From childhood I've loved dogs and writing. Well, and reading, of course. Many family vacations feature me under a tree, reading, while in the foreground my brother is floating down the river on a blowup mattress. I live with two dogs, a Havanese named Liam (who we call our Irish Cuban, that is, whenever we're not calling him Napoliam because of his Napoleon complex), and Sparkle, a German shepherd with a territorial complex, who is otherwise perfect. Oh, yeah, and my husband, Charles, who lets these dogs walk all over him, and loves every minute of it.