Shiloh Blog

Was Shiloh sad and shy?

comment:

Was the real Shiloh a jumpy and happy dog or was he more sad and shy? Because my dog Teddy is very happy and jumpy.

Phyllis replied:

When we first found her, she was extremely shy and sad, but on our future visits to the home of our friends in West Virginia, she was quite lively and happy (and fat!)

Shiloh Christmas Movie?

Comment:

I loved all your movies, but it just dawned on me that there are only 3 movies!
What happened to A Shiloh Christmas?

Phyllis replied:

It sometimes takes a very long time for a movie to be made.  The producers keep talking about the possibility of making a Shiloh Christmas movie.  They also talk about refilming all four of the books so that they can use the same characters in the books (child actors grow up fast, and don’t look the same if they don’t film them one movie after another).  They also talk about making the books into a TV series….   I don’t have much say in it.  I just concentrate on writing books.

shiloh

comment:

Dear Ms. Naylor i am a 4th grade student and I really really love your book Shiloh. Visit me at Perelman Jewish Day School Stern Center please come some day.  What gave you the idea for the character of Judd?

Phyllis replied:

There has to be conflict in a story in order to create suspense.  And the fact that I found a dog, who appeared to have been badly mistreated, immediately gave me an idea for the story of his owner.

 

Judd was terrible

Comment:

I am a fourth grade student at Perelman Jewish Day School Stern Center and I really wanted to ask you a few questions and make a few comments. Why did you make Judd so terrible at the beginning? I thought that it was great that Judd ended up very kind.
Also, can you please visit my school before one year from now in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2020. My class made epilogues and mine made Shiloh almost get killed by Judd but then Judd was actually making Shiloh a superhero costume. Please write back quickly!

Phyllis replied:

If you read all four of the books of the Shiloh quartet, you’ll see that the relationship between Judd and Marty changes a lot.  And it does take a long time before Marty feels he can trust him.  If Judd hadn’t been so terrible in the beginning, would you have gotten so emotionally involved in the story?

A queistoin

comment:

How did you get the idea of righting shiloh

Phyllis replied:

I found such a dog in West Virginia and couldn’t get her out of my mind.  Our friends later adopted her.

Great Book

Comment:

Did you adopt the dog you met in West Virginia? or did you just name him? What happened to the dog? We just read the book Shiloh in our fourth grade class. I really enjoyed every part of the book.

Phyllis replied:

After we left for home in Bethesda, our West Virginia friends wrote us to say that the dog kept hanging around their place so they fed her (she was a female), bathed her, removed the ticks on her body, took her to the vet for shots, and named her Clover.

All about Shiloh

\Comment:

where did you get the idea for Shiloh? How long did it take you to write Shiloh? My last question is was Shiloh your first book?

Phyllis replied:

I had found such a dog in West Virginia, and felt I just had to write a story.  I wrote the first draft of the book in about six weeks.  Then I rewrote it many times.  No, this was not my first book.  I have written about 140 books.

Shiloh was great!

Comment:

Shiloh was great! Marty was a great character. I liked that Shiloh was based on a real dog named Clover. I’m glad that Marty saves Shiloh from Judd in the first book. This book was really, really good! I plan on reading it to my dog. It was amazing how Marty caught Judd doing something ILLEGAL! Please make book 5! Thank you for writing the book!

Phyllis replied:

I hope your dog enjoys the book!  Maybe you could write book 5 for him.

Obsessed with Shiloh

Comment:

I have recently finished Shiloh, I am obsessed with his story the book is very inspiring. I need to read all of Shilohs books and maybe some of your other creations. You have inspired me to read many other dog books. You are an amazing writer and I wish you all well.

Phyllis replied:

I think you would enjoy all four books.  They continue the story and tell what finally happens between Marty and Judd Travers.

Book suggestion

Comment:

I have been reading the Shiloh series to our 8 year old grandson and 7 year old granddaughter. We live in Annapolis, Md and they are in St Augustine, Florida but we are able to visit frequently. They talk about the Shiloh books all the time..the characters…what will happen next. I .cannot thank you enough for creating these wonderful and compelling stories for children.
My question is can you recommend one of your books we could try after we finish Shiloh Christmas? I can’t wait for our granddaughter to be ready for the Alice books but I think she is probably too young right now. Might you have a suggestion?
Thanks so much . Our grandchildren were amazed that you live only an hour away from us. Also I showed them the you tube in which you explain how you got the idea for Shiloh. They want to start writing stories too. Hope you are enjoying the lovely fall weather.

Phyllis replied:

I think they would enjoy hearing you read both the cat-pack books (about two housecats who make their escape) and the boys vs. girls books.   Begin the cat books with “The Grand Escape”, and the boys vs girls books with “The Boys Start the War.”   I get really good comments for both sets of books.