As an animal lover, I like to include animals in my novels. Usually my characters have pet dogs or cats. However, with The House in Wattle Lane, I decided to give one of the characters a pet pig. While I was writing the book, I couldn’t believe my luck when our next-door-neighbours came home with a pig. I was warned not to get too attached to it, as it would only be there for a few months, but still I made friends with him. He was a pink pig with a warm personality. I would look over the fence and see him basking in the sun on the back lawn and he would come trotting over when he heard me call his name. I got to know his favourite foods and would take him over treats. He loved apples and cauliflower and silverbeet and muesli bars and raw broccolli and…