Kayla knows whatever her dog knows — but neither knows enough.
The neural connection between Kayla and her dog seems unimportant, until her father’s cryptic message.
Your mother and I are in danger, and I’m afraid that means you are too. I’ve gone into hiding. Don’t try to find me unless I contact you, and don’t let Saffi find me. You and Saffi should go too. Go and hide together.
Kayla doesn’t really trust her father. After all, he left her mother and dragged Kayla off to live in the country. And when Kayla’s mother gave her Saffi, her father somehow won the dog’s loyalty.
But Kayla can’t reach her mother. She has to decide, on her own, what to do. Should she hide in the forest with Saffi? Should she try to find her father? And what danger threatens?
Kayla sounds like a troubled child; does she have a mentor?
–Not really. She wasn’t particularly troubled before her parents split up, which happened (probably — not spelled out) a few months before the story starts.
How old is she?
–Sixteen.
Was it difficult writing from a younger point of view?
–I used my 21-year-old daughter as a sounding board and rewrote accordingly.
What’s the relationship like between Kayla and Saffi?
–At first, not as close as one might — and as Kayla did — expect, due to Saffi’s adoration of Kayla’s father, whom Kayla blames for her parents’ separation.
What kind of dog is Saffi?
–A golden retriever/beagle mix.
Is this a standalone or a new series?
–Standalone
Thanks
–Thank you!
Karen A. Wyle was born a Connecticut Yankee, but eventually settled in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University. She now considers herself a Hoosier. Wyle’s childhood ambition was to be the youngest ever published novelist. While writing her first novel at age 10, she was mortified to learn that some British upstart had beaten her to the goal at age 9.
Wyle is an appellate attorney, photographer, political junkie, and mother of two daughters. Her voice is the product of almost five decades of reading both literary and genre fiction. It is no doubt also influenced, although she hopes not fatally tainted, by her years of law practice. Her personal history has led her to focus on often-intertwined themes of family, communication, the impossibility of controlling events, and the persistence of unfinished business.
Wyle’s Twitter handle is @KarenAWyle
The Writing Train: Join the locomotion 