Goodreads asked Diane Meier:

How do you get inspired to write?

Diane Meier 1. What made you want to write?

Since I first scratched out the alphabet, I’ve been fascinated with the power of putting words on paper. My career required me that I write about public policy issues, but I have always devoted every spare moment to reading novels. I love to escape into other people’s lives.

I wished that I could write a novel, but every time I tried, I gave up in frustration.
I’ve heard the expression “write what you know.”

My great passion in life has been animal rescue. I didn’t want to write a memoir because some of the experiences were so painful. The hardest part of animal rescue is that you can’t save all the dogs and cats on death row. I believe that we could be saving almost all of them if shelters turned to the strategies of the no kill movement but that’s another topic.

I had blogged for years about shelters and the no kill movement, but it seemed to me like rescuers and animal advocates are always preaching to the choir. I started to think about how a novel might reach a different audience. I wanted to create a story that would not only engage and entertain people but also spread the word that we can save more homeless dogs and cats.

I started thinking about a story involving an animal shelter and then I realized that I had the perfect victim in mind for a murder mystery - an animal shelter director who kills, neglects and abuses dogs and cats. That’s not a spoiler because the murder happens on page one.

Once I knew who the victim would be, the story flowed easily. I was truly amazed.

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