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Antique store owner Liz brings home a Victorian taxidermy hound from auction, unwittingly unleashing dark forces on her wife and son.
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Nat Loman has finally married the love of her life, Liz, and is getting used to her role as stepmother to Liz's 5-year-old son, Liam. The Loman family runs a bustling antique business so they attend a sale where a striking, black taxidermied hound is up for auction. Liz picks it up for the business, but it ends up being stored in their home, where Nat notices strange things occurring. She quickly discovers the past residents had died violently. Then she hears from a friend about the myth of "the devil's dog", a hound that perches in the shadows, tearing families apart from the inside. Soon, people around the Lomans are dying, and Liz is changing, darkening. It's up to Nat to save the woman she loves from the darkness closing in, and to save Liam from danger no matter what she has to sacrifice.
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Author of The Hound, Neverest, and more! Wattpad Star | Paid Stories
What inspired you to write The Hound?
I saw a taxidermied parrot in a thrift shop once and couldn't stop from wondering about how it had gotten there, who it had once belonged to, why they gave it up, who would want to buy it? Thinking about that gave me this idea for a story about a taxidermy dog that might not really be dead and might not even really be a dog.
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How long do you spend researching before beginning to write a book?
After I first get an idea, I'll usually sit on it for a few weeks or even months to let the ideas really come together and gel. During that period I do a lot of pre-planning to get myself in the right mindset -- making soundtracks and mood boards and that sort of thing. I'll also try to read and watch a lot of stories similar to the one I have in mind so I can kind of get a clearer idea of the tropes to use and which ones to avoid or subvert. For The Hound, I started pre-planning in March of 2017 and started the actual writing in May.
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How did you discover Wattpad? What are some of your favorite experiences on the platform?
I think I first joined in like 2012 or so, right in the middle of the self-publishing/indie "revolution", because I read a blog post about it. But then I had no idea how to really make the platform work for me and completely neglected it for several years. Now I'm a big Wattpad convert, though! My favorite thing in the world is logging on and seeing comments from someone who sat down and read a story straight through the night. My other favorite thing is getting to make friends with other readers and authors all around the world. Nowhere on the internet has as great of a community as Wattpad.
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If you could have a cup of coffee with anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Oh man, that's a tough one! Maybe Mary Shelley. She was hardcore and very smart and probably would have some great stories to tell.
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What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I play a lot of video games and watch a lot of horror movies and anime. I also really enjoy cooking and try to experiment with new things in the kitchen.
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If you're able to, can you tell us what you're currently working on or what's in store for the readers?
So, I have a few things going on behind the scenes that I can't talk about right now in detail (ooh! mysterious!) BUT I'm also in the pre-planning stages of a dark love story about selkies. I think fans of The Hound will probably like this one a lot.
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Do you have any favorite Wattpad writers?
Mestrin is one of the kindest, funniest people on the site and I wholeheartedly recommend following him immediately. I also love the work of Daniel_Barnett.
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What is the best writing advice you have received? What advice can you give to writers out there?
I think maybe the most useful thing I ever learned about writing is to experiment. Don't let yourself fall into a rut of doing the same thing over and over because it works and it's easy. Keep pushing yourself to try new things, whether that's a fresh genre or a new POV or an experimental narrative choice. It might not work out every time, but you learn a whole lot from doing it.
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If you could listen to the same three songs for the rest of your life, what would they be?
Oh man, that's an impossible choice! Let's say...."Hotel California" by The Eagles; "I Am Stretched On Your Grave" by Abney Park; "Innocent" by Our Lady Peace
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Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to TLBodine for joining us for our interview! We really appreciated having you with us.
