Clare Cogbill

Clare Cogbill is the pen name of Julie McMorran, who was born in the mid-1960s and has a deep passion for animals. She worked with domesticated animals in rescue shelters, and as a veterinary nurse in both welfare and private practice environments for almost 14 years. She then worked as a lecturer in animal care and veterinary nursing for 29 years. There was an overlap in the middle where she worked part time in each sector.

She is passionate about reading, preferring biographies to fiction, and where those books contain some reference to the human-animal bond, all the better. She also enjoys reading books that have been made into films, but still can't quite work out whether it's better to read the book or see the film first! When not writing or reading, she can be found in the garden or drawing pictures of nature.

Clare was an aspiring writer for over ten years before, in 2012, publishing her first book, 'A Dog Like Ralph' - a book for anyone who has ever loved a rescue dog. Ralph is a dog who has clearly suffered in the past, and the book follows him on his journey to better things...

'Lilac Haze', which is a true story about kidney failure, organ donation, grief and hope was described by The National Kidney Federation described in their Summer 2013 Issue of 'Kidney Life' as "...an excellent read." It was also the 'book of the month' in Dumfries and Galloway Life' magazine's April 2014 edition.

Clare's book 'A Soldier Like Jack' is based on a true story and is narrated by Jack's wife Grace - it is Grace's perspective on everything that happened to the family in World War One.

In summer 2015, Clare released some of her vegan recipes in a vegan cookbook, very originally entitled 'Vegan Cookbook'. It is full of delicious starters, main courses and desserts! In 2017, following her husband's coeliac diagnosis, she added to her vegan cookbooks with the release of 'The Indie Gluten Free Vegan'.

'The Diary of a Human and a Dog' is a soul-searching book about the human-animal bond and how dogs and humans can help one another through some of the saddest times.

She ventured into fiction with 'Picture Me Now' which is a story told across lifetimes.

Clare has published two more books about dogs, both of which continue the series of A Dog Like Ralph: 'A Dog Like Peggy: The Life and Times of a Rescued Greyhound' and 'Finding Nell and Mads: The Emotional Journeys of Two Rescue Dogs'.

Please follow her on Facebook for regular updates about the dogs and, of course, general book news.