All the kids adore Doggem, the class cuddly toy. They each get to take him home. Hug him and love him and show him their world outside of school. All they have to do in return is write his diary. It’s George Gould’s turn and he’s going to introduce Doggem to a rather unusual family. Before we go any further, it’s worth pointing out that both the stuffed toy and little boy are far from ordinary… Doggem, a tale of toy dogs and dark deeds.
“The Velveteen Rabbit meets Rosemary’s Baby
…you’ll have to read this elegantly simple and elaborately confusing little jewel of a cozy horror tale and decide for yourself.”
Doggem · A Tale of Toy Dogs and Dark Deeds
“Sentience? I’m just a throwaway toy, an inanimate object. How can I have thought and emotion? Opinion and experience? I’d shrug my shoulders if I could. The world is brimful of mystery.”
Doggem is no longer your run-of-the-mill snuggle doggy. Something designed to fall apart after a few years. Perfect for squishing and squashing into a comfort blanket. He’s a million miles from that now. Doggem has just become a living creature. Thinking and reasoning. Trying to make sense of an unexpected existence.
Strange places and scary experiences are in store during this sojourn with his latest custodian. Things no respectable fluffy dog should ever have to witness. It might end up in deadly territory. Make no mistake, there is magic here. Some of it as black as a starless night.
And George? Well, George is descended from decidedly dicey stock. There are folk in delightful George’s lineage who have indulged in practices of a somewhat shadowy nature. The ramifications of which aren’t ready to be consigned to history. They want to spill out of the past and have their say in the future.
Genre
The genre it which Doggem sits is somewhat of a mystery. A spooky little story about toy dogs and dark doings doesn’t really identify the genre. Quiet horror story of a slightly fantastical nature or modern fairy tale. Dark fantasy or apocalyptic cosmic fable. Decide for myself. After all, you’re the best judge.
Without doubt, it has a certain heart-breaking beauty. Maybe it is a modern fairytale. A scary one, flavoured with a dash of the occult, written for an adult audience. After all, fairy tales feature the supernatural and have a magical aspect to them. They often have old cottages and eerie, unnerving woodland settings and imagined folklore. Wickedly enchanting women and innocent children. Ancient evil and everyday greed.
Whatever, it’s a charming cocktail, and one which might just bewitch you.
Writing Doggem
This story had been sitting at the back of my head for years. It’s inspired by something from my son’s childhood. An innocent episode that wanted to become a decidedly darker fictional tale. I like to think it has a certain beauty, a gentle charm, mixed in with the more disturbing aspects.
To say it was a pleasure to write would be an indulgence in understatement. Truth is, the writing of Doggem goes far beyond pleasure. It was joy, undiluted and unsullied by anything inside of me. Doggem was always going to be a book. Even before publication, it felt like something which existed in its own right.
I think a big part of that feeling is down to the fact that the story is inspired by my children. Their childhood and our part in it. By our, I mean my long-suffering wife. Mrs JFL is no shrinking violet, but she doesn’t wish to be named in my fictional ramblings. That said, mention here is unavoidable if I’m to be totally honest.
Mrs JFL is an accessory, I daresay willing accomplice, in letting Doggem loose on the world. She was an active part in it, all those years ago. Making suggestions and setting the stage. Putting props in place and taking pictures. Almost forcing me to finish the story.