Shiloh Blog

How old is Shiloh?

Comment:

How old is Shiloh? Also, you are an amazing author!!! I hope you wright even more Shiloh books!!!!!!!!!!!
Phyllis replied:

Shiloh died in 2000, but she (a female dog) lived to be about 12 years old.

shiloh

comment:

Hello my name is Corey and I have a question for you, do you like the ending of the book or the ending of the movie?

 

Phyllis replied:

I liked both.   But I think the ending of the movie is better than the one they were originally going to use–to have a judge in a courtroom decide who got the dog–Marty or Judd.  I thought that was a terrible idea, so they put on the ending that you saw.

Marty’s fault?

Comment:

Hi I thought your book was great. Also the movie was amazing. Do you have any pets? The movie made me cry. Do you feel sorry for Judd? I do. Do you think that it is Martys fault for taking Shiloh and Shiloh getting hurt? I think that it was not his fault. Thank you for making the  book it was the best book I have ever read. Thank you for your time and I hope you can get back to me.

 

Phyllis replied:

Marty is responsible for having penned the dog up in such a way that the German shepherd could get in and hurt him, but it certainly was the last thing Marty wanted to happen.  Sometimes the decision that seems right to us when we made it turns out to have consequences we didn’t expect.  But I can well understand why Marty felt he would do almost anything to save that dog.

Shiloh movie

Comment:

I loved the book and movie so much. I wish that I could meet you. The movie almost made me cry. Why is Marty’s friend in the book a boy, but in the movie his friend was a girl? Thank you so much for the book and the movie.

 

Phyllis replied;

The movie producer added the girl to the movie.

Shiloh’s ending

Comment:

Did you ever think about the movie not having a bad ending? Did you ever feel bad for Judd? Lastly did you like the book ending better than the movie ending?

 

Phyllis replied:

Obviously, Judd himself suffered abuse when he was young, so how could you not try to understand him?  And if you understand why someone behaves as he does, how can you not feel some sorrow for him?   I think the movie ending worked well for the movie, and my ending worked well for the book.

 

Abused as a puppy?

Comment:

Hi, my name is Ashlyn I am in fourth grade. At my school we were reading the book Shiloh and loved it. We just finished the movie. We loved it but also shed some tears over them. We felt so bad for Shiloh! I have to ask you something. Is Shiloh okay? Was he really abused as a puppy? If so did you ever at one time have to give Shiloh back for a short time period? Well we loved your book and hope to read the following series!

Phyllis replied:

No one really knows what happened to the dog before I found her.   We just knew by the way she was acting when I first approached her that she had been mistreated in the past.  Once our friends adopted her, they claimed she was the happiest dog in West Virginia, and she lived to be about twelve years old.  (She was a female dog, but I changed her to male in the book).

The movie Shiloh

Comment:

Hi. My name is Katie and I was very interested in your book. I was wondering how you came up with the story? I am very curious why the dad was so harsh in the movie and not in the book? What inspired you to write shiloh? I really enjoyed Shioh. That you for your time.

 

Phyllis replied:

I was inspired to write the book because I came across such a dog in  W. Virginia.  The movie director saw the father more harsh than I did.  To me, Marty’s dad was simply tired.  He worked hard, they didn’t have much money, and he felt that the last thing they needed was a dog to feed.

Shiloh story line

Comment:

Shiloh was an amazing book and the movie was great, too. I loved the end of the movie, it was a very intense and I liked it a lot. Was Clover a good dog and did you miss him. How did you come up with story line of Shiloh and how did you come up with Sam’s grandparents tragic story. I think you did a wonderful job on the book and did on the book and did you make the story line for the book. I hope you can get back to me. Bye!

 

Phyllis replied:

I didn’t make a story line when I began the book.  I was just so sad and worried about the little abused dog I saw in West Virginia that I wanted to write about a boy who finds such a dog, and tries to make it his own.  As I got into the story, various scenes came to me, and the story line began to form.  Sam’s grandparents’ tragic story was put in the movie by the producer.  I didn’t even have a girl character named Sam in the book.

The book and movie of shiloh

Comment:

I loved the part at the end of the movie where Judd thinks about letting Shiloh belong to Marty. It was really emotional and me and my friend Audrey had cried over it for a bit.In my opinion, I think it was funny reading about Marty running in zigzags while running away.One question, why is in the book David is a boy and in the movie he is a girl?

 

Phyllis replied:

I’d have to look at the movie again to be sure, but isn’t David Howard, the friend, still in the movie?   The producer added a girl to the movie, just so girls would enjoy it more.  But he didn’t turn David into a girl.

Favorite part

Comment:

Did Shiloh actually got attacked by that dog or was it just acting? It was so sad and scary but that’s what makes books and movies and I really like that in books and movies. My favorite part is……. well I love it all so I can’t chose but I hope you can tell me what your favorite part?

 

Phyllis replied:

In the movie, no dog was hurt.  It was all acting.  My favorite part of the book was when Marty went on working, keeping his part of the bargain, even though Judd said he wouldn’t let him have Shiloh.  It was this that made Judd respect the boy.