On Sundays we do beginnings – taking a look at the start of a Peter Abrahams novel in including those written under the Spencer Quinn pen name. I’ve done some writing for younger readers in my career. Here’s the start of Woof, first in the Bowser and Birdie mystery series. Middlegrade but available to adults with fake ID):

Two humans stood outside my cage, a white-haired woman and a gum-chewing kid. Gum-chewing is one of the best sounds out there, and the smell’s not bad either. I liked the kid from the get-go.

They gazed in at me. I gazed out at them. The white-haired woman had blue eyes, washed out and watery. The kid’s eyes were a bright, clear blue, like the sky on a cloudless day. I hadn’t seen the sky in way too long.

“How about this one, Grammy?” the kid said.