Sally Odgers: Dog at Heart?

SQ: What inspired you and Darrel to create the book's characters and which ones will appear in future books?

SO: Jack is based on our two dogs. We invented Foxie and Red to act as foils. If you look at a lot of successful comedies you'll find the "straight" hero who has sidekicks. Foxie is the scruffy one, Red is the slightly foolish toff. We don't have a computer-whizz sidekick (another common type) because these are dogs! Sarge was invented to give Jack a role model (because he's a policeman). We chose an adult owner for Jack because a child would have shared, or usurped, Jack's hero status. Auntie Tidge is the giver-of-comfort and affectionate discipline. Red's owner, Caterina, is a platonic friend of Sarge. All these characters will appear in all the books, and others will have small parts as required.

SQ: How many books in the "Jack Russell" series has Scholastic contracted you to produce?

SO: We have a contract for four stories.

SQ: Can you share descriptions?

SO: Apart from Dog Den, we have Phantom Mudder (which is set at a dog show), Mugged Pug (which involves a collar-stealing racket) and Postman's Knock (in which Foxie is accused of biting the postman).

SQ: How many published books did it take before you were able to support yourself financially through book-writing? Details welcomed!

SO: Somewhere about 50, I think. You must recall that these include educational readers, spin offs, non fiction and other commissions as well as my first love, which is fantasy fiction. My first book was published when I was nineteen. I wrote it when I was at school. I wrote part-time for some years, and went full-time in the late 1980s. I don't recommend that anyone do what I do though. I am in my late forties and now have chronic tendonitis of a type that most people don't develop until they are 60+.

SQ: Thanks so much for sharing those insights! Do you think having a literary agent is necessary for most authors to become as successful as you? Why or why not?

SO: Agents are good if you get a good one. I think they're of limited use to midlisters like me, because we're already established. Agents (and publishers) know that a 30-year veteran is never going to be a rising star or an overnight success, and that's the kind of client they would prefer. I believe an agent is useful for getting your

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