Today is the day!! It’s been five years in the making, and I am so relieved, exhausted, excited, and terrified! All at once! (:
A handful of folks got to read “Advanced Reader Copies” via NetGalley, so I wanted to share some of their thoughts about FOR THE LOVE OF DOG.
But, first, a synopsis:
What is FOR THE LOVE OF DOG all about?
Dogs and humans are buddies on an evolutionary scale. Our histories intertwine so inextricably that we can’t separate our lifelines from theirs over the past 20,000 years. But, despite those tens of thousands of years of coevolution, it turns out we still have a lot to learn from dogs. (They, however, have us pretty well figured out.)
As a shy introvert and hard-core people pleaser, I wanted to move through life unseen. Invisible. So, when I adopted three dogs you simply couldn’t ignore–Emmett, a gentle giant pit bull; Lucas, a three-legged shepherd mix; Cooper, a wiry and neurotic staffie–they blew my cover. As we tackled anxiety, cross-country moves, stray kittens, dog bites, and cancer (all of us), I learned to advocate for them. In turn, they helped me find my voice. To root our story in science, FOR THE LOVE OF DOG weaves together research on dog behavior and canine cognition with my experience with my boys. This book gets to the heart of why we first fell in love with dogs, why we still love them thousands of years later, and why they’ve always loved us right back. Prepare to look at your own pup in a whole new light.
What are early readers saying?
While there is a one-star review (the book is dry and the facts are easily googleable was the gist) I’m choosing to ignore that and focus on the rest, which are all four- and five-star reviews! Like these:
And then there’s this one that makes my heart sing. She hit on everything I so desperately wanted to convey with this book:
I’m so grateful to everyone who offers their time to read books before they come out and to share their thoughts, even the rough ones, to help readers decide where to spend their hard-earned money and never-enough spare time.
If you think FOR THE LOVE OF DOG might be for you, I strongly recommend checking in with your local independent bookstores or your public library, and if online is better for you, here are some links:
If you’re in the Indy area, I hope to see you for the launch party on Thursday!
Before I close for today, I wanted to ask: Is anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes story of how this book came about? How I wrote it? The publishing process? In other words, does anyone want a post about book writing or should I just get back to dogs??
Otherwise, thanks so much for being here, for sharing in this community of dog lovers, and for your support of my work. I am so deeply grateful.
Congratulations!!! I cant wait for my copy to arrive! I would be so interested in the “behind the scenes”!
Thank you so much, Danielle! I can’t wait to hear what you think!
And I’ll start working on that post!
I would love to hear more about the publishing process.
I started outlining something over the weekend, so stay tuned! 😉
Mine just arrived! Yippee! Will start it as soon as I finish a book for book club.
Oh, yay!! I’m excited (and nervous) to hear what you think!
Hi Maggie, I attended the launch party September and purchased the book. I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed and appreciate the book. The science and history of dogs woven into your relationships with your dogs Emmett, Lucas and Cooper helped me understand my dogs- past and present- even more. Thank you again. This book is one to keep, reread, and share.
Oh, wow. Thank you SO much for the kind words and for taking the time to come and share. I really appreciate it so much! (: