Today is the official release day for Samson's Tale! I'm very excited and proud about this book - my first picture book. Illustrator Kathleen Spale did a fantastic job bringing the story to life with her illustrations.
The idea for this story came to me when someone asked me to write a story about childhood cancer and a dog. Using our experiences with Dan as a basis, I wrote Samson's Tale. Although we didn't have a dog at the time Dan went through his leukemia treatments, I think that the feelings and emotions that Samson has are true for anyone who loves someone battling cancer - whether a parent, sibling, friend, or loving dog. The funny thing is that since I wrote the story, we did get a dog - Lily. And Dan's first question when I showed him the book..."Why isn't the dog named Lily?"
The two of them have an interesting relationship - they spend a lot of time together while the other kids are at school. I swear Lily thinks Dan is another puppy and she's his boss sometimes! Here they are -
We'll be celebrating Samson's Tale with a book launch on May 14th at the Penguin Bookshop in Sewickley - more details to follow!
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