Fido and Friend in Five: Anne Nesbet and Soushka!

Anne Nesbet

Anne Nesbet cracks me up. Truly. She says things on her website like, "I was not a very adorable child," and "I am younger than the average dragon and older than most poodles." Speaking of her Border Collie, she writes on her website that the dog, "never met a former tree she did not want to sink her teeth into," and that the wooden furniture in her house, "live in fear. Have you ever seen a table tremble? Ours does." When I emailed Anne and asked if she and her wood-loving Border Collie, Soushka, would be interested in the Fido and Friend spotlight, she assured me she'd love to participate, and "Soushka is interested too if pine cones, tennis balls, or groups of dogs to run circles around because they look a little like sheep, are involved." See what I mean?

This funny and highly imaginative woman just debuted her first novel, The Cabinet of Earths, which Kirkus Reviews described as "a charmingly creepy European vacation for fans of chillers and thrillers." And, as you can see, it has a delicious cover. It's about 13 year-old Maya and her family who move from California to Paris. Once there, Maya and her younger brother, James, discover a hypnotically alluring cabinet, peculiar branches in their family tree, and a very creepy underground society.

Like me, Anne loves to hike the hills with her dog and think about the story she's working on. She also has a very special (to me, anyway) Super Power: she can read while she's walking! Let's meet Anne Nesbet and her Soushka in today's Fido and Friend in Five:

Soushka in her happy place

1. How did you and Soushka find each other?  Imagine the movie version: woman and dog, in slow motion, running to greet each other through green grass and daisies? Well, that's not how it happened. I was flying home from a conference in Italy and called form the airport in New York to say I was back in the country, and one of my kids answers, "in fifteen minutes, Daddy's taking us to get a PUPPY!!!!" In short, Soushka more or less came into my life over my dead (or at least absent) body. My life has changed deeply since her appearance, and the changes are almost, you know, something you could write a book about: what happens to a determinedly non-dog person when her life has to re-center itself around...a puppy!

2. What makes Soushka's tail wag?  She's a Border Collie, so she has a very beautiful tail, but (being who she is) her most joyous moments are not necessarily tail-wagging ones. She seems to me most herself when she's out on the green-grass hills of the local Marina, running great glad arcs around other people's dogs. Actual tail-wagging happens when she sees dogs or people coming. As soon as they are within view (even if very far away), she flops down on her belly and waits. And then, when they get close enough to appreciate, the tail goes wag wag wag back and forth, while she's still politely belly-flopped.

3. What's your all-time favorite dog story?  When I was a kid, I was absolutely enthralled by all those old Albert Terhune books about collies (Lad, a Dog, Gray Dawn, and many others!). How those books came into our house, I don't know. But for all of second or third grade, I went everywhere with an entourage of invisible collies. I think one was named Silver. They were unutterably gorgeous (though invisible) and, if I recall correctly, had magical powers, and of course, were completely secret. (See? She cracks me up!)

4. If Soushka could change just one thing about you, what would it be?  That's the easiest question! She would wave her magic dog-wand and turn me into someone who sees the true beauty of tennis balls, especially muddy, slightly ragged ones. And who wants to do nothing else but throw them and throw them and throw them, eight hours a day. She is really offended by my non-appreciation of tennis balls.

Soushka and her Girl

5. Tell us in five words what Soushka means to you:  Long walks in the hills!

Okay, I just had to ask this additional question of Anne:

6. How did Soushka get her name?  Soushka is Russian, and it means a super-dry pretzel-like biscuit thing. She got the name by accident. We couldn't decide on a name, and then the puppy class teacher put her foot down and said we had to decide right that moment on SOMETHING, and my husband had been calling her "Soushka" that day as a joke, so there it was. She is a brown Border Collie, and actual sushki are tannish-brown, but that's the only similarity I can think of...

LOL! Thanks to Anne and the deliciously pretzel-like Soushka for delighting us on Fido and Friend in Five. Be sure to visit Anne's wonderfully quirky self on her website and visit her blog.

Happy 1st Birthday to A Dog's Way Home!

This month is one year since A Dog's Way Home started its journey into the wide world. I'd been wanting to write a Happy Birthday blog post to honor the anniversary, but what to say? I thought, well I could talk about the fact that its sold in three countries: Germany, Poland, and Russia. And that film option rights have been sold, and that it will be coming out in audio and paperback this summer. And all those are things to celebrate.

But the other day, I got this email from Debbie in Alabama. She told me about one of her twin daughters who is a passionate reader, reading A Dog's Way Home and how much her daughter loved it. She loved it so much she said she thought her mom should read it. And not only that, she felt pretty sure she'd read it to her daughter. Not to mention she did an awesome school report on it so she could share it with her whole class.

And I thought, this is the best way to celebrate Abby and Tam's journey out into the world. This is why I wrote the book. This is all I could ever wish for.
Debbie writes:

Laura and Tam

A few weeks ago I took both girls to our local Books-A-Million to choose their books. Lately Laura has been into all the "girl" books such as the ones written by Wendy Maas. This time as I was sitting on the floor in the children's section of Books-A-Million, I suggested she read something along a different line. While she was still looking in the "girl" books section, I idly came across your book on a bottom shelf. I showed it to Laura suggesting she give it a try. Reluctantly, she put her girl book back on the shelf and started flipping through "A Dog's Way Home". She said, "Okay, Mom. I'll give it a try."

Laura's Super Project!

 

She completed the book today and let me tell you, she did not put that book down until she finished! Each and every night she would get in bed at least 20 minutes early just to read. Any free time she had was spent on the screened deck in the glider with a blanket wrapped around her, her cat in her lap, reading her book. Every day she would tell me what was going on with Tam and Abby. When she finally finished the book around noon today, she came downstairs holding it near her heart like a dear friend. She said, "Mom, you remember telling me a few weeks ago about the book you were reading? That it was so good you didn't want it to end? Well now I know exactly how you felt! This is the best book I've ever read in my whole life.  I didn't want it to end! I'm going to keep it and read to my child someday." Then she wrote her name and the date on the inside of the book.

A sad Abby

 

Tam, lost and alone

For her book report presentation, she chose to do watercolors of three scenes/settings in the book. She did a watercolor of Tam lost in the woods, of Abby crying in her bedroom after losing Tam and of the coyote whose leg was caught in a trap that Tam befriended.  She had to write a five to seven sentence paragraph describing the scene then mount everything on poster board. It turned out beautifully.

 

The little coyote

As a mother of young, impressionable daughters, it is so refreshing to see my girls pick up a book and fall completely in love with the story. Needless to say, I have your book beside me in bed right now and will start reading it myself tonight. After I read it, Natalie will probably read it, too. Who knows? Maybe my husband will want to jump in there, too! J

In a world of computers, ipads, cell phones, electronic gaming and the many other areas of electronics, thank you so much for writing a book that made my daughter want to read before choosing any of the afore mentioned things. May the world be blessed with more authors like you.  

"Tam is a much loved shetland sheepdog..."

Happy birthday, A Dog's Way Home!

Fido and Friend in Five: Monica Carnesi and Constance!

Two years ago, Monica Carnesi was driving to work, listening to her favorite NPR station, when she heard a story that would change her life. The reporter told the story of a little dog, lost and stranded far out to sea on an ice flow. No one knew how the dog had gotten on this chunk of ice on the Vistula River in Poland and drifted out to the Baltic Sea. No one knew how to save the little dog from a terrible fate, they just knew they must. This past January, author and illustrator, Carnesi published an absolutely beautiful and endearing picture book account of the dog's plight and rescue in her debut book, Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin). Horn Book gave the book a starred review describing the watercolor artwork as "simple yet dramatic." I would add heartwarming and haunting.

Like yours truly, Monica is a librarian! She works at the Philadelphia Free Library. Like me, she also hopes to one day quit her "day job" and just focus on her art and her writing. We both love "Bark" magazine and beagles. My first dog ever in my life was a beagle named Puck. So it only seemed right that Monica and her beloved rescue beagle, Constance, would be in the Fido and Friend in Five spotlight!

"Please take me home"

1. How did you and Constance find each other? My husband, Mark, gets the credit for finding our beagle girl. We had just moved to a dog-friendly building and were ready to adopt a dog. At some point, our nephew, Alex, suggested we get a beagle. We thought that was a great idea, so Mark immediately started looking into rescue organizations. He found BREW Beagles, a terrific rescue organization run by very dedicated volunteers. We know very little about Connie's past--when we adopted her in September of 2003, they estimated her age at 6 to 8 years old, so she's probably 15 now. We aren't even sure who gave her the name Constance. She was found by BREW volunteers at a shelter in Virginia, underweight and scared. BREW removed her from the shelter and placed her in a great foster home (God bless fosters), where she lived for about two months. We drove down from Philadelphia to meet her and fell in love right away. She's been a constant source of happiness ever since!

Doing what a beagle does best

2. What makes Connie's tail wag?  Going for a "pack walk"! In case you're wondering, that's when Mark, Connie and I go for a walk together. Connie loves going for walks with me, she loves going for walks with Mark. But going for a walk with both of us together (the whole "pack") is without a doubt her all-time favorite thing to do. Her tail wags, she practically bounces all the way to the elevator, and gives us the sweetest smile.

"Just in case..."

3. What's your all-time favorite dog story?  Since I write and illustrate picture books, I'm going to name my favorite picture book about dogs. Not an easy task since I love so many, but Fred Stays with Me, written by Nancy Coffelt and illustrated by Tricia Tusa is simply wonderful! Nancy's lovely story about a girl, her divorced parents, and her dog Fred, is beautifully illustrated by Tricia, and captures perfectly not only the bond between a child and her dog, but also the amazing gifts dogs give us: companionship, support, constancy, and love.

4. If Constance could change just one thing about you, what would it be?  Something I myself would love to change: my allergy to cats. Connie would love to have a cat friend. As I said, we know very little about her past, but we're convinced she grew up with a cat. Constance LOVES cats. She is rarely playful with other dogs and can be a bit aloof when meeting them on the street or in the park. But her whole demeanor changes when she sees a cat: she gets into her play position and starts wagging her tail. Our local pet supply store fosters cats for adoption. Once they had an adorable little white kitten named Sugar. Connie and Sugar would actually play "hide-and-seek" all over the store. I kid you not!

5. In five words, tell us what Connie means to you:  Constance fills me with hope.

Thanks so much, Connie and Monica! Hugs to you both! Be sure to check out Monica's website and blog to find out more about her and her art.

Fido and Friend in Five: Tess Hilmo and Daisy!

I know you're probably sick of hearing me say this, but there's something about Utah and children's authors. We have more than our fair share in this high desert country: Shannon Hale, Matt Kirby, Anne Bowen, Rick Walton, Brandon Mull, Sara Zarr, Sydney Salter, Becky Hall, just to name a very few. Now we have a wonderful new member to the Utah pack, Tess Hilmo. Tess's debut novel, With a Name Like Love, has gently taken the reviewers by storm. Her book garnered not one, not two, but three starred reviews! Booklist, School Library Journal, and the notoriously hard-to-please Kirkus all gave stars to With a Name Like Love. The American Booksellers Association also named Tess's book a "New Voices" pick for 2011! And this is just her first book. Holy cow!

With a Name Like Love

When Tess was pregnant with her second daughter, she had to be put on bed rest. Bored to tears from watching TV, Tess started reading, reading, reading. Then, she started writing, writing, writing. Twelve years later, Tess has a pre-teen daughter and an absolutely lovely, charming book. With a Name Like Love introduces the reader to the loving yet rather unconventional Love family. The father, Everlasting Love, is a traveling preacher, carrying his message of grace and redemption to all. In tow are his wife and five daughters. To the main character, Ollie, it's a less than wonderful life until they arrive in the tiny town of Binder, Arkasas. With A Name Like Love is filled with many things I love: gospel music, rich characters, big hearts, and frogs. And a bit of a murder mystery too!

Tess lives right down the mountains from me in Salt Lake City. She's the mother of three, married to her college sweetheart, and the servant of the Great Daisy, Poodle Who Must Be Obeyed. Let's meet Tess and her Poodle, Daisy, in today's Fido and Friend in Five:

1. How did you and Daisy find each other?  We adopted Daisy eight years ago when our neighbors moved out of state.

Daisy and Her Girl, Tess

2. What makes Daisy's tail wag?  So much! She is the happiest dog you've ever met. But if I had to choose a few things, I'd have to say peanut butter, the door bell, and seeing my kiddos pull her red leash out, because that means adventure time!

3. What's your all time favorite dog story?  Because of Winn Dixie...though I just started reading A Dog's Way Home and am loving it! (blush blush)

The Daisy Endorsement

4. If Daisy could change just one thing about you, what would it be?  She'd have me quit my job and spend the whole day lounging in the sun with her.

5. In five words, tell us what Daisy means to you:  Unconditional acceptance, giggles, and cuddles.

Thanks so much to Tess and Daisy for stopping by! Be sure to check out Tess's website and blog to read the reviews of her wonderful book and to see what all she's up to. Who knows what she'll do next?

Fido and Friend in Five: Sarah Prineas and Athena!

Sarah Prineas

As most of you know by now, I'm a sucker for beautiful shiny things. Just like a crow, I'm drawn to them. So when we received Sarah Prineas's new book, Winterling, in the library where I work, my eyes lit up. The cover is gorgeous, don't you think? I had to pick it up and hold it, peck at every part of it. And that's when I discovered in the author bio that Sarah has a dog. "Ha!" I said.

Of course, being that it's a book written by Sarah Prineas, what's on the inside of the book is even more gorgeous! Sarah is an author of extraordinary talent in world-creating. She also has some serious literary chops. Her first book for middle-graders, The Magic Thief, won just about every award and accolade there is, including our very own Beehive Award from the Children's Literature Association of Utah! Do you know how many children we have here in Utah? Lots! And that means lots of children read Sarah's book and voted it the best. Her subsequent books in the series, The Magic Thief: Lost, and The Magic Thief: Found, have delighted many other readers as well.

And now Sarah has a new book, Winterling, which I can't wait to read. Sarah also has a laptop named Pip, a mad scientist husband, two kids (I don't know if they're "mad" too), two cats (one of whom is reported to be rather cranky), and a "goddess among dogs" named Athena, all whom share her life in Iowa. It's a busy time for authors when a new book comes out, so I am particularly grateful to Sarah for taking time out to be in today's Fido and Friend spotlight!

I'm a GOOD girl!

1. How did you and Athena find each other?  Recently, I was reading a memoir about a woman who bonded with her first dog, and she writes about suddenly realizing that she needed a dog. She'd never had one before; there was no triggering event in her life, she just knew. That's how it was for me: suddenly I knew that I needed a dog.

Every couple of days I would check the local animal shelter website, and finally found a chocolate lab mix named Rusty, so my son and I went over to check him out. Of course, he'd already been adopted, so the shelter guy said, "Have a look through our book (a list of dogs at the shelter) and see if any catch your eye." So I get to the last page, and there's the listing for "Toranga," a 5-6 year old Rottweiler brought in as a stray. I'm like, "A Rottweiler? NO WAY!" A former neighbor had had a really horrible, untrained Rottweiler mix, and that had really set me against the breed. Plus you know Cujo was a Rottweiler. But the temperament evaluation for this dog was glowing, so I thought, "Okay, I'll try." The shelter guy went to fetch her, and said, "She's the nicest dog we've got here." I was like, "Oh sure she is." But then he brought her out, and it was love at first sight. I mean, I just knew--this was my dog. Athena.

Really, I am!

2. What makes Athena's tail wag?  As Rottie owners say, "If you don't have a tail, wag your butt!" Athena's tail was docked by her previous owners (whoever they were), but she's a pretty intense butt-wager. Rotties tend to bond strongly to their person; she's a bit of a velcro-dog, so she wags for me. She wags like crazy for food and treats, and when other family members come home.

3. What's your all-time favorite dog story?  It's hard to decide! My son is home-schooled, and in the fall we did a unit on dogs, and read a bunch of dog stories and books. Laura Ingalls Wilder's Jack has a place in out heart, but our favorite is probably James Herriot's stories about Tricky Woo, the over-fed, over-pampered lapdog.

4. If Athena could change just one thing about you, what would it be?  She wishes I would let her eat the mail carrier.

Beloved

5. In five words, tell us what Athena means to you:  I can do it in two: Beloved companion.

Thanks to the wonderful Sarah and goddess Athena for visiting with us today! Be sure to check out Sarah's website to find out all about where she writes and what that crazy invention is her husband is building. 

Life with Shelties Means...Healing

One of the very hardest things any person owned by a dog experiences is their death. I always say, the only bad thing you can say about dogs is they don't live long enough! But sometimes another little soul comes into our lives when we least expect it to heal our broken heart. Here's Amanda Oswalt's very special essay about losing her heart to one sheltie and then having it healed by another.

Early last December we suffered an unexpected loss.  Our 8 year old sheltie, Sammy, suddenly passed away.  We never found out why it happened, but it was a devastating shock.  However, while we were all grieving the loss of Sammy, our older sheltie, Kassie, mourned harder than any of us.  Kassie began to bark repeatedly and rhythmically from the time she would wake in the morning until she’d fall asleep in the evening.  It never stopped.  We tried treats, new toys, etc.  Finally, the vet told us that as the alpha dog, Kassie was calling back the lost member of her pack.  The only way to help her was to get another dog.

I certainly didn’t feel I was emotionally ready for another dog.  However, I knew it was necessary.  I searched for several weeks.  The new dog had to be perfect….not too big, not too old, not too young, and of course, a sheltie! 

It was the night before Christmas Eve.  I decided to call a childhood friend who was a vet over a hundred miles away.  To this day, I haven’t a clue what made me call her.  We hadn’t spoken in nearly 15 years.   I explained our situation and asked that if she ever came across a sheltie, could she please keep us in mind.  There was stunned silence on the other end of the phone.  She eventually said that a sheltie was just brought into the hospital.  He had been attacked by a Rottweiler and the owners wanted him put down.  His windpipe severed, lungs collapsed…chance of survival was minimal.  The vet assumed ownership and performed emergency surgery.  I called just as he was moved to recovery.  She immediately put a sign on his cage stating that he had a new owner and I picked him up a very LONG week later.

Adopting Rudy and helping him recover healed all of our broken hearts…even Kassie’s.  He was sent to us to help us heal after losing Sammy, and sadly, to help us through the loss of Kassie just 3 months later.  Rudy is truly our angel.

Amanda wrote in her email to me that this photo was taken the moment they put Rudy in her arms. She said, "I was so happy, I thought my face would break from smiling!"

My Excellent Adventure in: New York City!

Me & Molly O'Neill

I'm just back from a whirl-wind trip to New York City to attend the Dog Writers Association of America's annual awards banquet where A Dog's Way Home was up for an award! I took my BFF, Charlene with me (unfortunately, hubby couldn't go) and we went out a couple days early to play.

Anything goes in NYC!

Now I know you may find this hard to believe, but I really love NYC--in small doses. This was just the right amount of time. Once we finally made our way from the airport to our hotel, we quickly changed clothes and hoofed it over to the Affinia Hotel where we met my lovely editor of A Dog's Way Home for drinks and a bite to eat. I even had a fancy martini which made me feel very grown up.

We walked all over mid-Manhatten on Saturday. I love, love, love people watching in that part of the world. It's like anything goes, yet people are so friendly! And who would think that about a whole big city full of yankees. But it's true! We saw the show, "Wicked", Saturday afternoon. It was worth every darned penny. So magical! Afterwards we had a shockingly scrumptious meal at Cara Mia.

DWAA Banquet

It turned bitterly cold and windy on Sunday. We hopped on and off buses to see as much as we could. Then back to the motel to get ready for the banquet! I am happy to report I neither over-dressed nor under-dressed for the event. And all of us at the banquet, no matter how grandly attired, had dog hair on their clothes.

I was beyond thrilled to receive two awards! I received the Maxwell Medal of Excellence and the coveted Merial Human-Animal Bond Award.

"I'm your biggest fan!"

Receiving award

Besides receiving the awards, the highlight of the evening was meeting one of my very, very favorite authors of all things dog, Patricia McConnell. I knew she was up for an award, so I brought a copy of my favorite book of hers, The Other End of the Leash, along so I could ask her to sign it. I know, I'm such a geek, but I was over the moon meeting her. She was very gracious and didn't call security on me. And she won an award too!

Patricia M. & me

So that's my Excellent Adventure in New York City! I was very happy to come home and walk my dogs along a stream and listen to the songs of the first red-wing black birds.

Maxwell Medal of Excellence