I found my prince - he's a hockey player and we met at an NHL event, the last place I'd ever expect to meet someone, but there he was.
We have abolished the death penalty for humans, so why should it continue for animals?
Whenever I've been stuck on a project, it's always brought me solace to the return to books that moved me in the past. It's a nice way to get outside my own head; and it brings me back to one of the most important reasons I write at all: to bring some pleasure to readers, to make them think or feel.