Every book has a birth moment. For A Pawful Christmas, that moment came in the middle of a snowy night. I woke up from a dream so real that I could still hear the whimper of a moving box. In the dream, two children, Tiffany and Tommy, opened a present, and out popped two beagle pups. Their names were Bella and Marley.
I sat up in bed. I did not reach for coffee or breakfast. I reached for my phone and started writing. The words came faster than I could type. Within 1 to 2 hours, the entire manuscript was completed. Thirty-two pages of story, from the snowy footsteps to the final illustration of the kids and pups snuggling in bed.
That is how I write. Not with outlines or strict plans. I write spontaneously. I let the story pour out. Then I go back and polish later. But the first draft? That is pure magic.
I have always believed that every kid wants an animal as a present. I was that kid. I asked for a dog year after year. My parents said no. That did not stop me from dreaming. And dreams, I learned, can become stories.
In A Pawful Christmas, the parents say no to a pet at first. But then they surprise the kids with two beagles. That is the part I love most. The parents were not being mean. They were saving the surprise. They wanted to see their children’s faces light up.
I dedicated this book to Marley, my sister’s dog, and to my baby girl, Bella. Also to Missy, Izzy, and Coco. And to everyone who has lost a pet over the beautiful rainbow bridge. May the Paws be with you.
So that night, the beagle pups came to me in a dream. I wrote them into existence. And now they live on every page of A Pawful Christmas, waiting to meet you.