Any of you that are owned by smooth collies know how unique they truly are. They are lovable and biddable, just like their rough counterparts, but they are, well, different. I love that we get stopped on the street and people want to know what breed of dog he is, as they tell him how beautiful he is. The best part? Henley always sits and stares at the person asking, without being asked, ever hopeful that they may want to pet him as well. Told you, he's charming!
For this first book, I really wanted to introduce him to the world as he was when he was an adolescent: A curious and bold young dog, who enjoyed no place more so than my garden where he hunted squirrels, chased bugs, and snacked his way through my home-grown vegetables. The story practically wrote itself! I knew the tough part was going to be finding the perfect illustrator to bring the book to life. Enter Jenny Cabriales.
I had known Jenny for a couple of years since discovering her on Instagram. I loved her artwork, her sense of humor, and her adorable rough collie, Nigel, the inspiration for much of her early art. When she opened her shop on Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/JennyCabCo?ref=shop_sugg_market), I was a frequent buyer, decorating my office with her art, wearing her designs, and sending her adorable coffee mugs to all my collie-loving friends. I figured she was too busy to illustrate my book, but it was worth asking her. As my dad used to say, "The answer is always a no if you are too chicken to ask in the first place." So, I asked, and she said yes! I had my illustrator, and someone who knows collies and loves them the way I do. What happened next was nothing short of magical.
Jenny began working on the illustrations for the book, and when I saw them, I couldn't believe my eyes. She had not only captured the story I was trying to convey, but she had captured Henley. His lanky build, long legs and tiny feet, pricked ears, and derpy grin were all looking back at me through her drawings. It was like she'd been right there as I wrote the book. When I asked her how she'd been able to do that, she told me, rather matter-of-factly, that she felt like she knew him from my photos and videos on Instagram. This made me even happier! Henley was making friends coast to coast!
Because Jenny is on the east coast and I'm here in California, it's unlikely that we'll be able to do book signing and reading events together, but we'll sure try. Our hope is to divide and conquer, so to speak, with each of us helping to share the book with our favorite booksellers, librarians, teachers, parents, friends, and collie lovers in our respective areas. We both hope to travel and promote the book as well, so if your library, school, or indie bookstore would like to host an event, please let us know. You can visit the book's official website, https://thedogwholovedeggplant.com/, and let us know who you are, where you are, and what type of visit you'd like. If you are in the Washington DC area near Jenny or close to me here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we'd love to hear from you. Depending on the location, Nigel or Henley might be able to join us! Both Henley and Nigel intend to sign books too, so do keep that in mind. Of course, Jenny and I will sign books as well, but pretty sure folks just want collie signatures and that's a-ok with us. As anyone who lives with a collie will tell you, it's all about them anyway!
As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.
"The Dog Who Loved Eggplant" is now available to order from Barnes & Noble online. Here's the link
We can't wait for you to meet Henley on the page!
Ozzie is clearly excited about his little brother's book debut too!
