How One Bad Puppy Became the Inspiration for a Novel
by Holly Christine(3)http://www.hollychristineonline.com
We bought her after my Mom’s dog passed away. I was on the couch, two weeks after the tragedy, crying during a Petco commercial.
“Would it help,” my husband asked, “if we got our own dog?”
I thought for a few moments, seconds really.
“Yes.”
We searched the paper, looked at every puppy picture imaginable online, until we found the breed that we thought was right for our lifestyle and tiny apartment: Pomeranian. Small, but not too small, with a puffy little tail.
The day we visited the breeder, I knew right away which puppy would be mine: The little brown one. Of course she was more expensive. Of course we had just spent $200 at Petco on puppy preparing items. Of course our apartment complex charged a $350 pet deposit and a puppy lease fee of $30 per month. The start up cost for Clemenza was nearly $1000. We could have started a small business, but we got a dog instead.
We named her Clemenza after The Godfather. The poor thing, no one ever remembers her name. Clemente, most call her. She doesn’t care. She answers to Chicken, Dingo Bone, Mommy, Outside, and Bath time. She does not answer to Clemenza. She does respond to GET IN HERE quite quickly.
She was tiny. She couldn’t jump on the couch or in bed. There was still some separation. I remember those days, reading peacefully on the couch without a dogface suddenly appearing over my book, crushing the delicate pages, sometimes sticking the corner of a page in her mouth like she was flossing. But I also remember the day that Clemenza learned to jump. She hasn’t stopped since.
I couldn’t read anywhere. I was safe on the couch for a day, safe reading in bed for a week. Then I stopped reading. Until Tom Wolfe’s I am Charlotte Simmons released. I had to read it. I stole away to the bookstore after throwing one, two, three dog treats just to safely get out the door. Clemenza had already broken free of our apartment so many times that we resorted to treats: a clear signal of terrible dog trainers.
Once home, I got in the tub and cracked open my new book. The sides of the tub were tall and thin enough that Clemenza didn’t bother, at least not that much. There were still a few fake outs, where she’d throw her body so high in the air that I was sure she’d clear the tub, but no. They were only psych-outs. Then the sink started leaking. I was stuck in the tub, Clemenza staring at me, thinking how terrible it would be to be that drop of water and its only glimpse of human life was me soaking in the tub, and a dog with a staring problem.
And that is how the concept of my novel, The Nine Lives of Clemenza, came about. While I wrote, I couldn’t help but name my protagonist Clemenza. She just has so much personality. Have you ever found yourself speaking for your dog, saying aloud what you think they are thinking? Well, we do that for Clemenza. She has trouble with her R’s. In the book, Clemenza chooses some really interesting, different lives. Her personality is on every page: stubborn, manipulating, energetic, comedic, spiritual.
Sure, she ate the cable cord in the bedroom and continued eating until she had a nice piece of the wall missing (we were worried that with all of the hardware in her body she might turn Terminator on us). Sure she gets gas and has a thing for pizza, no matter how many times you say No. Yes, there was a point when if anything fell to the floor it ended up in her mouth (this often led to our arguing, “Why would you drop that?” as we chased Clemenza around the house with wrapping paper rolls and spray bottles to retrieve whatever was in her mouth).
But she did help with grieving. And she did make us smile with her trot and laugh at her games and cry when we picked her up from the vet after being spayed. She became our family. In reality, we are hers just as much as she is ours. I’m still expecting her to ask me for her first royalty check.
Article submitted Wednesday, May 27, 2009 & read 887 times.
Leave Your Comments:
» left by sue thom from nj (286 days 7 hours ago.)
hi holly,welcome to onsuchthings.i love the style of your writing, interesting, not boring at all, and funny in all the right places. i like stories about people's pets or families. it helps make them feel like real people. thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, and i hope you continue writing,best regards,sue thomRespond to this comment
» left by Holly Christine from Pittsburgh (278 days 11 hours ago.)
The Nine Lives of Clemenza was chosen as Reviewer's Choice by the Midwest Book Review for June and is also listed as one of the top 100 bestsellers in Amazon's Kindle Literary Fiction! Perhaps Clemenza will get her first royalty check! ~HollyRespond to this comment
» left by Avis Ward(39) (242 days 11 hours ago.)
Holly, I'm late but that didn't distract from my enjoyment. What a great storyteller and writer you are! I feel for Clemenza straightaway. You've got me aching for another doggy again! GRrrrrrrrrr!! An adorable story and give your hubby a pat on the back for his loving suggestion to help you with your grief. Good stuff to read and has she gotten her royalty check yet? Congrats on the success of the book!
Keep writing more articles. I'll be back to read them! :)
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