"I haven't exactly told my publisher this, or my brothers who are cops," confesses Amy MacKinnon, "but I created a character in my book in honor of my bulldog, Babe." She passed along a quick excerpt from Tethered (which should be in stores any day now) introducing the character to readers:

"'It's me, Bully.' The patrolman's thumbs are hooked into his belt, his bulky chest overwhelming his too short legs. What height he has is in an extended torso; his face droops with loose cheeks and fleshy eyelids befitting his nickname... Bully leans in to sniff the air."

"Babe was aghast, too," MacKinnon jokes.