Big crowd in torrential rains at Northshire Books to talk about “Soul Of A Dog.”

   August 23, 2009 – It was storming all day Saturday and into the evening, and Linda Ellingsworth said everybody at the store was lamenting the crowds the rain would keep away. “I told them it wouldn’t be small,” she said. It wasn’t. There was a huge crowd, the second SRO crowd of the tour.
 All the seats were filled, and people were standing in the rear to brave the rains and hear and talk about the spirituality of their animals, and hear stories about the spirits of the animals of Bedlam Farm.
  This book seems to touch a deep nerve. I am not presenting any argument really. I don’t know if dogs (or people) have souls or not, and it’s an individual choice. I think our need to see dogs in a new,evolving and highly spiritual way is fascinating. There were 50 hands raised to ask questions, and Linda had to send Maria down to shut me up at 9 p.m. Some people had to get home, but most wanted to talk more – a lot more – about the souls of their dogs and cats, and about how animals like dogs think. There was much interest in my 2010 novel, Rose In A Storm, which involved extensive research into how dogs think, their motives, instincts, and way of communicating.
  The questions were thoughtful and challenging, forcing me to focus on my evolving views of dogs and other animals, and the impact that they have had, and continue to have, on my life. People still wanted to talk about it in the book-signing line, and we ended up closing the store down.
  I believe this is the highest calling of a writer – to entertain and provoke, to write something that causes people to think things. That’s my job, and I felt this book was a great step in that direction.
 So far, in two events, I’ve had about 400 people show up. That’s a good start.
  Book tours are endangered in contemporary publishing, which, like most big industries, likes to cut back rather than innovate. I am fortunate to get to go on tours, and lucky to have such big and interesting crowds. Some of it is the bookstore – Northshire is one of the best independents in the country. Some of it was Vermont – a history of people who go out to talk about things. And I think the subject is right. It isn’t Dewey the cat or anything,but I have a good feeling about this book. And I thank the animals of the farm for teaching me so much. Izzy came and was wonderful, navigating  the crowds and the dogs that some people brought.
  One woman said she hoped I would conclude that her dogs had human-style souls, but she felt what she was learning – their souls are original and unique – was as good.We talked about how dogs like Rose “think” in certain situations, and how behaviorists believe their minds work. And I told stories from the book about Mother, Elvis, Rose, Henrietta the Hen, and others. It was very affirming for any writer, and I appreciated it.