As many of you know, my dogs are an enormous part of my life, and they have a profound influence on my writing. We had to put dear Akasha to sleep a few weeks ago. I am writing this blog as a tribute to her, and all she meant for my writing.
She was aptly named after Anne Rice’s vampire, the Queen of the Damned! Akasha, the dog, was willful and loved being in charge. She was also the most loving dog you could imagine. She loved everyone, and she loved every moment of life. Everything was an adventure and to be celebrated. She entered every room, assuming you were just waiting to greet her and have fun.
She had the highest energy of any dog I’ve ever known. One infamous story came when the HVAC person was doing our annual check up. She was “helping” and demanding attention. He said, “well, they’re like that as puppies until they outgrow it.” Paul paused, looked at the guy, and said – “Except she’s eight.” The guy looked bewildered and just said, “Oh.” LOL.
If you’ve read any of my novels with Jaret in them, you know Darth, his dog, is a main character. Darth even becomes a vampire. Spoiler alert – if you’ve read THE VAMPIRE’S WAR, you know that Jaret makes more vampire dogs as his pets. Akasha is one of them. Immortalizing my dogs in my stories is one of the ways my personal life bleeds into my fiction.
I miss her desperately. But I could never express adequately the gratitude I have for being with her for 16.5 years. Here’s to you, Akasha. Teach them how to party hard on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.