What started The Tiltersmith in my head

Blog Post #1

One spring when I was out walking my dog, Autumn, in Prospect Park, she and I kept running into a big, solitary mastiff dog who would watch us very seriously and sadly from the trees. This dog never seemed to have an owner close by and when we tried to approach him, he would disappear into the undergrowth. 

When I asked around, I discovered there were others who had seen this fellow and that he was known as “the Ghost Dog” and was something of a legend.  I looked for him every morning, but every time I spotted him, he ran off.

It was easy to think of him as a wood spirit of some kind and from there I started a story in my head about an ancient guardian of the woods who has been ensnared by a powerful trickster figure.

When I began to actually write the book, this enchanted guardian at first took the shape of a dog. In later drafts, however, the dog morphed into the more legendary shape of the Green Man. This was somewhat against my wishes, but stories often have very strong ideas of their own about the way to go. I miss the dog’s presence in the story, but I am always grateful for how he got the story started.

I should note that the real ‘Ghost Dog’ was eventually rescued by our local animal rescue organization and gently introduced to civilization and put up for adoption.