I.L. Williams's Blog, page 2

Dog-Mad and Loving It: Finding My People on Substack

Hello fellow dog lovers,

Every time I sit down to write to you I feel a little spark, but today that spark is a full-on burst of gratitude because I’ve discovered something wonderful: Substack is a haven for dog-mad people just like me! I’m over the moon to see how many of you share my passion for our furry best friends, and your responses to my notes about dogs, writing, and the magic they bring to our lives have warmed my heart in ways I can’t quite put into words.

What’s been truly special is watching a community bloom right here on The Goodest Place. You’re not just reading and nodding along and laughing —as important as laughter is... ;)

You’re sharing your own stories, cheering each other on, and showing up with so much heart. Just the other day, a woman commented on one of my notes, sharing the raw pain of losing her dog the day before. My chest ached reading her words, and then something beautiful happened: so many of you replied with kindness, offering comfort and sharing your own experiences of love and loss. It was like watching a big, virtual group hug unfold. And it reminded me why dogs bring out the best in us. They teach us to care deeply, and you all are proof of that. This community genuinely loves the fur babies, and it shows in every thoughtful word you share.

I’m so grateful to be part of this doggy-loving corner of Substack, where we celebrate the wagging tails, muddy paws, and soulful eyes that make life brighter. It’s a place where we can gush about our pups without judgment, swap stories of their quirks (who else has a dog that “talks” back or steals every bit of food that isn’t nailed down?), and lift each other up when the journey gets heavy. To everyone who’s joined this pack, thank you for making this digital space feel like home.

On that note, I’m still looking for early review readers for my short story collection, The Goodest Boy, set to bound into the world this August. These stories are my love letter to dogs. Highlighting their loyalty, their mischief, their way of stitching our hearts together. If you’re keen to read and share your thoughts in a review when it is time to launch, please hit reply or drop me a message. Your support means the world to me and to every dog whose tale deserves to be told. (See the cover draft under development…)

So, what’s the latest antics your furry friend has been up to? Or maybe there’s a dog story you want to tell. Share it in the comments! I’d love to hear, and I know this community would, too. Let’s keep this tail-wagging vibe going strong.

With all my gratitude! :)

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Midsummer Musings: A Dog’s Gifts and a Writer’s Leap

The air this morning carried a different weight —crisp yet soft, like the breath of the forest waking up. The mid-morning sky over my coastal patch of Norway stretched like a wide canvas of pale blue with the faintest smoky cloud layer. Just enough clouds to block the sun, but not enough of them to obliterate the hope that it might yet break through.

Mocca and I ventured out a bit later than usual through dew-soaked grass and we followed a narrow path I’ve never taken before, one that winds toward a hidden cove I didn’t know existed. The water there was unusually still, a mirror reflecting the tall pines.

Mocca stood at the edge, ears cocked, as if listening to secrets the place wouldn’t tell me. It struck me anew that dogs hear the world in ways we can’t. They possess a quiet superpower that attunes them to the rustle of a distant fox or the crunch of a branch underfoot before I even notice. Our furry companions have a number of extraordinary gifts and abilities we take for granted in our familiarity and the rush of our days.

Mocca’s ears twitched again, catching a sound I could not, and it reminded me of how she’ll freeze mid-step, nose lifted, alerting me to a deer hidden in the trees long before my eyes register it. It’s not just hearing —her nose maps the scent of the world in ways I’ll never grasp. It guides her with precision, in finding or tracking. It’s as if she “sees” a world that is invisible to humans.

These are superpowers, quiet and unassuming, yet they transform her into more than a companion —she’s a guardian, a scout, a bridge to the wildness we’ve forgotten. We pat their heads, toss them a treat, and move on. Often blind to the depth of what they offer. But they’re extraordinary —able to sense our moods before we name them, willing to stand between us and danger with a courage that defies their size, quick to pull us back from loneliness with a single, knowing glance and a furry chin resting on your knee.

That moment by the cove resonated, adding new fuel to the work I’m pouring into The Goodest Boy, my upcoming collection of ten short stories. These tales are about the tight threads they weave into our lives with their fierce protectiveness, their gentle nudges toward hope, the way they bridge us to each other and to something larger.

The final story, still taking shape, follows a boy and a Boston terrier facing what may well be the end of the world together. Another story imagines one of our ancient ancestors and a wolf dog embarking on the earliest stages of the human/dog relationship, their trust in each other a lifeline for both.

These are stories of connection, of the beauty dogs bring to our lives and the basic decency and loyalty of dogs, in general. I’m writing them in the hope that they connect with other doggy people.

I’m aiming to launch this self-published collection soon, as I am now finalizing the last story. But a book’s first steps need steady legs, and early reviews are crucial to reach the dog lovers who’ll cherish it. If you’d like to be an early reader —someone to read some of these stories before they’re out in the world and share your thoughts in a review when they launch, please DM me.

Your voice could carry this to the corners where dog-mad souls wait, eager for tales like these. It’s a big ask, I know, but it would be a contribution to the dogs who inspire doggy literature and to the community we’re building here.

Today, as our walk to the cove lingers in my mind, I’m grateful for the unexpected paths Mocca leads me down. What trails and travels are you and your dog embarking upon this summer? Drop a line below to weave your stories into this tapestry!🙏

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Cheers!

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Dog Stories loading... and Berry Season!

This thought of how fortunate we are to actually be loved by these amazing animals is very much at the forefront of my mind these days as I wrestle with the final story that will complete the first volume of my short stories featuring the relationship between dogs and humans.
They have been a part of our story since they came to live in the caves and various forma of tents together with us and I’m pretty sure they will be there at the very end (whether that is here or on Mars). Indeed, the final story of the collection is about a boy and a dog finding each other at what very well may be the end of the world. As is often the tricky equation to solve in this relationship that has lasted thousands of years, there is no clear answer to the question of who is actually saving who in this situation.
In any case, if you are going to have only one companion for quite some time, you could do a lot worse than a good dog. In fact, you could scarcely do better. Now its just for me to get out of my head and into the story so that the last quarter of the tale can be completed in time for me to make my ambitious summer publication window.
As if there was not enough to-do with getting the stories trimmed and polished enough for their debut, there is the usual impossible muddle of social media, marketing, promotion hoohah to wade through. Getting the book into the hands of as many dog-mad folks as possible is the aim, but cracking the magic code of the best pathway to achieving that is enough to keep one permanently dizzy.

The antidote is springing out of the house with my dog to one of the many paths we can take down to the fjord.

Along the way, we can check if any more wild strawberries are ripe for the picking and find out how the blackberries and blueberries are getting along at the lake. I also have my eye on some red currant bushes that I will have to be quick off the mark to harvest from if I want to keep them out of the hands of the summer house people who invade the neighborhood all of July. The second they are ripe, I will see to it that there are only the most beautiful green leaves left to be found. Summer house people are accustomed to buying berries at the shop and should not concern themselves with my berries at all. Besides, the local shops depend upon their boosting the local economy by buying such things all summer long, right? ;)

Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

After checking on the berry situation, it’s time for a good doggy swim.

Then a march back up the hills and paths…

And back to face the computer screen, with hopefully a few more answers than I had when I left. Diving back into the world of storytelling —and looking forward to sharing “The Goodest Boy” with you all this summer.
Cheers!

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Wandering into Stories: My Dog Tale Collection Arrives Soon

In Norway’s fjords and forests, where Mocca and I roam daily, every path unfolds a story in the imagination. These wanderings, both across rugged shores and through the mind’s quiet expanse, have inspired my upcoming collection, The Goodest Boy: Heartwarming Dog Stories. Each tale captures the unspoken bond between canine and human, a writer’s journey that began in these very landscapes with my favorite fur friend. As I wandered with her day after day, I contemplated how much a constant part of my life she is and how much dogs enrich the most mundane moments or situations. I even pondered how this very special relationship might have come to be by exploring just that in one of the stories of the collection.
Speaking of the story collection, I’m thrilled to share the star of the cover! Here’s a glimpse into the soulful eyes that await you.

Launching soon, this collection invites you to wander through stories made especially for people who love dogs and deeply appreciate all the joy they bring into our lives. Few things warm the heart as much as a beloved dog’s steady gaze and comforting presence. As we navigate through life’s terrain, its a blessing to have a loyal friend that is always eager to walk beside you.

Without Mocca to insure my daily wanderings outside in nature, I doubt I would have traveled even half the trails she has led me along. The discoveries have been many and rewarding more often than not. We might both return home muddy and wet, or simply in high spirits having wandered to our heart’s content. But we are always glad to have made the journey out to explore! What journeys have dogs inspired in your life? Reflect below —I’d love to hear.

*Subscribe to The Goodest Place for updates on the launch of The Goodest Boy. Direct message me if you would like to be a pre-launch reader and review the story collection on Amazon. :)

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The surest signs of Norway summer have arrived...

There is truly nothing quite like the emergence of Summer in Scandinavia. It’s a slow and uncertain process that toys with your emotions. You want to be hopeful, you want to embrace the feeling of warmth from the sun, but you also kind of know better. Just when you dare to move your wool clothes to a distant closet, sudden dark clouds can deliver a freeze that kills the blossoms on the trees. And you are back to square one of what you thought was a promising journey toward brightness and warmth. The far north is no place for unbridled optimism.

But then it comes! The light comes —and stays! The sun and the warmth greet you each morning and you allow yourself to walk around indulging in the sights, the sounds, and the smells of SUMMER. Our lake comes alive with all kinds of bird life —herons, ducks, geese, and even the occasional swan. And swallows elegantly swooping along the water’s surface to drink while in flight.

Flowers shoot up and the bees and other pollinators create a violent hum wherever there is a splash of color to be found sticking up someplace. They know even better than we do how short the summer can be!

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For a certain dog I know, Summer is all about swimming as much as possible to rescue sticks in distress. She IS half water dog (Portuguese and Lagotto), so its not exactly her fault ;) So each morning we trot down to the fjord and get busy saving sticks from the water!

There is no question of doing anything else; she won’t hear of it. The best bargain you can hope to make on a lazy morning is to get her to consent to swimming in the lake instead. That is usually acceptable, but she keeps score. The next swim of the day requires a trip down the hill to the ocean. Dogs do their best to keep you honest! These days I spend quite a lot of time sitting and writing, so dog walks are a welcome requirement of my day —separating my bottom from the chair at regular intervals (the other half of my dog is border collie, so out we go!). But its an excellent excuse to get out in the sunshine and watch the neighborhood transform itself into an idyllic summer haven. It’s a popular place in summer for those who have cabins along the shore and in the hilly terrain. The population doubles over the next months, with the generations gathering to share some weeks together in a cherished family summer home.

The scenic coastal trail takes us past a number of these properties. They remain lightly travelled for the moment, but the summer people will appear more and more as we move toward the traditional summer holiday month of July (yes, most Norwegians do have the entire month off). But until then, we will enjoy the quiet and the peaceful scenery.

Fortunately, walking is also great for clearing the mind and ramping up creativity. So I consider the time out walking along in these places productive. Sometimes, it is exactly the thing to tease out an idea or to explore multiple paths in a story that is under development. I am hard at work on a 10-story collection of stories about dogs and the uniquely intimate place they occupy in our lives. I will end with the introduction to the stories:

Dogs live only for love. They live for being loved, for the hope of being loved, or for the hope of being loved once again. They don’t ask for much. A little food, a little shelter. And will suffer much for an embrace, a pat or a kind word. It’s all they want. They don’t care about your bank account or what mistakes you have made in the past or how beautiful or how smart or popular you are. They don’t care how humble or how grand your home is. They just want you to love them back.They will work for you until they drop, place themselves between you and danger without a thought, warn you about the dodgy character of friend and foe alike, comfort you when all others have abandoned you, wait faithfully for your return no matter the hours, days, weeks, months or years that go by. If they have ever loved you, they will not stop. They do not know how.They save us all the time, and occasionally we save them. These stories are for anyone who has ever been lucky enough to love and be loved by one of these extraordinary creatures.

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Hi! We're up here!

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." – Roger Caras

Welcome to The Goodest Place: A Dog’s Home in Norway!, a cozy corner for dog lovers seeking heartfelt stories and stunning Nordic scenery. I’m the author of the (soon-to-be-launched!) The Goodest Boy series of short stories about dogs, where I share tales of canine loyalty inspired by my own furry companion and many others.

Dogs are more than pets, they’re family! So many of us share unbreakable bonds with our dogs that fill our lives with love, joy, and unwavering devotion. At The Goodest Place, I celebrate the profound human-dog connection, exploring how these loyal companions transform us through every wag and wiggle. I hope this will also be a great community for sharing about the dogs in your own life and where being openly, completely dog-mad is pretty much a requirement ;)

I tend to do all of my writing at home, so that is also part of this Substack! Nestled in Norway, our home blends fireside warmth with the wild beauty of snowy forests and shimmering fjords. Join me for dog stories that warm the heart, mini photo essays of the Nordic landscape, and glimpses into our Scandinavian-inspired interiors. From fjord swims to cozy nooks, this Substack celebrates the joy of dogs in Norway’s breathtaking nature. Subscribe for free to explore dogs, doggy tales, Nordic living, and the ultimate dog’s home in our Norwegian haven.

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Thanks for reading The Goodest Place: A Dog’s Home in Norway!! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." – Roger Caras

This is The Goodest Place: A Dog’s Home in Norway!.

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