My next book, “Saving Simon: How A Rescue Donkey Taught Me The Meaning Of Compassion” will be published October 7 by Random House/Ballantine – just a couple of months away – about the same time as the second Bedlam Farm Open  House. I’m excited. It’s an important book for me, it marks the last book to be published by my life-long publisher, Random House. My next book, “Talking To Animals” will be published by my new publisher, Simon and Schuster’s Atria imprint.

I’m very excited, it was time for a change all around, and I had a great run with Random House. As before, I am working closely with my wonderful local bookstore, Battenkill Books. Connie Brooks has ordered 1,000 copies of “Saving Simon,” and I bet we will blow past that before we are done. Lots of you have been following Simon for some time.

You can order it right now from Battenkill Books and get a signed copy reserved. You can also call the store at 518 677-2515. I will also be signing books at the second Bedlam Farm Open House on Columbus Day Weekend. Details on Maria’s website. Simon and I will be set up in our own special signing area.

Any books ordered through Battenkill will be signed and personalized, and buyers will also be eligible to win some of the many give-a-ways we are planning to offer – notecards, potholders, bags of free dog food from Fromm, signed photographs and free books. We don’t have enough for everybody, but there are a lot of winners. Battenkill has a special pre-order page already up and ready to go. The store takes paypal and ships anywhere in the world.

Many of you know that Battenkill Books is a special place, a wonderful bookstore thriving in the middle of a small upstate New York Town. Battenkill stands for individuality, the value of the book and the local bookstore, and the very idea of local businesses surviving in our corporatized world. I am  proud to be associated with them, lucky to have them as a local bookstore. Our annual book promotions have drawn thousands of customers, many of whom continue to buy their books from Battenkill, the people there are wonderful to deal with. We have also given away tons of neat stuff.

So as of now you can pre-order “Saving Simon” from Battenkill, I will sign every copy, no matter how many you buy. The book is the story of Simon, who was taken off a farm near death by the New York State Police and brought to me. He was just about dead, he was in piteous condition. Simon has thrived with us, and we love him dearly. He taught me so much about the true meaning of compassion and his story is one of the most powerful animal stories I have ever encountered. It was not always easy – many of you may remember the painful experience we had with our pony Rocky after Simon refused to accept him. Compassion is not simple, nor is it easy.

Please consider buying the book from Battenkill. You can support me, the farm, Simon and a wonderful local bookstore. You can call at 518 677-2515, e-mail Connie at [email protected] or visit the store’s ordering page.