Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Celebrating National Dog Week with Tam

So this week is National Dog Week! I kicked it off yesterday with a new Fido and Friend in Five spotlighting the author Bruce Hale and his dog, Riley. I thought I'd post something every day this week about dogs who are important in my life.

I wanted to introduce you today to Tam (short for Tam Lin), the main dog character in my book A Dog's Way Home. That's his beautiful face on the book cover. Tam is a three-year-old Shetland Sheepdog who lives with "his girl", Abby, in the Blue Ridge Mountain of western North Carolina. Like all shelties, Tam is very smart and 200% devoted to his person. Although he loves exploring the woods, old apple orchards, and creeks on the farm where they live, he is happiest when he's curled up next to his girl, and everything is as it should be. But one late Fall day Tam and Abby's lives are forever changed when they are torn apart from each other and seperated by over 400 miles of winter wilderness. Tam knows of only one thing to do: find his way back to his girl.

Tam has made a huge difference in my life. In order to write his story, I had to immerse myself into the skin and soul of this dog--and dogs in general. I had to see what he would see, feel what he'd feel and experience as he traveled home. By writing his and Abby's story, I've connected with readers of all ages all over the world. Hardly a week goes by that I don't get an email from a reader who tells me how much the book meant to them. Often they include photos of their own dogs! Sometimes parents will include photos of their child reading my book. It's all very wonderful and humbling. It's why I (and most authors) write. Tam brought that "heart connection" into my life. I couldn't have done it without him!

You can read an excerpt of the book here

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