Thankful Thursday - Swampy's Piglets

Swampy

Swampy's a fun character to write about, in part because he's such a nice quirky guy with a dialect all his own, but also because his character was partly inspired by my father-in-law. One story in particular was based on a real-life event. Dad used to raise pigs. He was proud of those pigs and always wanted to show off the piglets when we'd go to visit. Now sows are typically mean, especially when they have little ones suckling on them, but Dad would climb right in the pen with the sow and pluck a piglet off her teat to show it off. The sow never so much as gave him a second glance.

This scene in Rips in the Weave was inspired by Dad's empathy with animals:

Misha watched the wiry man climb over the wooden fence into the huge black sow’s pen. She was nervous for the man, although she barely knew him. Her daddy had told stories about the pigs he’d had to feed as a boy, before he was set free and took to the river. “Won’t she hurt you?” she asked.

“Naw. Mabel trusts ol’ Swampy, don’t ya girl?”

The sow raised her head and grunted.

Swampy bent down and plucked a pink piglet from the suckling pile, holding it by its feet. The piglet squealed. “This one’s the runt. I reckon I’ll keep her though. See that black spot on her rear, shaped just like a rabbit’s foot? Means she’s a lucky one. Fairies near got when she was born. If it’ hain’t been for ol’ Boo she’d be gone.”

“She’s cute.” Misha leaned closer. “Can I touch her?”

“Don’t expect she’ll care. She likes her belly scratched.” Swampy cradled the piglet in his arms like a baby and scratched its belly. The piglet squirmed a little. He walked over to the fence and held her close so Misha could scratch her. The sow grunted behind him. “Now you jes relax, Mabel. This here nymph won’t hurt your babe.”

Misha scratched the piglet’s belly, amazed at the softness of her skin. The piglet stopped squirming and settled down.

“I reckon she likes you,” Swampy said.

    “I like her too.” Misha smiled gently.

You can get Rips in the Weave and From the Gator's Mouth FREE this week only on Smashwords in celebration of Read an Ebook week. Swampy is an important character in both of these books.  Here are links to the books in the promotion.

Books you can get for FREE (enter RW100 at checkout)

Rips in the Weave

From the Gator's Mouth

Books you can get for 50% off (enter REW50 at checkout)

The Desert Rose

Angels in Hell's Kitchen

Mind of a Mad Man

It's Thankful Thursday and this week has been kind of crazy. Still, I'm thankful for so many things. The ground is thawing and all of the animals are well. And writing this blog made me remember how thankful I am for all the terrific people who touch my life and inspire my writing, including my father-in-law. Lee Miller was the best father-in-law a girl could ask for and he will always be in my heart.