Can you tell us what inspired “Pennygirl’s Rescue” and how Penny became the heart of your story?
On July 13, 2020 we lost our beloved dog, Toby and our hearts were torn out. My husband and I decided to rescue a dog instead of purchasing a dog from a breeder so we could save a life! I looked on several online dog rescue and adoption sites and quickly settled on Niagara Dog Rescue because my Dad was from the Niagara region in Ontario, Canada and I had spent a lot of time there too, visiting my paternal grandmother while growing up! It was the height of Covid-19 (July, 2020) so no rescue shelters were open for the public to come and view animals. Everything was taken care of online and on the phone. Once we found Penny’s picture and BIO, we fell instantly in love with her and applied to adopt her. So, Penny, whom we call Pennygirl, became the heart of my story.
What message or life lesson do you hope children take away from “Pennygirl’s Rescue”?
The message I hope children take away from “Pennygirl’s Rescue” is love and compassion towards dogs, and all animals. I want them to understand that dogs can end up in dog shelters for all manor of reasons such as an owner passes away, a dog is removed from an abusive situation or a family simply realizes they just cannot afford to keep the dog they got for a family pet due to perhaps a change in income in the household so the dog must be surrendered, just to name a few. They are all reasons that are no fault of the dogs. Shelter and rescue dogs have so much love to give if just given a second chance at a Forever Home! I’d like children to become familiar about the terms dog shelter, dog rescue and dog adoption as well. Perhaps if a child’s family is talking about getting a family dog and they have read my book, they may ask their parents if they can adopt instead of shop!
How has your background as a Registered Diagnostic Ultrasound Technologist influenced you storytelling or creative process?
Well, I believe my background in years of working in Diagnostic Ultrasound has given me warmth and compassion. I have been in contact with many, may patients over my 35 year career in the medical field and I believe doing my job has really made me more aware and kinder towards the people around me. You just never know what someone right beside you is going through especially if they have a smile on their face. They could really be going through something difficult in their life. I think having compassion lead me to write my heartwarming children’s picture book, “Pennygirl’s Rescue” from Penny’s point of view, to give dogs a voice so we can really think about how it would feel to go through what little Pennygirl did in my story.
What was the biggest challenge you faced transitioning from a medical career to becoming a children’s book author?
The biggest challenge I faced transitioning from a medical career to becoming a children’s author was having to be patient and let others who were qualified, handle some of the steps along the way to completing my book and having to just ‘trust the process’! My book is hybrid published which means many of the steps involved in publishing a book are handled by the publishing team but there are things like hiring an illustrator and marketing your book that the author is responsible for. When I worked in Ultrasound, I worked on my own for the most part and was responsible for my own patients from the start of the exam until the completion. I was always so organized and timely with my studies and I have really needed to just slow down and take a breath while going through each step towards the completion of my book!
Can you describe the moment you found out “Pennygirl’s Rescue” became a bestseller and award winner?
Well, my book actually became a Bestseller by noon on my launch day, December 3rd which was really exciting and unbelievable at the time! I was really happy though that my book’s message would have the opportunity to reach a wider audience because of this added attention. The first award, The Golden Wizard Book Award was awarded about 2 weeks after my book launch on December 3 and the news of that really was so wonderful! I felt so proud of all my hard work and thrilled that people were hearing about our rescue dog, Penny’s story and that they loved the story! The biggest details they loved was that Penny’s story was true, she was rescued by my husband and I and that she still lives with us!
How much of Penny’s adventures are drawn from real-life experiences with your rescue dog?
“Pennygirl’s Rescue” is actually a story based on facts we know about Penny’s life before coming to us from Texas, USA. We know she lived on a farm in Texas, USA and that she had 5 siblings, 3 brothers and 2 sisters. We also know it was an older woman that cared for Penny, her siblings and the farm and that she had to surrender the puppies due to a health reason. We were told by the rescue that Penny was 3 months old when she entered the dog shelter in Texas and we were lucky enough to find her birth date on one of the papers she came with so we also know that she was 9 months old when we adopted her on September 18, 2020. From this information we knew that she had spent 6 months in the dog shelter. We also know that Penny arrived from Texas, USA to us in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada with 13 other puppies so that’s where all those details come from! So, a fair amount of “Pennygirl’s Rescue” is based on fact, and some fun bits like the farmyard pets and Grandma Adeline, which by the way means ‘to care for’ and the introduction of Tammy, the dog shelter volunteer were added to give a glimpse into Penny’s angst at having to adjust to life in a dog shelter after her idyllic early life on the farm.
What made you decide to turn “Pennygirl’s Rescue” into a series? Can you give us a sneak peek into what’s coming next?
My story “Pennygirl’s Rescue” was actually way too long for a children’s picture book. It originally was going to be an early chapter book but when I took a course last year about writing children’s picture books, I decided my story could easily be made into 3 stories- Penny’s time in Texas, USA first on the farm and then in the dog shelter, Penny’s adoption by us, her subsequent meeting of us at the dog transport in Niagara-on-the-Lake and our trip home for the first night, and her settling into life with us in Trenton, Ontario, Canada. So, I split up my story and showed it to my editor and she agreed it could easily become at least a 3 part series! Exciting news- I have just hired my illustrator to begin working on the illustrations for Book 2- “Pennygirl Comes Home”! It’s our initial meeting of Penny in Niagara-on-the-Lake where the dog transport meets. I wrote these books because I wondered how a rescue dog would feel just coming home with us after all they had been through to get to the designated meeting spot? It too is a book filled with lots of emotion just as you would think a dog arriving at a place, only to be put in a car and driven to an unknown house with 2 people who have adopted them, would feel. It’s also got humor, love and compassion. I really think my readers are going to enjoy Book 2! We are hoping to release it in the early Fall this year!
As a grandmother, how do your grandchildren influence or react to your stories?
I have 2 grandchildren, ages 1 ½ years and 11 years and we have a grandson arriving in late August! My grandchildren influence my stories because I am always cognisant of what they would like in a dog rescue story and I make sure my stories have a little of everything- love, humor, compassion, adventure and emotion. My grandson is 11 years old and he really was involved in the input for the writing of “Pennygirl’s Rescue” because he and my daughter, his Mom were living with us while I was writing Book 1. He asked that “Lenny The Shi-Poo” be in my story somehow. Lenny is my grandson’s Dad’s dog that he grew up with, but no longer lives with so he thought it would be special to have him in my first book. I decided to have Lenny a memory for Penny, reminding her that she too would soon be adopted just like her friend. I felt it was important to show that Penny had hope that something better was in store for her once she landed in the dog shelter. My young granddaughter is just starting to enjoy having “Pennygirl’s Rescue” read to her. She has lots of words now and points to all sorts of characters in the book. She loves dogs! I really wanted to leave a legacy for my grandchildren and publishing a book was a great way of doing that!
What role does nature, crafting, or gardening play in your writing or in the world of Pennygirl?
I believe gardening and crafting are both very detailed activities that must both be precise if you want great results. I absolutely love detail so I love to do a project that starts with a blank slate and through planning and organization becomes something beautiful and striking. I believe this same idea comes through in my writing. My writing is very detailed so you could actually close your eyes while having “Pennygirl’s Rescue” read to you and be able to picture it perfectly!
What advice would you give other retirees thinking about exploring creative passions like writing?
I would tell them it’s never too late to dive into a new or past passion, like writing for me! I really enjoyed creative writing as a young teen but decided to go for a medical career so, little did I know, I would return to it years later! I ended up taking a course on how to write a children’s picture book not long after I retired, because my husband was still working from home and I wanted to do something that would give me purpose and passion. I wanted to be busy and enjoy something as much as I enjoyed doing Diagnostic Ultrasound for 35 years and I found it, in writing for children. I really wanted to share our love of Penny with the world in a way that would be educational so I decided to teach children about dog adoption, dog rescue and love and compassion towards animals by sharing Penny’s story from her point of view. I really hadn’t read any dog rescue stories told from the dog’s point of view, the angst of wondering if you’d ever see your family again and the wonder of why you were put into a dog shelter and what was next for you!
How do you balance writing for children while also appealing to the parents and grandparents who read to them?
I think I do this subconsciously! I write in a descriptive manor because I also love descriptive writing and choose books that use my imagination. I believe it’s my descriptive writing and use of language that is not too simple that engages adults like parents, grandparents and teachers because it gives my writing a depth that will get children thinking and asking questions to the adult that is reading to them. As well, I choose thought provoking subjects, like dog adoption and dog rescue that children can get an introduction to by reading my story “Pennygirl’s Rescue” and I hope it sparks discussions with their adult reader!
What has been your most heartwarming interaction with a young reader or parent since publishing your book?
My most heartwarming experience so far was when one of my son’s friends wrote to me and sent a picture of his son holding my book and saying it was now his favourite bedtime story and they now read it every night to him!
What do you enjoy most about writing children’s books versus other forms of writing or storytelling?
I love how writing a book and publishing it is leaving a legacy for my grandchildren and their children that they have in the future!
What’s next for you? What are you currently working on?
I have already written Book 2 and Book 3 of “The Pennygirl Series”! I have just hired my illustrator for Book 2, “Pennygirl Comes Home” which I am publishing with Moondust Productions! I have been given the Illustration process of hiring and deciding what artwork inside and on the front and back covers so I am very thrilled about this project!
Have you used the Book Promotion tools and Book Marketing services offered by AllAuthor? If yes, how would you rate their effectiveness?
Yes, I have used the tool “Feature Your Book” for a 6 month period. I am not sure if it got me any sales, but it got me some exposure. It’s difficult to say exactly how effective this tool is but it sure was fun choosing the mock-up banners for their posts on X, each month!
