This week’s word is: quirky. Quirky sounds quirky, doesn’t it?

We have quirky pets. Our sweet, beautiful black lab Kylie was abandon in an old house with her nine puppies. We feel she may have been mistreated before this. My heart breaks for her.

It’s left her with some strange quirks. Right now, a year after our hardwood floors were installed, she has decided she doesn’t want to walk on them. She skitters and slides, then stands on the rug and won’t come. We’re working on getting her over her fear and it’s coming slowly. When she’s happy, she will only wag the very tip of her tail. It’s rather comical. What a quirky girl!

Our cat is quirky, too. For years now, he walks around the house licking the heat vents. YUCK! We think it started when he’d lay his head against the warm vent on a cold winter morning. One day he stuck out his tongue, and the rest is history. Quirky!

He also thinks he’s a dog. He doesn’t graze on his food all day long. He devours it as soon as Jonalyn sets it on the floor. He sleeps all night at the end of our bed. Doesn’t roam the house like most cats. He’s quirky.

Authors like to write quirks for their characters – a characteristic that makes them memorable. In A Log Cabin Christmas, Noah twirled his mustache when he was nervous. In one scene, the poor guy was twirling away. I toned it down so he wouldn’t rip the hair from his chin!

Sometimes authors will create quirky characters. In the prairie romance my agent is shopping around, I have a quirky character. Hate to say it, but I think I like her better than my heroine (who has her own quirks)! She’s fun and livens up scenes.

We all have quirks. I open my mouth when I’m applying eye make-up. Can’t help it. Can’t stop doing it. I’m sure I have other quirks, but it’s hard to recognize them in yourself.

So, what makes you quirky?