February 20th, 2018 is International Love Your Pet Day and it got us thinking about how often pets feature as a key character in fiction...

From Nana the nurse dog in Peter Pan, Scabbers the Rat in Harry Potter, Tintin's Snowy to Bill Syke's Bulls-Eye in Oliver Twist. They are the constant and often closest companions of their fictional owners. They enhance the protagonist's character and become an integral part of their fictional lives. They colour a story often bringing both comedy and pathos, and always bringing love. Dogs in particular often have a very special place in their fictional human's life.

Lodestone Author Spotlight - Marie Yates

An author with canine connections

At Lodestone, we are delighted to work with author Marie Yates. Marie is a writer, speaker and coach along with being a Director of Canine Perspective CIC, a social enterprise which was established due to the success of her novel Reggie and Me, published by Lodestone Books. Marie’s passion for working with survivors and rescue dogs has created a global legacy utilising the human-canine bond. Marie shares her work with audiences from the 3rd Sector, Youth, Educational and Corporate organisations and as a motivational speaker and regular guest on radio, she emphatically shares the message of surviving with purpose.

Reggie & Me is the first book in the Dani Moore Trilogy. Dani's story is told through her diary in the wake of her rape and subsequent court case.
Having moved with her mum, Dani starts year eleven at a new school, facing various challenges that bring a renewed energy to face whatever is thrown at her and carry on regardless. She realises that ‘normality’ is something that she can define herself, with the help of her dog Reggie and the people around her.
Reggie & Me is more than a story of survival, as the reader is taken on an inspiring journey of personal development, interweaved with tools that girls and young women can use to create the positive future they deserve

e-book £3.99 || $6.99 Oct 31, 2014
978-1-78279-722-7 BUY ONLINE

Paperback £6.99 || $11.95 Oct 31, 2014
978-1-78279-723-4 BUY ONLINE

Sammy and Me is the second book in the Dani Moore Trilogy.

Dani Moore, a teenage rape survivor, embarks upon the next phase in her life as she starts Sixth Form College. She hopes that this will be the new start she has been desperate for, having had a difficult final year at school. With an unwelcome change at home, her friends busy with their own lives and difficult reminders of her past, Dani wonders where she can turn for help. With her rescue dog, Reggie, by her side and a lifeline in the form of a new friend, will Dani make it through another roller-coaster year?

Paperback £6.99 || $11.95 Aug 25, 2017
978-1-78535-502-8 BUY ONLINE

e-book £3.99 || $6.99Aug 25, 2017
978-1-78535-503-5 BUY ONLINE