Good news, friends! My book New Kids and Underdogs will be published in October, 2022. If you like dogs and if you like agility dog training, this is the book for you.
Hold on! Never heard of agility dog training? Watch this. It will blow your mind. Pretty awesome, right? New Kids and Underdogs was inspired by the time I took an agility dog training class with my previous dog, Scout. I LOVED the class, but Scout was so food obsessed that it became stressful for her. She just wanted those treats so badly! As for Walt? He is terrified of other dogs, so I can’t take agility with him. Luckily, there are lots of dogs in this new book who enjoy agility training as much as their owners.
Here’s a bit about the story:
When perpetual new kid Robyn signs up her special needs dogs for agility training, she gets an unexpected lesson in friendship in this funny and moving novel from the author of We Could Be Heroes and Susie B. Won’t Back Down.
Robyn Kellen has been the new kid six times. She’s practically an expert on the subject and has developed foolproof rules to help her get by: Blend in, don’t go looking for trouble, and move on. Unfortunately, Robyn’s mom has a rule, too: Robyn must do an after-school activity.
When Robyn discovers a dog agility class, she thinks she’s found the perfect thing—but then her dogs, Sundae and Fudge, are rejected from the class. Sundae won’t do anything without Fudge, and Fudge is deaf and blind, and the instructor refuses to change the rules to fit their needs. Luckily, the instructor’s grandson, Nestor—a legend at Robyn’s new school—offers Robyn a deal: If she helps him with math, he’ll train Sundae and Fudge. Problem is, Robyn isn’t so great at math herself, so she’s forced to recruit the class outcast, Alejandra, to help.
Suddenly, Robyn finds herself surrounded by people who do anything but blend in—and sticking to her rules becomes harder than ever. But as Robyn learns how to adapt the rules of agility for Sundae and Fudge, she will find that some rules are worth breaking altogether.
And my fervent promise–as always–no dogs were hurt in the making of this book! So while drama (and humor) abounds, none of the dogs die.