The Animals Taught Me: We All Have Something to Contribute

by Sharon Ledwith

During my year-long stint as an animal care attendant, I learned so much about the procedures and daily routines of working in an animal shelter.

Then, one day, I found myself wondering what the animals would say if they could talk? How they would act and sound? What did they really think of humans?

So, chasing down the animal voices frolicking in my head, I decided to write their story. The result is, Lost and Found, the first book in my teen psychic mystery series, Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls.

Every Animal is Different, Just Like People

All the shelter animals in Lost and Found are based on animals I cared for in some capacity at the shelter. Now, trying to come up with each animal’s unique voice wasn’t that hard for me, since I went by the personality of the cat or dog.

I observed certain quirks, how each animal behaved, what were they afraid of, what they liked, and so on. What I found was that every animal (even kittens born in the same litter) was different. Just. Like. People.

When I was ready to sit down and write their story, I compiled a list of shelter animals that readers would emotionally relate to and connect with. Many came to me as a surprise, while others were firmly planted in my imagination from the very beginning.

The Three Challenges I Faced While Writing a Book About Animals

As for the challenges of writing this book, I’ll give you three.

First, could I pull this book off, and make the animals sound authentic?

Second, did I do enough research on what it was like to be an animal communicator (the psychic ability featured in this book) to make my main character (Meagan Walsh) believable to readers?

Then, I realized after doing the needed research on animal behaviors and finding enough facts on animal communication, I was well on my way to writing what my heart so desperately wanted me to share with the world. I learned that animals are so empathic. They feel our energy. And sometimes, they know us better than we know ourselves.

Third, I had to to create the small, tourist town of Fairy Falls—the setting that would glue this entire teen psychic mystery series together. I didn’t have to stretch my imagination that hard since I wrote what I knew based on where I was living at the time—in the heart of cottage country.

So I took in the sights, smells, sounds, tastes, emotions, and feelings of this beautiful place, and added the challenges and obstacles of what it would be like for an uprooted teenager possessing a psychic ability to adjust to the day-to-day living in Fairy Falls.

I Wanted to Give This Book the Best Ending Possible

The biggest emotional challenge was the ending (which of course, I won’t reveal) because it was so emotionally charged and raw for me.

I wanted to give this book the best ending possible, no matter how invested my readers (and myself) were in the characters.

Writing this part wore me down emotionally, but raised me up in a way that made me proud of what I had accomplished and how the characters grew through the challenges and obstacles I tossed at them throughout the story.

We’re All Here to Serve in Some Capacity

How this book changed me as a person? It made me realize that we (including animals) are all here to serve in some capacity.

Whether that’s through our experiences, creative expressions, careers, professions, being parents or caregivers, we’ve all got something to contribute to this world while we’re alive.

It doesn’t matter if it’s in a big or small way, we all matter, we all have voices, and we need to be brave enough to use them.

By Writing This Book, I Gave a Voice to the Dogs and Cats in Shelters Everywhere

I reached out to partner with three animal rescue organizations at a few of their events when Lost and Found came out, and gave a portion of my book sales to help with the care and needs of the dogs and cats they had rescued.

In a way, I felt by writing this book, I was being a “voice” for the underdogs/cats in shelters everywhere, bringing awareness to the plight of animal shelters and the continual need for fundraising, adoption, and spay and neuter programs.

I’ve also managed to get my book into a pet food store chain, and attended a literary event to promote Lost and Found, while sharing the spotlight with the manager of our local Humane Society. Of course, never underestimate the power of social media, and all those animal lovers out there!

Advice for a Young Writer: Trust Your Inner Voice

Trust that inner voice of yours that’s telling you to write her/his/their/your story. Write what’s important to you, what you want to say, in whatever genre you’re compelled to write in.

Don’t follow trends, they change. Know that you’ll be in it for the long haul if you want to make it as career writer, so don’t give up on your dreams.

And the most important: please, please, please don’t compare yourself to other writers. They’re on their own journey, and you’re on yours, so put your blinders on and follow your heart.

Note: Learn more about Sharon at her previous Writing and Wellness interview.

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Sharon Ledwith is the author of the middle-grade/young adult time travel adventure series, THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS, and the teen psychic mystery series, MYSTERIOUS TALES FROM FAIRY FALLS. When not writing, researching, or revising, she enjoys reading, exercising, anything arcane, and an occasional dram of scotch. Sharon lives a serene, yet busy life in a southern tourist region of Ontario, Canada, with her hubby and a moody calico cat.

Learn more about Sharon Ledwith on her WEBSITE and BLOG. Look up her AMAZON AUTHOR page for a list of current books. Stay connected on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST, LINKEDIN, INSTAGRAM, and GOODREADS.

BONUS: Download the free PDF short story The Terrible, Mighty Crystal HERE.

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Lost and Found: Fairy Falls was bores-ville from the get-go. Then the animals started talking... 

The Fairy Falls Animal Shelter is in trouble. Money trouble. It’s up to an old calico cat named Whiskey—a shelter cat who has mastered the skill of observation—to find a new human pack leader so that their home will be saved. With the help of Nobel, the leader of the shelter dogs, the animals set out to use the ancient skill of telepathy to contact any human who bothers to listen to them. Unfortunately for fifteen-year-old Meagan Walsh, she hears them, loud and clear.

Forced to live with her Aunt Izzy in the safe and quiet town of Fairy Falls, Meagan is caught stealing and is sentenced to do community hours at the animal shelter where her aunt works. Realizing Meagan can hear her, Whiskey realizes that Meagan just might have the pack leader qualities necessary to save the animals. Avoiding Whiskey and the rest of shelter animals becomes impossible for Meagan, so she finally gives in and promises to help them. Meagan, along with her newfound friends, Reid Robertson and Natalie Knight, discover that someone in Fairy Falls is not only out to destroy the shelter, but the animals as well. Can Meagan convince her aunt and co-workers that the animals are in danger? If she fails, then all the animals’ voices will be silenced forever.

Available on Amazon.