this and that
BIO:
Two-time Spur Award winner C.K. Crigger lives with a wild Pomsky (Arctic Spitz) pooch and a reclusive Persian cat. Born and raised in North Idaho on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation, she is a long-time member of Western Writers of America, and often reviews western genre books for WWA’s Roundup magazine.
Ms. Crigger writes of free-spirited people who break from their standard roles. In her books, whether westerns, mysteries, or fantasy, the locales are real places, some of which are disguised beyond recognition. All of her books are set the Inland Northwest, the westerns with a historical background. The Woman Who Built a Bridge won the Spur Award in the Western Romance category in 2019, and The Yeggman's Apprentice won in 2020. Yester's Ride is a 2020 Western Fictioneer's Peacemaker Finalist, and Madame's Daughter is honored as a 2022 Spur Award Finalist. Her short story, Aldy Neal’s Ghost, was a 2007 Spur finalist. Her western novel, Black Crossing, won the 2008 Eppie. Letter of the Law was a 2009 Spur finalist in the audio category.
DOGS
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Almost all my stories include a dog or two. A few have been patterned after my own beloved critters. Some are chosen because they're the kind of dog the story calls for. I haven't put my Pomsky in a book yet, but don't be surprised.
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Nimble, in my China Bohannon stories, is a Bedlington terrier like the beautiful dog shown here. Nimble, of course, is not groomed for the show ring like this one, so she'd have longer curly hair, and would probably appear grayer in color. You can see why she might be taken for a lamb. Like all terriers, this one is a "character," both in the sense of a high energy personality and the part she plays in the Bohannon novels.
November 7, 2008 - October 28, 2021 I'll always miss him.
This charmer is Roper, my own little boy. He got his name because 1) he's the color of a new hemp rope, and 2) because he just loved stealing the rope toy from his shih tzu/maltese sister. Pomeranians come in all colors, and in Lost Girl Lake, Razz is a platinum blonde like her mistress. Poms can be exceedingly yappy, although Roper was not. Pom have hearts like lions and believe they're the biggest dog on the block. I have yet to meet one that doesn't think s/he is the size of a Bernese Mountain dog, but they cuddle up like little love bugs.
This charmer is Roper, my own little boy. He got his name because 1) he's the color of a new hemp rope, and 2) because he just loved stealing the rope toy from his shih tzu/maltese sister. Pomeranians come in all colors, and in Lost Girl Lake, Razz is a platinum blonde like her mistress. Poms can be exceedingly yappy, although Roper was not. Pom have hearts like lions and believe they're the biggest dog on the block. I have yet to meet one that doesn't think s/he is the size of a Bernese Mountain dog, but they cuddle up like little love bugs.
In Shadow Soldier, book two of the Gunsmith series, Boothenay Irons rescues a couple briards from the ravages of WWI. McDuff and Juno join her dad's old Plott hound in the pages of four of the books. Juno gets less press time because guns firing overhead deafened her, but McDuff...well, in the fifth book, Gone Rogue, he manages to get Boothenay in a dire predicament! I hope some of my readers will read more about briards and WWI stories. My dad had a Plott hound when I was a kid. Actually, he had at least two, but he most loved Purple Ribbon Hawkes Idaho Patsy (aka Bloopy). She was renown as a cougar and coon hunting dog, was a fabulous tracker and a fearsome fighter of bears.
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The breed of dog I feature in my novel Hereafter,and the novella, Driven, are Karelian bear dogs. The dogs shown here are just beautiful, aren't they? In my stories I refer to them as black-and-white, but they can just as well be white-and-black. Bear dog isn't part of their name for nothing. They are ferocious fighters. For the most part, they are business-like dogs, and loyal only to their family and master. They don't warm up to family cats (or any other kind for that matter) and possibly not to other dogs in the family. However, if you're in the back country and need a dog to watch your back, a Karelian might be for you. They certainly are for the characters in my stories.
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