My Life as a Dog

When I was seven, my father went to Paris as a Fulbright scholar to study music. This marked the beginning of my longing for Paris.

He also played jazz bass at the Blue Note. 

When I was 14, he took me to my first foreign film, Elvira Madigan.

I finally made my first trip to Paris after graduating from Berkeley. Many years later, in the fall of 2009, I was living in a 4th floor apt on the corner of rue Vaneau and rue Babylon. When I took breaks from exploring Paris, I would stop at a park, take out my sketchbook and draw people and dogs. One night I dreamt about a little dog who had moved to Paris, but couldn't make friends because all the dogs spoke French, and he didn't. I realized this was my story: Though I had studied French from junior high to college and beyond, I still stumbled when I spoke. This was the inspiration for my first book, Paris-Chien: Adventures of an Expat Dog.

Hudson, a plucky terrier, can't wait to meet some French dogs while spending a year in Paris....Though he sees many other dogs running errands with their owners...everyone is "so busy going places" that he isn't able to make friends. When he finally finds a dog park, another obstacle arises: the dogs only speak French....

Visits to my husband's family in Provence inspired my second book, HUDSON IN PROVENCE. Hudson takes the TGV to the enchanting south of France where he discovers the country dogs have jobs. A believer in the “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” school of travel, Hudson immerses himself in Provençal culture. 

My last book HUDSON AND THE PUPPY: LOST IN PARIS, was especially satisfying to create. Hudson, who now leads a comfortable life in Paris, encounters a puppy who is lost. Although Hudson has no particular reason to help other than his kind heart, he takes the puppy on a tour of Paris neighborhoods hoping he'll recognize his home. 

This story about kindness, empathy, homelessness, and responsibility is the vehicle for sharing paintings of my favorite places in Paris along with a few of my favorite films. 

Children love dogs and they are a wonderful mirror of human behavior. What better way to model empathy and kindness than through the adventures of a small, friendly dog?

The series introduces children to dogs, and people, from other cultures, who may not look like them, or speak the same language, but who are the same underneath. Hopefully his will spark their curiosity about the world beyond them and lead to a desire to travel.