I was lucky to get an interview with dog rescue expert Amber Higgins, who writes fiction and non-fiction but always about dogs.
Please, tell us a bit about yourself…
Four of my books are non-fiction and tell dog owners how to prepare for disasters and find missing loved ones using their dog. I call this set of books, the Family Disaster Dogs books, named after the first book. My fifth book is actually the first book I published as a short story fiction, in the nature genre.
I’m an American author who was first published in 1990’s newspapers and magazines. I took some time off of writing to focus on volunteering with my dogs as a K9 trainer, handler, breeder and team leader in search and rescue/recovery which led me to writing the family disaster dog books based on the fifteen year knowledge I gained. I then attended college for a writing degree to brush up on my writing skills. I’ve worked in the professional pet industry for thirty years as a pet and show groomer, trainer business owner. My love of dogs and writing merged over the years into books and hundreds of articles online that help others worldwide learn to use dogs to our advantage in disasters and missing person cases. I was with two publishers before I decided to learn self-publishing. I recently moved back to the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, USA from the Oregon coast, USA west coast.
Why should I buy your books?
As disasters and threats increase worldwide we are asked to prepare for the worst in case rescuers cannot reach us quickly. With a Family Disaster Dog in the household there is no need to wait for outside help to arrive to save your loved ones and neighbors because you and your dog will know what to do. One of our biggest fears and chores during a disaster is losing and finding a loved one, and every dog has the ability to find its family members and friends. By reading the Family Disaster Dog books you will learn how easy our dogs can rescue us.
“I was with two publishers before I decided to learn self-publishing. Having experienced both sides of publishing, I think the hardest thing is marketing and knowing what to do with the books once the book is in our hands.”
What got you into writing? And how long have you been doing it?
I have always been a writer of some sorts and studied the art of writing by reading writing books before the internet. I love the written word and believe books are an expression of humankind’s existence meant to be passed on so we are not to be forgotten.
Why did you choose to write about dogs? And why pick these particular subgenres?
I write in several genres and plan to expand in fiction. I never planned to write dog books they just became part of my life’s journey.
Subgenre: Rescue dogs, dog care, parenting, and relationships.
Pages: 35
Amber Higgins links
Amazon author page
Facebook author page
Facebook Family Disaster Dogs
Twitter Familiy Disaster Dogs
Which other author has had the biggest influence on your writing?
Stephen King.
What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Writing, letting the muse flow is like freedom for the soul. One of the best things is meeting and friending people through our books offline and by being able to connect online worldwide with readers, other authors and artists.
What’s the hardest thing about being a writer?
I was with two publishers before I decided to learn self-publishing. Having experienced both sides of publishing, I think the hardest thing is marketing and knowing what to do with the books once the book is in our hands. These days all the marketing falls on us, the writer, and we have to learn and grow in the ever changing world of marketing and the web.
I could not agree more!
Do you have any tips or an author app, tool, or resource that you can really recommend we try?
Learn the craft.
Write on, stay calm and carry on.
And now it's time to yank out your Palantir! Let’s talk about the future. What new projects are you working on?
I’m thinking of finishing a novel and three children’s book drafts I started years ago and carried with me through life. I feel the urge to finish these books calling me more than another dog book. I have many new book ideas and like you, I want to publish one book a year, at least. I plan to start learning more about publishing a series on amazon and may start with breaking up the Start Mantrailing book into a series as a way to give readers individual lessons to work on. I’m also planning offline dog training seminars and workshops based on the books.
Do you expect new technologies to come along soon that will have a huge impact on self-publishing? For instance, when will we see a decent novel written by an AI author?
I’m afraid AI will take over the writing industry leaving us human writers and publishers behind, I hope we, human authors, do not cease to exist as technology increases. On the other hand, my artist side does enjoy seeing the artwork AI is able to create. I love your book covers.
Thank you kindly :-) I have been thinking more or less the same things.
Let’s see where it goes and how fast it happens. Right now, I have to do a lot of extra work to make any of my AI stuff come out right, not to mention transform it into a book cover I’m happy with.
I made a couple of disaster rescue dog AI images for you and as you can see it’s tricky to get it right! I mean how many dogs wear hard hats in real life? I guess puppies are not great at this sort of job.
And even when (if) AI takes over some of the things we authors do today, there will likely pop up new positions and job opportunities for humans. Like, someone has to guide the AIs and fix their mistakes, and there are probably some kinds of books AIs just can’t figure out how to write. Not that I know which but new technology often creates new jobs. Who knows it could be books about dogs that AIs just can’t get right :-)
Do you have any dreams you’d like to share?
Thank you for the interest in my work it’s been a pleasure doing this interview with you.
No, thank you for doing the interview Amber Higgins! I hope lots of readers discover your books, that they appreciate their dogs even more because of them, and that lives are saved!
