers who tried to snatch her at the start of the book.
There’s a special bond between Leila and Mac, but while Angel needs help, Leila protects her, as though there’s a bond there too. It’s somehow more than the dog-owner relationship and more than the normal communication between person and animal.
Leila was the subject of my question to Linda Nicklin:
What sort of bonds does Leila forge with people and is this to do with the type of dog she is?
Here’s Linda’s answer:
Leila is loosely based on my current dog Penny and my previous two dogs — a Springer called Blue and a Lab called Ness. All three dogs would walk for hours and were always by my side.
Years later, I still have Blue and Ness shaped spaces at my heel. They each had their own character, but what they could do was read my feelings and I think that Leila had that ability, too.
Mac had been injured and she guarded him. He asked her to look after Angel when she stepped out that first night in the quarry and she did.
Reaped, on the run, longing to go home, lost in a strange world, Angel needed a friend. She didn’t know who she could trust and Leila just stepped into that space. Angel could trust her completely and later in the book when Angel was in despair and lost even to herself Leila found her.
I know that not all dogs are as good as Leila at getting it right when they try to help, but I’m sure all dog owners will recognise that innate canine quality and the dog-shaped spaces that remain forever at our heels.
Melodie Trudeaux Is All About The Animals
That’s why Melodie has homed in on the animal angles of every one of the books she muses on. Melodie Trudeaux is the alter-ego of crime writer, Penny Grubb.
Melodie’s latest, Horse of the Same Colour…
… is a MABLE 2022 spotlight book along with Storm Girl. Please come and join Melodie and all the other authors at Fantastic Books Publishing’s
It’s free and it’s fun!
