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Love and Laughter
NICK and CLANCY – A Tale of Nine Lives follows a gentle and wounded man recovering from severe heart trauma, who has a runaway dog turn up at his door, and gives him a new purpose in life. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
The character of Nick is inspired by the life and death of my younger brother, although I have fictionalized his personality and life course in ways he would never recognize! The character of Clancy was inspired by my good friend’s Sheltie collie, now deceased, who I swear was sentient. I wanted to give Clancy to Nick as a gift that I wish I could have given my brother.
I loved that Clancy is not just a sidekick in this story; she is just as active and engaging as Nick. Her character is funny, loyal, guilty, protective, and oddly wise. How did you decide what emotional range to give her?
Little spoiler warning: In the story, Clancy’s personality reflects her previous lifetime as a zany, devoted person. I’ve known several of those. So she was actually an easy character to imagine. Think of a zany, devoted person you’ve known – that’s Clancy.
Humor shows up amid fear and illness. How did you find the balance between laughter and emotions that overtake a person when facing an illness such as Nicks?
Life isn’t all one color, or even two (black and white). I wanted Nick’s story to be rich and full of love and laughter that often come hand-in-hand with loss and tragedy. We are multidimensional beings; if only we open our minds and hearts.
What do you hope readers feel when they close the book?
I hope they feel the love that permeated Nick and Clancy’s lives, and that it inspires them to reach out and share their own love with others, while we have the time and place. As Nick’s Aunt Nancy would say, “Micro-moments matter. Even the tiny ripples matter. Just ask the fish in the creek.’”
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NICK and CLANCY – A Tale of Nine Lives
NICK and CLANCY – A Tale of Nine Lives tells the story of Nick, a gentle and wounded man recovering from severe heart trauma, and Clancy, the sharp, funny, deeply devoted dog who enters his life at exactly the right moment. The narrative moves through years of shared life, illness, dreams, small victories, and fear, often told from Clancy’s point of view. At its core, the book is about survival, companionship, purpose, and the strange ways love shows up when life feels fragile and uncertain.
The writing feels intimate and conversational, almost like someone sitting across from you and telling you a story late at night. I laughed more than I expected. I also felt a quiet ache settle in as the pages went on. The dog’s perspective could have felt gimmicky, but it does not. It feels earnest and oddly wise. Clancy’s humor, guilt, loyalty, and protectiveness landed hard for me. I felt protective of Nick, too, even frustrated with him at times. The writing is messy in a relatable way. It rambles. It lingers. That worked for me. Life rarely moves in neat arcs, and this book does not pretend otherwise.
The theme of borrowed time runs through everything. Illness hangs over each chapter like background noise that never fully shuts off. I felt the anxiety of waiting for the next medical crisis. I also felt the stubborn hope that keeps Nick moving forward anyway. The story made me think about purpose in small terms. Not destiny. Not grand success. Just showing up for someone else. Just staying. There is a tenderness here that caught me off guard. Some sections felt repetitive, and a tighter edit could help in places, but I did not mind lingering with these characters. I cared about them. That matters more to me than polish.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy character-driven stories and emotional honesty. It is especially well-suited for animal lovers, people who have faced serious illness, or anyone who has felt unmoored and searching for meaning. This book is reflective and heartfelt and sometimes sad. If you like books that feel personal and lived in, and you do not mind getting a little misty-eyed along the way, this one is worth your time.
Pages: 288 | ASIN : B0FMTS6KZK
LITERARY TITAN 