Dogs and Books and Dog Book People

Dogs and Books and Dog Book People

By Teresa J. Rhyne

I remember when the pandemic started (who doesn’t?) and I felt so bad for all the authors who had books coming out in Spring 2020. I will admit I also thought “Oh, thank goodness my book isn’t out until October!” And the universe laughed and laughed. 

Once I came to terms with the fact that I too would have a pandemic pub date, I scrambled for ideas on how I could promote this book. With my first two books I was able to do bookstore signings, dog rescue events, various breast cancer and canine cancer walks (directly related to the topics of those books), book club meetings, and a variety of events. Now I’d be home, with my long-term partner (who’d already read the book more than a few times) and my dogs (who can’t read and are only impressed with my food-dispensing skills) on publication day and for who knew (who still knows) how long after. What to do?

I turned to author friends who also had pandemic pub dates, and, inspired by the likes of A Mighty Blaze, Friends & Fiction, and countless independent bookstores who began Zoom talks with authors, I had an idea. Facebook.com/DogsNBooks was born and Yappy Hours on Zoom soon followed. 

Since August of 2020 I, along with award-winning author Cara Sue Achterberg (Another Good Dog and 100 Dogs And Counting) and, for a time, NYT bestselling author Peter Zheutlin (Rescue Road: One Man, Thirty Thousand Dogs, and a Million Miles on the Last Hope Highway), have spread the joy of books about dogs. We’ve interviewed more than thirty authors, helping to share their messages and promote their books. We’ve talked with perennial NYT bestselling author Bruce Cameron about his heartfelt dog books, had a video tour of Nowzad Animal Rescue in Afghanistan by author Pen Farthing just a month before he and all of the staff and animals were evacuated, chatted with author Victoria Schade about her behind the scenes work on Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl as well as her rom-com novels starring adorable pups, learned about “Doctor Dogs” and how dogs are helping to detect cancer from author Maria Goodavage, loved on “Extraordinary Old Dogs” with author Laura Greaves—who Zoomed in from Australia, and conversed with Chris MacLaughlin about “Hurricane Katrina and a Life That Went To the Dogs,” among many others.

While Dogs ‘n’ Books may have started as a way to get the word out about our pandemic book babies, it became so much more.  Our followers and fellow authors quickly became a much-needed respite on Monday night Yappy Hours, and the sense of community we’ve built was a welcome surprise. Turns out, I love talking to authors and readers almost as much as I love writing (and without the procrastination!). My conversations with these authors and the viewers who love dogs and books have been inspiring. I’ve even been motivated to try my hand at fiction. I’m pleased to say I finished the first beautiful mess of a first draft of a novel just last week. And yes, there’s a dog in it. Maybe two.

The paperback of my third book, Poppy In The Wild: A Lost Dog, 1500 Acres of Wilderness, and the Dogged Determination That Brought Her Home, comes out next week (April 5). And while I have bookstore signings and other appearances scheduled, I look forward to celebrating online with my Dogs ‘n’ Books people. They’re my kind of people.

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Teresa J. Rhyne is a lawyer, speaker, cancer survivor, dog lover, NYT bestselling author, coffee connoisseur, and wine devotee (though probably not in that order). You can find her at https://linktr.ee/teresajrhyne  and of course on Facebook.com/dogsnbooks 

From the #1 New York TImes bestselling author of The Dog Lived (And So WIll I) comes a tale of love and devotion defying all the odds

After losing her beloved beagle Daphne to lymphoma, author Teresa Rhyne launches herself into fostering other dogs in need, including Poppy, a small, frightened beagle rescued from the China dog meat trade. The elation of rescue quickly turns to hysteria when Poppy breaks free from a potential adopter during a torrential thunderstorm and disappears into a rugged, mountainous, 1,500 acre wilderness park, bordered by a busy road.

In the quest to find Poppy, Teresa will work with rescue specialists, volunteers, psychics, a Native American who communes with owls, helpful neighbors, decidedly unhelpful strangers, a howling woman, the police, crushing dead ends, glimmers of hope, and her own emotional and physical limits as she sits in the wind and rain in the wilderness park for hours each dusk and dawn with bags of roasted chicken and her dirty socks, the human lure for a terrified beagle and packs of less terrified coyotes.

Meanwhile, Poppy encounters heavy rains, a homeless encampment, the Sheriff and his wife, a series of strangers, speeding traffic, hawks, and, ultimately, a world of people willing to do anything to protect rather than harm her. Through an unexpected late night encounter, Poppy is finally caught.  After her time in the wild, a surprisingly transformed Poppy reunites with Teresa. Now newly confident and brave Poppy is ready to be welcomed into her forever home.

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