Welcome, friend! Today I am chatting with author Jennifer Freedman about her book, Toby’s Tale. This is a Middle Grade book that I am excited to get to. Let’s welcome Jennifer and learn more about the book!

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Get to know the author: Jennifer Freedman

Welcome Jennifer! Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself!

I’ve worked for international print media in the United States, Europe and the Middle East for more than 30 years. I’m a Michigan native who grew up in Southern California, but I’ve spent most of my life overseas (Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia for five years, then three decades in Europe, where I raised three beautiful children in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and now Costa Rica, where I’ve lived – with my three dogs and two cats – since September 2020). 

I work as an editorial consultant and journalist (the jobs that pay the bills!) and work on my creative writing when I can. Toby’s Tale, published by Pen It Publications, is my first novel. I’m now working on the second book in the series, Toby’s Travels, which I plan to finish before the summer, and I already have a title for the third book. My picture book, Ashley’s Rescue: A Miracle Breakdown, will be published by Pen It Publications this year.

What inspired you to write this book?

I feel like I’ve always had a story to tell. I decided around age 12 that I was going to be a journalist – a foreign correspondent, actually. I also started writing poetry when I was a child, so I guess writing was in my blood. 

But becoming a mother kick-started my decision to start writing children’s books. When I was pregnant with my youngest daughter, I came up with the idea of Toby’s Tale after the mother of a friend found a little white puppy, and began writing it when I was on maternity leave. Or, it wrote itself. I didn’t sit down and prepare an outline and a plot…I just sort of went where the story took me. It turned into a much bigger project than I expected – a 70,000 word novel for middle school children. It was really fun to work with another style of writing where I could use my imagination, be creative and inject emotion and personality into my writing. 

How long did it take you to write this book, from the first idea to the last edit?

The book took around six months from start to finish, but then I went over it many times, tweaking bits and pieces until I was happy with it. And even after that was done, I realized there was more to tell the world about Toby, so I revised the ending so it would open the door for the next book in the series. As I was working full time and raising three children, I was only able to edit the book sporadically, so it wasn’t really “ready” for several years. And then it sat for a LONG time because I couldn’t figure out how to get it “out there.”

What makes your story unique?

There are masses of books about dogs on adventures. But narrating from Toby’s point of view really allows the reader to feel his emotions and experience the challenges he faces from a more personal point of view. Not only does the story resonate with young readers – who, like Toby, are all on their own journeys of discovery as they mature – but it also teaches values and life lessons.

Who would enjoy reading your book? 

While Toby’s Tale is a middle grade novel – so “officially” it targets children in the 8-12 age range – it’s been read (and enjoyed!) by many younger children whose parents read the book to them. And by the parents themselves. Toby’s Tale has more than 100 reviews on Amazon (with a 4.7 star rating) and there are many comments from parents who say they loved the book as much as their children did.

What’s something you hope readers would take away from it?

I hope my readers can put themselves in Toby’s shoes (paws?) and relate to the struggles he faces on his journey. I want the book to give readers a deeper appreciation of the fact that we all face challenges in our lives – that is, everyone goes through hard times as well as good times – but also the understanding that believing in yourself and being tenacious will help us reach most of our goals. 

Do you have a favourite quote or scene in the book that you find yourself going back to?

“I know again what it’s like to be loved, to have someone care about me. And, maybe more importantly, I know again what it’s like to have someone to love and care about.”

What is something you have learned on your author journey so far?

I suppose it’s some of the very same things that help Toby on his journey – never giving up and having the belief that I’d “make it.” Everyone needs to understand that life simply has its ups and downs, and we hold a lot of power in determining whether the ups outnumber the downs. As Thomas Edison said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

What’s the best piece of advice you have received related to writing?

Two pieces of great advice: Don’t give up and edit, edit, edit!

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Book Excerpt from
Toby’s Tale

I followed the sound and sure enough, I spotted Mama and Uncle Heinz through a hedge. I wanted to run to her and comfort her, but something told me to wait. Through her sniffles, she spoke in a soft, sad voice.

“There must be some other possibility for us, Heinz. I can’t even bear to think about separation, especially after what happened to poor, sweet Spud. A piece of my heart died when he died, and I don’t think I could manage not having both Betts and Fritz with me.”
Not with her? What was Mama talking about?! I held my breath and continued to listen.

“There’s no other way, Lilly,” Uncle Heinz said. “My family has been talking about getting another older dog so I would have a companion when they’re away. I know that once they see one of your pups they wouldn’t be able to split you up. But two, well, I’m afraid they would just end up taking them both to the shelter and keeping you here.”

“No, I can’t do it, Heinz. I’m going to go back to the farm. Or maybe I’ll just find another place altogether to raise my pups. I wish you would come with us, but I know you’re happy here with your family.”

“And you would be happy with them, too,” Uncle Heinz replied. “You’re not thinking straight, Lilly. Living on the street is no life, especially for a mother with two pups who aren’t even a year old yet.”

I understood everything now. Uncle Heinz was saying that Mama could live with him if she only had only one pup, not two. The thought of leaving Mama and Betts was almost too horrible to consider, but I knew what I had to do. I was the man of the family, after all, and I would never be able to live with myself if Mama, Betts and I were forced to return to the life we had before, where we couldn’t even be sure we’d survive another harsh winter. Maybe we’d all end up like poor Spud.

Then I gulped hard and asked myself how I, an inexperienced young pup, could manage on my own if we couldn’t make it together as a family. What was the “real world” like, anyway? Where would I go and where would I end up? Maybe I needed to think things through before taking any reckless action — after all, I’d never ever been separated from Mama.

But Uncle Heinz’s words rang through my head again. We were going to be split up or homeless, he’d said, and I knew that I was the only one who could save my family from that fate. I felt myself growing in years as I started to devise a plan to disappear secretly and quietly. Maybe I could find that “shelter” Uncle Heinz had mentioned — it sounded kind of promising.

I knew I’d need Betts’s help because she would be left to comfort Mama when I was gone. First I had to figure out just what I was going to do, though, where I was going to go and how I would manage on my own. Then I realized I didn’t know the first thing about being on my own or even what a “shelter” looked like. I’d never been away from my family, and I had no idea what to expect. That actually made it easier to come up with a plan, because there was nothing to plan! I decided I would leave that night, because if I had more time to think about it, I might lose the courage to go.

Long after Mama and Betts were fast asleep, I lay curled up, calmed by the steady sound of their breathing and enjoying the familiar, comforting smell of their fur. The sky was an inky black, as dark as the inside of a cave, but alive with night music. The crickets chirped, frogs croaked and somewhere off in the distance an owl or some other night bird hooted. It was a virtual symphony of sounds that normally would have lulled me to sleep. Not tonight, with so much on my mind. Finally, I was ready to go.

I stood up and gently pushed my muzzle into Betts’s neck, whispering for her to wake up. It took a bit of effort, but her eyes finally blinked open and she yawned. She looked puzzled and I told her to be quiet and follow me so we could talk without fear of waking Mama.

“What in the world is going on, Fritz?” demanded Betts, now fully awake and none too pleased about having her dreams interrupted.

“I’m leaving,” I replied, hoping my voice sounded braver than I felt. “I’m grown up now, and I need to explore the world a bit on my own. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while, and now that you and Mama are settled here with Uncle Heinz, I can go and not have to worry about you. Can you tell Mama that I love her and I’ll be back?”

“Fritz, you can’t leave us! We just got here. Don’t you like Uncle Heinz? You’re going to break Mama’s heart!” Betts said, her voice rising with panic.

“Shhhh! Look, this has nothing at all to do with Uncle Heinz. He’s great, and he’ll take care of you and Mama. This is just something I have to do. So please don’t argue with me,” I pleaded.

“No. You can’t just walk out on us like this, Fritz. I’m going to wake Mama and tell her what you’re planning. She’ll put a stop to your crazy idea.”

“Don’t you dare!” I cried. “She’s got enough on her mind. She still hasn’t recovered from what happened to Spud.” I lowered my voice and then continued more gently.

“Betts, I won’t be gone forever, I promise. But I need you to be strong now, because Mama is going to take this hard. Please tell her I’ll return, and that I love her very much. And you, too, Betts. But I really have to leave now or it’ll be too light outside, and then she’ll send Uncle Heinz out after me. Please.”

Betts started to reply and then snapped her mouth closed so hard her mustache bounced. I watched as acceptance dulled her eyes. She looked at me for a long moment and then gave a small, pathetically sad nod. I felt a lump in my throat, but forced my emotions back. It was a hard moment. I moved two steps closer and rubbed my cheek against hers, taking in her scent. I whispered once again that I loved her and Mama, and that I would be back.

I softly padded to where Mama slept peacefully, innocent of the fact that her only son would not be there when she awoke in the morning. It took all my willpower to resist moving closer and taking one last sniff of her, but I feared she would awaken. I turned around and walked into the darkness, looking back once to see my little sister’s eyes on me. I stopped myself from running, telling myself over and over that I was doing the right thing, the only thing I could do, to make sure my little family was safe and happy. But I was never more scared in my life.

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Interested?

Thank you for hanging out with us today. Find Toby’s Tale on IndieStoryGeek and Amazon. Connect with Jennifer on Twitter, Instagram, her website and Amazon.

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Cover Photo on Unsplash