Release Day! Black Dog, White Dog...

Feddie Harper, age almost twelve, is recovering from the recent death of his beloved black Lab McKnight. Volunteering at a nearby horse rescue seems a decent day to spend a boring summer...and there he meets Helene. (There's got to be a girl!) And Magnet, a life-saving dog is there ever was one!

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Mom taught third grade at his school. Luckily, Feddie had never had to enroll in her class. Oh, he knew she was a cool teacher, but what did you call your mom if she was your teacher? Mom? Mrs. Harper?

“Which reminds me...” she started off again.

Feddie’s heart thumped. He read her mind, too

“Your summer book list. Have you started?” She definitely tossed him a classroom glare.

“Mo-om. School’s been out, like, an hour.”

“More than a week now. And you have six books to read for your reading journal.”

Buh-ruther.

“Thing is...you know Mrs. Wegner from school, don’t you?”

“Mom.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s a small school. Know. I know everybody.” Then he ground his teeth. If she thought for one second to get him a tutor he’d..

.

“Well, she’s a volunteer at the local horse rescue.”

Horse rescue? Feddie perked up at that. Like McKnight’s ears had when he heard something. Horses were almost as cool as dogs. “So?”

“Well, I thought that was something you and I could do to pass the time. There’s an orientation meeting this afternoon.

“All right.” Anything to postpone the reading list.

“Thing is...volunteers under twelve aren’t allowed in the stalls.”

“I’ll be twelve in September!”

“It doesn’t matter. You aren’t twelve yet. Anyway, I want to muck to get some exercise. There’s a reading program where kids read to the horses. You could do that while I clean stalls.”

“What? Read to the horses?” Well, it wasn’t that weird of an idea. He’d done his homework with McKnight his whole life.

“Yes. That way, the horses get acquainted with the next generation of volunteers. And with you having a list of books to read, it just seems fortuitous.”

Another big word. She did it all the time. He grumped out loud. “English, Mom.”

Backatcha finally

Some twists, turns, and dead ends along this rollercoaster I call a writing journey... but inbetwist things, Feddie Harper came to life! He's twelve, well, almost, and in Black Dog, White Dog finds a whimsical dog, beautiful horses needing rescue, and-gulp--pretty Helene.

Yup, he hates his name. Everybody calls him FReddie. But there's no R...thanks to his parents giving him his mom's maiden name, Federico. A family tradition that grinds his teeth. But meeting Helene, who everybody calls Helen, like in Troy...wow. Throw in a tidbit of Chumash history, a twinge or two of mystery such as the Nunashish...and long summer days. And you're got the start of a very fun series geared toward Middle Graders. Hmmmm. I'm thinking there's bound to be a secret painted cave in them thar hills...

You can thank my two little grandsons for this switch in gears!

Watch for the story, to be part of an upcoming anthology. Here's the prototype cover...