Bobbie Pyron is in the House!

Today I'm thrilled to have my friend, Bobbie Pyron, here to talk about her latest middle grade novel.

1.     Tell us a little bit about your new novel, STAY.

      STAY is the intertwined stories of Piper and her family, and a little dog named Baby, and his person, Jewel. Piper’s family has fallen on hard times and have just moved into a shelter for families experiencing homelessness. Piper misses her home and friends back in Louisiana and hates being called “the homeless kid” in her new school. Baby and Jewel are also experiencing homelessness. They can’t live in a shelter, though, because shelters don’t allow dogs. And Jewel would never give up Baby! But when Jewel gets sick and is taken away from the city park where she and Baby live, Baby is left on his own. Piper is determined to do everything in her power to get Jewel and Baby back together.

2.     You dedicated STAY to Girl Scout Troop 6000. Why?   

      One night after I’d started writing the first draft of STAY, I saw a story on the national news about a Girl Scout troop in Brooklyn, New York. All the girls in this troop live in a family shelter. Before they came to the shelter, some had lived with their families in cars, slept on relative’s couches, or lived in subway stations. Despite this, the girls were bursting with pride and enthusiasm! They were so strong, brave, and yet compassionate—just the way I wanted Piper to be.

3.     In all your books, geographical place plays an important role. In STAY, though, you never say where the story takes place. How come?   

      That’s very observant of you! The reason I didn’t ever say exactly where the book takes place is because I wanted the reader to feel like this could take place in any place, any city. Because that’s the way homelessness is: it can take place everywhere.

4.     Now that you’ve written six books, do you see a reoccurring theme in your stories?  

       I think I tend to write a good deal about loss and what makes a home, and how we define family. I experienced a great deal of loss at a young age (my father died in a car crash when I was seven), and we moved around a lot too. I think these early experiences in my childhood keep informing my stories. I probably always will, in some form or another.

5.     Half of STAY—the dog’s chapters—are written in free verse. What was that like?  

       It was fun! I love poetry and I love reading books written in verse, so I wanted to see if I could write that way. I like to challenge myself as an artist. I also feel like dogs probably think in free verse, don’t you?

6.     Since most of your books have adorable dogs on the cover, show us a picture of your adorable dog!    

       I’d love to! This is Sherlock, my 14-year-old rescued Shetland sheepdog. He’s my baby!

Thanks so much for stopping by, Bobbie!

Bobbie Pyron is the author of the award-winning A DOG'S WAY HOME, the critically acclaimed THE DOGS OF WINTER, among other popular middle grade books. She lives in Mars Hill, NC, with her husband and incredibly sweet Shetland Sheepdog, Sherlock. To find out more about Bobbie and her books, visit her website at www.bobbiepyron.com

Hey book lovers...

10 reasons you should bid on a book at this auction:

1. You will help a little girl's dream come true
2. You will bring comfort to her grieving parents
3. You will be helping support a meaningful cause for animals
4. You will feel good about yourself
5. You will have a tax deduction
6. You will help an author
7. You will have something awesome to donate to another fundraiser, if you so choose
8. You will have an amazing gift to give someone (or yourself)
9. You will spread book love
10. Because I'm asking you to and I've been so NICE to you lately

Through the efforts of author Bobbie Pyron, over thirty authors (including me) have come together to honor Catherine Violet Hubbard, a little girl with a big dream: to provide a sanctuary for homeless animals. Tragically, that dream was cut short when Catherine was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.


Since then, Catherine’s parents and The Animal Center in Newtown have set up a fund to raise money for the Catherine Violet HubbardSanctuary. 

So....want to bid on a signed copy of On the Road to Mr. Mineo's (or lots of other choices)?

Then go HERE now and do it!!

Authors Honor Sandy Hook Victim

Over thirty authors (including me)—many of them award winning and New York Times best selling authors—have come together to honor Catherine Violet Hubbard, a little girl with a big dream: to provide a sanctuary for homeless animals. Tragically, that dream was cut short when Catherine was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Since then, Catherine’s parents and The Animal Center in Newtown have set up a fund to raise money for the Catherine Violet HubbardSanctuary. People from around the country have donated to make this little girl’s dream come true.

After reading about Catherine’s dream, author Bobbie Pyron decided to do something to help raise money for Catherine’s sanctuary. “I just wanted something good to come out of this heartbreaking tragedy.” She contacted other authors, most who write for children, and asked if they would donate a signed copy of their book to be auctioned off on line as a fundraiser for Catherine’s sanctuary. 

“I was overwhelmed and humbled by the enthusiastic response! Many of these authors are Newbery Award winners, National Book Award recipients, and New York Times best selling authors,” Pyron says. “Everyone was deeply touched by Catherine’s dream and wanted to be a part of helping her dream come true.”

Starting June 3^rd, Pyron will be posting signed copies of books that can be bid on. The auction will end June 16^th. “Bids can be submitted on all the books until midnight on the 16^th,” she explains. The signed books will be posted on her website at www.bobbiepyron.com/auction as well as details on how the auction works.

Some of the signed books to be auctioned include Sarah, Plain and Tall (Newbery winner), A Dog’s Purpose (NYT best seller), Wonder (NYT best seller), Moon Over Manifest (Newbery winner), Mockingbird (National Book Award winner), Divergent (NYT best seller), and books by Newbery award winners Sharon Creech, Cynthia Lord and Ann M. Martin.

“I love collecting books I’ve had signed by the author,” Pyron says. “But these books would also make great gifts for the book lover in your life or donations to your local school or public library.”

 Why not bid on a book and help Catherine's wish come true?

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Conference

This past weekend, I had the honor of speaking at the Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Conference.

Unfortunately, it was held at a place that had a really lousy view:

But I got over my disappointment and had a lovely dinner with members of the committees:

And I finally got to meet, play with, dine with, laugh with the amazing, Grace Worcester Greene, Youth Services Consultant for Vermont Public Libraries. (Thank you, Grace, for everything.)

Grace Worcester Greene (left) and me

AND, I finally got to meet the UBER talented author Kate Messner. (Kate, HOW do you do it all???)

Kate Messner (left) and me

Signing books with Kate Messner (left)

Me looking kind of stupid at the signing.

Me saying some really deep, intelligent and important things (like redneck jokes).

Me with some of the great kids who did presentations at the conference.

And I took some pics of some of this year's nominees for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award (I'm looking at YOU, Scattergood, Pyron, Knowles, Hunt...and others):

You can see the complete list HERE.

Many thanks to the Vermont gang who made that day so special.

A Dog's Way Home

A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron


A lost dog.

A broken-hearted girl.

A fast, fast, fast full-steam-ahead pace.

Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains (my heart's home).

What more could you want?

Pyron doesn't mess around. That little dog was in a crate and tumbled down the side of a mountain on PAGE 8!!!

Look what I have

A Dog's Way Home

by
Bobbie Pyron

Dogs Dogs Dogs

I'm honored to be featured on the blog of fellow writer and dog lover, Bobbie Pyron.