A Dog's Tale

Life on a farm can be challenging. This is a story about a farm family's adventures as told from the perspective of their Australian Shepherd dog, who has a secret ability, and uses it well. Facts mingle with fantasy in ways that readers will find both engaging and exciting. This story grew out of a request from my granddaughter, eleven-year-old Isla, to write a book for her during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions in 2020. For once, I had time, as did she. Isla had in mind who and what the plot should include. Her list of people included a family: mom, dad and four children with an age spread of fifteen down to 18 months. She named each member of the family and suggested details of their activities and character traits. Then she had a brain wave: why not include an Australian Shepherd dog, who understands human language? We decided to go ahead with the project, using my choice of "Sheila" as the name for the dog. Because we were separated for safety, we communicated via FaceTime. About once a week I sent her a few pages. She wasn't happy with any strife or discord; nor did she want her main child character, 12-year-old Emma, to play with dolls. The deer who found baby Summer in Sheila's dream could threaten her life only if he was not real.

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