If it's spring (which it almost is--hooray!) then it's time for Percy to show you the way to the dog park. Percy, Dog of Destiny, is due in bookstores on March 28, 2017.
This latest project of mine was a collaboration with author Alison McGhee. Such a fun book! This was a bit of a departure for me--my last three books have all featured child protagonists, and so I had developed a pretty good comfort level conveying kids' body language and facial expressions. But Percy is a high-energy Jack Russell, and his friends are Molly the Poodle, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie the Dachshund, and Fluffy the very-oversized-Bull-Mastiff-type--so I really had to up my game and learn how to show all kinds of action and emotion for dogs as well.
I loved having to figure out how to give each dog their very distinct personality, not only in how they look, but in how they comport themselves. In the end, it was impossible to pick a favorite, because all four charmed me, and they each truly took on a life of their own as I put them to work in service of Alison's lively, witty text.
Time to pee on a tree!
A mischievous squirrel nearly steals the show.
But it's easy-going Fluffy who ultimately saves the day.