Champ Interviews Pawthor Ted Terrier

Ted's first book!

Today I am so happy to welcome Pawthor Ted Terrier to my blog. As readers will know, I recently reviewed Ted’s Journal; it was an eye-opener to me – and I’m a dog. So, without further ado, let’s get the real meat off the bone by finding out how Ted gets his inspiration.

Champ, thank you woofly much for your wonderful review of my book and for asking me to do this interview. It’s a meatylicious pleasure and if we get the meat off that bone we can share it and then play tug with the bone, and that’ll be a lot of fun. Unless I steal the bone and bury it, so you better keep your ‘opened’ eyes open for me doing that :) XOX

1. Ted, your Journal was a total revelation. How do you notice all these amazing and fascinating things about your family and humans? Is it a gift? Or do you spend hours observing them?

Thank you, Champ and very happy to have opened your eyes more to the behaviour of humans. Humans are my passion so I think that’s the main reason I notice all these things about them. I love them ever so much and more than any other species that I have met, even more than dogs. It’s easy and so much fun to work on your passions, isn’t it? I do spend hours just being with humans and also I am highly empathic – which most dogs are with their humans, too, actually – so that means I pick up on how they are thinking and feeling. Some humans call that psychic. I like to think about their thoughts and feelings and their behaviour. Humans are very clever and they also have very complicated feelings. Dogs are also clever but with just the right amount of cleverness so they don’t get muddled like humans, and also dogs are clear on their feelings. I hope in writing my observations I can help humans think not so muddled and simply love and not get too upset.

2. A quick question before we press on with even more philosophical Q&A: how did you come to live with Emma and her family?

Ted thinking!

Emma’s mummy Jane decided she wanted a dog and so she came to see me and my puppy siblings when I was still living with my mummy and daddy dog, and I was the first one to go and greet her. I was laughing and wagging my tail and so she said she would take me home when I was ready to go. And then when I was, I did, and then I met Emma and we bonded straight away. I know I am a very fortunate dog cos I was never abandoned or mistreated. I went straight to some lovely humans. All dogs deserve wonderful humans to make their Fur-Ever Homes with.

3. Back to the writing. In your Journal you said you started writing to help Emma get over her writer’s block with creativity. But is that strictly true? Were you actually dying to get started writing anyway?

Ha ha, clever Champ! Yes I was dying to get started but it took a little while for Emma to ‘hear’ me telling her all I had to say. She gets distracted very easily and goes off away in her head and in fantasy lands sometimes and I had to get her back to the bones of things. She had to get stuck and blocked so she’d be ready to be unblocked, if that makes sense. But then once she did hear me there was no stopping her. Most humans have trouble understanding Dog, but she usually gets me really well. Sometimes we argue, but that’s normal with siblings and those creating things together.

4. You said some really philosophical things about life in your Journal. Do you read about that in books, or does it just come to you?

A good idea coming back to Ted...

It just comes to me. Or it comes to Emma. In all honesty, sometimes we’re not totally sure which. Well, I am sure it all comes to me. But Emma says she has more input than just a scribe and as she is scribing for me right now, I think we’d better say it just comes to both of us.

5. You mentioned some pretty personal things in your Journal about the family. Did they mind when you mentioned how their feet smell? Although I must say, Emma sounds as if she smells yummy. Candy-floss. I’ve never tasted it but it sounds delicious.

They know I am a dog and I like smells so they were fine about it and found it funny. They think I’m very funny, in fact. I think that’s why I can get away with saying all these things about them. Some of the things in the Journal are personal truths about them and some are fiction. We did that just to make sure nobody reading it would know for sure which is which and my humans wouldn’t be upset about it. But it could all be true and probably is for some humans somewhere. Candy-floss is delicious, yes – very sweet and also airy like Emma.

6. Now that their secrets are out, do you find members of the family kind of being careful what they do in case you write it down?

No, the opposite! They make sure I am watching before they do anything J

7. You write a blog as well, so writing is an everyday thing for you. Do you have to have a special place to write? Or nice music? Or total silence?

Ted dictating to Emma.

I can only write when Emma is ready to help me so it’s not always every day cos she has other things to do. Then I have to try to remember what I was going to write and my memories don’t last very long. I also Facebook and Tweet (@TedTerrier) J My special place to write is sitting next to Emma on the sofa at our mummy’s home. Usually I have my head and front paws on her lap and we look into each other’s eyes and then she takes my thoughts and puts them on paper or computer. For background ambiance, we might have the TV or music or even other people talking. It doesn’t matter. All sorts can be going on and still my ideas flow out. Emma says I make her concentrate and be more in tune with herself than any other time she tries to write or be creative.

8. What’s your favourite food in the whole world? Any special treats?

Darn! Who forgot the cheese?

Cheese, cheese, more cheese, and ‘Can I have some cheese, please?’! My absolute favourite is Babybel cheese, which my human mummy calls ‘bombels’ so that’s what we’ve called them in our writings cos we’re not sure if we’re allowed to say product names; or maybe we could and then say ‘there are other cheeses available.’

9. What’s next on the writing horizon for you? You know that a Pawthor can never have just one book. Any little hints for my eager readers?

Sneak preview of Ted's next book!

Yes a Pawthor never can and I won’t cos towards the end of this month, March 2014 (we hope), – which also happens to be my 14^th birthday – The Second Journal of Ted Terrier will be ready and out J Woofyay! And we are already working on the third one J

10. What advice would you give to Pawthors out there contemplating publishing their mewahs or their Observations on Life?

Easy – get yourself a lovely human cos they are good at looking after the practicalities of it so you can just focus on your observations and creativity and philosophising and what really matters. Just bark it out there!

11. Is there anything that you’d like to share with readers, or anything special you’d like to tell the world? (Like who is really your favourite person in the family…)

Okay, well, cos she was the star of the show and my primary inspiration, my journal says my favourite person is my mummy Jane, but actually, she’s not. I’m not saying this cos her fingers are typing it, but honestly my favourite person is Emma and I really couldn’t do this without her cos we have a wooftastic connection and my favourite place to be is by her side J

Thanks for sharing all this wonderful insight with me and my readers, Ted. I’ll be first in line to review your next book.

PS: Are you a Pawthor? Have you written a memwah or just your Observations on Life? Let me know for a book review and interview. Cats also welcome!