Inspiration can be found in many places, and author AE Wasserman is proof of that. She sees her border collie Topper as her muse. They take hikes together in Los Padres National Forest, where Wasserman can get away from the distractions and urgencies of everyday life. She says when she is up there with Topper, ideas float to her, and she can more clearly think about character and plot. When Topper was younger, Wasserman says, he would run into the forest in a pattern similar to how border collies herd sheep. In effect, he was herding Wasserman’s words. Now, Topper appears in all of Wasserman’s author photos and marketing, and has his own social media profiles and fans. There is also a border collie in every book she writes.