Chilli and Pickles

I am excited to announce that a new children’s book series following the adventures of two black & white dogs, Chilli and Pickles, is currently being illustrated by the lovely Sarah-Leigh Wills and will be available to buy next year.

My own dogs

The stories are inspired by my own collie crosses, Chilli and Lucy, (although Lucy is more of a Pickle than a Lucy). The two look very alike but have completely different personalities.  Chilli is a bit of a couch potato whilst Lucy loves to jump. She can jump 6 foot vertically from a standing position. You would think she had springs in her feet! The stories follow them on many adventures which include catching burglars, rescuing a lost lamb and meeting a cunning, conniving fox, who is due to make a reappearance in future books.

A bit of Collie Trivia

Collies act as great inspiration as they are such intelligent animals.  Did you know a talented border collie currently holds one of the more oddly specific Guinness World Records: “Fastest car window opened by a dog.” It took Striker, a border collie from Hungary, 11.34 seconds to wind down a non-electric car window using his paw and nose. Striker set the record in September 2004 in Quebec, Canada. Another Border Collie called Rico can recognize more than 250 objects by name.

Inspiration

Each time we go for a walk one of the dogs does something to inspire a story.  As they are both rescue dogs, they are both cowardy custards in real life, so it is fun turning them into brave adventurous dogs in the stories.

Rescue Centres

I will be working alongside a number of animal rescue charities with these books, with a percentage of the profits going directly to them.

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