One of the secondary characters in my recently released sweet historical romance Dumplings and Dynamite just happens to have four legs and a red coat.
The idea of adding a red fox to a story came about a few years ago. Captain Cavedweller and I were driving on the freeway near Baker City when I happened to see a curious little fellow on the side of the road, watching cars zoom by. Of course, I started thinking about who would have a pet fox and how I could work him into the Baker City Brides series.
Widow Hollin Hughes lives up the hills near a mine with her baby daughter and made the perfect person to have a pet fox. Because if the white coloring on his tail, she calls him Tip.
This was the image that inspired some of Tip’s antics in the story. He’s not full grown, but he is might and brave and convinced he’s a guard dog for Hollin and baby Keeva.
Before I started writing this story, I really didn’t know much about foxes (other than the tendency to find them sneaking into a hen house).
What I learned is that they are amazing little creatures with an quite a fascinating vocabulary.
This informational sheet I found gave me a great idea of the sounds Tip might have made and the reasons behind it.
I also found some fun videos on YouTube. Check out this adorable fox and listen to the various sound he makes:
If you haven’t read the book yet, you can read all about Tip and his humans in Dumplings and Dynamite.
2 Responses
Will has watched this video so many times over the last few years I think he has it memorized. Lately, he had been watching videos on otters, ( another possible secondary character). They are such playful and intriguing creatures.
Oh, that’s so fun about Will watching this video and about otters. They are so fun to watch!
So happy you stopped by the blog!