I write stories, often speculative fiction, sometimes mysteries. It started when a Pembroke Welsh corgi came to live with us, and I realized I could read his mind.

It's not hard--eye glints and brow furrowings tell you just what's going on in that doggy head.

I wondered, though: how would it be to actually speak with animals, back and forth, hearing their thoughts and concerns? A story came to me. It was about a place where certain people do speak with animals, not with tongues, animals being unequipped for that, but mind to mind.

It became a novel, "Wil Deft," complete with a fantasy world Pembroke Welsh corgi. Another novel, "Sinnabar," followed, with some of the same characters reappearing, including that talkative corgi.

I'd always made my living writing articles and essays for magazines. Now--because of that corgi--instead of reporting stories, I make them up.

I greatly enjoy writing stories, and I hope some people will enjoy reading them.