Fido and Friend in Five: Barbara O'Connor!

I am super-excited to have in my guest spotlight author Barbara O'Connor! Barbara writes the most beautiful, funny, heartfelt middle grade novels you'd ever want to read. She's an author I turn to again and again as a librarian when I'm recommending books to young readers. One thing Barbara and I have in common is we are both misplaced Southerners. I grew up in northwest Florida and Barbara grew up in South Carolina. And even though both of us live far away from our southern roots, we both

Fame & Glory

write with great longing and affection for that part of the world. Barbara is also a proud mother of two lovely (although sometimes naughty) dogs, Ruby and Mattie. I'm sure it's her love of dogs that led her to write the multi-award winning book, How to Steal a Dog. As you'll see from the photos of her own dogs, they're the ones who sometimes do the stealing!

1) How did you and your dogs find each other?  I have two dogs, Matty (a 12-year-old English cocker spaniel) and Ruby (an 18-month-old golden retriever). We got Matty for my son when he was nine. He picked him out and they were inseparable until my son went off to college (sniff sniff). It was just like the book, My Dog Skip! I got Ruby after my beloved golden died of brain cancer. I love goldens and needed another one.

Matty helping himself

2) What makes your dogs tails wag? Matty: Food, food, food. He has a little stub of a tail that shakes his whole body when he wags it! He wants to eat all the time.
Ruby:  People, people, people and dogs dogs dogs. She loves every person she meets and every dog she meets.

3) What's your all-time favorite dog story?  Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Love it so much! (and I've heard How to Steal a Dog is not bad, ha ha).

Ruby after the Good stuff!

4) If your dogs could change one thing about you, what would it be?  Hmmmm...they would probably make me more patient. I definitely need to work on that. They would also want me to feed them 24/7--and good stuff, like beef tenderloin.

We Can be good!

5) In five words, tell us what your dogs mean to you:  Love, comfort, humor, devotion, trust.


Thanks Barbara, Maddy and Ruby! 


To find out more about Barbara, her books and all her goings-on, visit her website  www.barboconnor.com  and her own fun blog
www.greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com