Shiloh Blog

writing

Comment:

Where do you live now

Phyllis replied:

I live in Gaithersburg, Maryland

Shiloh question

Comment:

How did you come up with the title?

 

Phyllis replied:

I found a little abused dog like Shiloh in the small community of Shiloh, West Virginia.  So I decided to name the dog in my story by the place where I had found it.

Shiloh question

comment:

how did you come up with this book?

Phyllis replied:

I met an abused dog like Shiloh, so I wrote the book

Hoosier project questions

Notice to students:

Why are each of you repeating your question a dozen times?  This is making a great deal of work for me.  Please send your questions to me just once.  It is not necessary to keep sending it again and again.    phyllis

 

 

project questions

comment:

I am reserching you for my famous hoosier project and I need to know where you went to middle school, high school, and collage. thank you for your time! By the way I love the shiloh series and am getting ready to read the rest of your books but do you have any suggestions for a place to buy a shiloh stuffed animal? Thanks for your books and time!

 

Phyllis replied:

By the time we moved from Indiana to Illinois, I was entering seventh grade.  I went to junior high (middle school) at Washington School in Joliet, then Joliet Township High School, then Joliet Junior College, and the next two years of college at American University in Washington, DC.   I’m sorry, but I don’t know where you would find a stuffed Shiloh animal, but I imagine any little beagle would do.

Shiloh

comment:

In the chapter when he gave the rotten food to Shiloh why didnt he feel sick?

Phyllis replied:

I don’t think that anyone gave rotten food to Shiloh.  Old food may be stale or discolored, but that doesn’t mean it is rotten.  Marty cares too much for Shiloh to give him something that would hurt him.

Read in a specific order?

Comment:

I have a student close to finishing Shiloh. She is wondering if there is a specific order to reading the rest of the series or if the order isn’t important to the overall story line.
Thank you!

 

Phyllis replied:

I’m glad you asked.  Although each of the four books could be read at any time, it’s one continued story, so it’s best to read them this way:  Shiloh,  Shiloh Season, Saving Shiloh and A Shiloh Christmas.

We absolutely LOVED it!!!

Comment:

We just finished reading your book, Shiloh, as our class read aloud, and we absolutely LOVED it!!! What a talented writer you are! Are you going to write another book soon about Shiloh besides the other three books you have already written about him? We plan to read Shiloh Season next.

Phyllis replied:

I think I said everything I had to say about Marty and his dog in the four books I’ve written about them.  I’m so glad your class enjoyed them, and I’m glad you’re reading them in the order they were written, because it’s one continued story.

Questions for Shiloh from a 3rd grader

Comment:

I am in the middle of an author study and I choose your book Shiloh. I have a few questions for you about Shiloh. What inspired you to wright Shiloh? How did you come up with the name Shiloh? How many dogs do you have? Whats your favorite book you wrote ?What do you plan do after you retired?

 

Phyllis replied:

I was inspired to write the first book when I came across such a dog in Shiloh, West Virginia.  And I named the book, and the dog, after the little community of Shiloh.  I don’t have a dog now, but we grew up with a Springer Spaniel.  Shiloh is one of my favorite books I’ve written, and I don’t ever plan to retire.  Writing is my hobby as well as my profession.  I’ll write as long as I can hold a pencil.

I want a dog named Shiloh

Comment:

I love your book Shiloh! I want to get a dog and name it Shiloh. I watched the movie and read the book, but the book is better than the movie. Is Shiloh still alive? When will you write another book and what will it be about? Maybe someday I will write a book like yours.

 

Phyllis replied:

The real dog who inspired the Shiloh books was adopted by friends of ours in West Virginia.  It was a female, and they named her Clover.  She died in 2000, and the vet estimated she was about eleven years old when she died.  So we know that she had a very happy life after we found her, though we’ll never know what all she went through before she was adopted.  There are four books in the Shiloh quartet, so I hope you get a chance to read them all.