The Kimona Chronicles

THE BACKSTORY

A few years ago, when I was in the midst of working on my novel NO OTHER WORLD, my partner and I adopted a one-year-old rescue dog named Kimona. Neither of us had ever had a dog before; we had no idea what we were doing. I had been gunning for a froufrou lap dog: something small, unobtrusive, exquisitely behaved. Instead, we ended up with a 60-pound mutt with the manners of a wild gorilla. It was a disaster. On top of everything, I was really struggling with my novel. Writing had screeched to a near standstill. I blamed Kimona. How could I get anything done when she was demanding every bit of my attention?

Around the same time, one of my cousins started a WhatsApp chat group for my maternal family. My sibling and cousins were busy posting adorable photos of their criminally-cute toddlers. Meanwhile, I’d post daily missives about my mischievous pup. My relatives found humor where I only found horror. Kimona’s hijinx were becoming legendary. Spontaneously, my aunt Nita started sketching her adventures and posting them on WhatsApp, much to the delight of everyone on our little chat group. The unfolding narrative got dubbed THE KIMONA CHRONICLES.

Over the next year or two, I did manage to finish my novel (as you well know if you’ve stumbled upon this website). But something became clear to me: I didn’t finish the novel in spite of Kimona; I finished it, in some ways, because of her. Without my realizing it, she was slowly teaching me all the valuable lessons that I needed to finish writing my book. She taught me about diligence and patience. She taught me about opening my heart. And most importantly, she taught me about second chances.

I share this story and some of my aunt’s delightful sketches as a celebration and document of that time in my life.Enjoy!