Great news for Bandit's story...

Books are currently available and all pre-orders have been shipped!  Thank you so much to all of our loyal and patient fans!

In order to help convey our excitement with all of you who've been following us and have shared your excitement with others, we'd like to offer you the chance to order your copy for a greatly reduced price. If you order now you will be able to receive a personally autographed copy of the novel for only $12.95 - which is a significant discount off of the cover price as sold on Amazon.com ($17.95).

Use this link to take advantage of this special offer... 

All Dogs Go to Heaven, and that's that!

James Herriot, the late British Veterinarian and beloved author, once replied in response to a dying woman’s inquiry about animals joining their masters in the afterlife…“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”

My family and I have shared in the lives of many canine, feline, and equine companions. I firmly believe that the human-animal connection is a powerful one, given to us as a celebration of the love of our creator, the Spirit of the Day and Night. Many of my friends would quarrel with me about this subject, insisting that only humans have souls and therefore God’s Blessing.

In doing a bit of research for this posting, I stumbled upon a funny visual display of this very argument and wanted to share it because it packs such a punch:
www.siliconvalleywatcher.com

What are YOUR thoughts? My guess is that if you’re visiting our blog, and happen to be a long-standing fan of books about dogs or even animals in general, then you share my sentiments and those of so many others like the immortal Will Rogers… “if there are no dogs in heaven, then I want to go where they went!”

A book with benefits!

In the words of one of America’s bestselling novelist’s, Agnes Sligh Turnbull… “a dog’s life is very short, their only fault, really.”

I was saddened by the passing of Legends Aussies’ Shopes Goodnight Bandit. The dog for whom I’ve based the hero of the book. Bandit’s official registered name is: HOF VCH WTCH CH Shopes Goodnight Bandit CDX RTDsc HAs HXd.

If you know anything about dog titles there is very little that Bandit hadn’t done. As I began putting together the story of Bandit and the Wolf, I took great inspiration from my friends Judie and Walt Manual who own Bandit’s champion son, “Warner” who is also known as CKC CH Legends Be Forewarned CD STDc OTDds DNA-VP. Besides being a full fledged working dog, Warner has followed along in his father’s footsteps on the road to fame. And Warner’s daughter, Amistad’s Falen, is growing up to be ever as great as her ‘old men.’ In fact, because of her very special place in my heart and the hearts of my family, Falen plays a supporting role in Down from the Mountain as well.

With all their greatness and acclaim, just as Ms. Turnbull said “A dog’s life is short,” which is too true and too sad, actually. Just when they get us nearly fully trained, they’re called home again to be fully reunited with the 'Spirit of the Day and Night.'

Many of our beloved family pets’ lives are shortened by cancer. It runs as rampant in dogs as it is does among humans, and that’s why we are planning to donate a portion of the profits from the sale of the books to TWO very worthwhile organizations. One is dedicated to researching and eradicating cancer in animals...the National Canine Cancer Foundation. And the other organization, Australian Shepherd Health & Genetics Institute, dedicated to the increase and diffusion of knowledge of genetics in the Australian Shepherd, and the inherited diseases to which it sometimes suffers.

I wish a single book’s profits could eradicate cancer and other inherited diseases in animals, but I am reminded, that nothing can be done overnight. But every little effort takes us forward. Slow and steady wins the race, isn’t that right?

A note from the author...

Oh, the power of dreams! Without dreams nothing gets done.

As John Lennon once said, "A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality."

And so I want to share with you a dream I had last year as I was napping with the warm Texas sunshine filtering through my bedroom window and my Australian Shepherd across the foot of my bed. Nice music was playing on my XM player, and I was totally relaxed in that quasi-slumber only experienced by us "Pro Nappers."

A movie of my own making started running through my sub- conscious. A wonderful story beautifully unfolded in my head about an Australian Shepherd who lived in the mountainous sheep country of Montana. Suffice it to say, I’ve spent my entire career in Television and Movies, as an actor, writer, and producer, so having an extremely active imagination is just something for which I’ve been both blessed and cursed.

As the movie in my mind came to a close, obviously no longer drowsy, I jumped up and ran down the stairs to relate the entire story to my wife, Cathy. With loving encouragement, and a sassy wink of her eye, she suggested that I go to the computer and write the story down before it “faded to black."

The Bandit Project is not only a complete account of how my original movie-dream became the novel, “Down from the Mountain: the Story of Bandit and the Wolf,” it is an exercise in integrated publishing by design. In other words, it is the practice of a community of people coming together to bring a story to life in every conceivable form for every relevant function.

Subscribe today to keep up with The Bandit Project. Learn more about Bandit and our community of friends who have played such an important part in the making of his story. And then Join us in the many opportunities we will be providing through this blog to contribute to the manifestation of 'Down from the Mountain: the Story of Bandit and the Wolf.'