In my books, while I never have everything thought out, I do have my main characters. In The Innocent, I begin with my female main character, Carlyn, and her dog Asher.
I have the setting. For The Innocent, that was my fictional Shaker Village of Harmony Hill. I knew what some of Carlyn’s challenges were going to be but also knew that more would be added as the story went along.
In this story, I also knew the main male character would be a sheriff. That was due to my son-in-law who I’m sure has never read any of my Shaker stories, but one day when he was here and knew I was working on a new idea for a Shaker story, he said I ought to put a little extra excitement in the book by having a lawman be a character. That gave me Mitchell, the sheriff.
I start the story with Carlyn, a young bride whose husband went off to fight in the War Between the States. Although the war has been over for more than a year, he hasn’t made his way home or sent her word of his whereabouts. She has no family and no money and loses her home. She remembers her mother’s words to “pray anyway” whether the answers were what she wanted or not.
Then I added a dog. I wanted a dog character that would make a difference in the story. I wanted a Bible name and after getting scads of suggested names after I asked on my Facebook page, I settled on one of the suggestions, Asher, the eighth son of Jacob. It was a plus that the name Asher means blessed. Asher was a blessing to Carlyn and a dog any woman living on her own would want. He was devoted to the woman who took him in when he was in need.
Beside her, Asher quivered as he watched the door with his gray-specked fur ruffed up on his neck and a low growl in his throat. The dog had barked once to alert her that the men were coming and now was ready for whatever she wanted to happen next. He was an uncommonly intelligent dog and the only reason she hadn’t gone insane after she stopped getting letters from Ambrose two summers ago.
“Is he a hound? Those gray flecks in his fur make me think of a Blue Tick hound my father used to have,” the sheriff said.
“I don’t know what he is.” Carlyn’s voice was easier now, talking about the dog instead of Whitlow and his demands. “He showed up a couple of months after Ambrose enlisted. Nothing but skin and bones and with a sore paw like maybe he’d been in a trap. Poor thing.”
Asher finds a place in Carlyn’s heart, but when she goes to the Shakers, he becomes one of her saddest challenges when the Shakers agree to take her in but will not allow her to bring Asher with her.
Carlyn touched the dog’s back. “He’s a very good dog.”
The woman looked from Asher straight at Carlyn. “He very well may be, but a Shaker animal must earn his keep and be useful. We keep no pets.”
“No dogs?” Carlyn stared at the woman, sure she misunderstood. She’d never once thought about Asher not being allowed to stay in the Shaker village. “I can’t stay here without Asher.”
“Asher?” The Shaker woman’s frown darkened.
With despair choking her, Carlyn couldn’t speak. She looked down and laid her hand on Asher, who moved closer until she could lean against him.
“It is only a dog,” the eldress said.
“But my dog.” Carlyn met her eyes with some defiance.
“I see.” The woman studied her a moment before she let out the whisper of a sigh. “Do you have someplace else you can go, my child?”
Carlyn shut her eyes and lowered her head. After a moment, she forced out her answer. “No.” Another of her mother’s lessons rose in her mind. Sometimes following the Lord’s will required sacrifice.
I’m sharing about The Innocent, one of my Shaker stories, because right now you can grab the e-book version for a mere 99 cents on Amazon or free if you have Kindle Unlimited. Hope you will check it out and see how I worked a dog character and a little suspense into a Shaker story.
Have you ever had a pet that showed up or were there for you to help you through a hard time?