How old was Marty?

Comment:

Me and my classmates read your book Shiloh. Everybody enjoyed your book and didn’t like Judd. I have a couple of questions. One what was your favorite part about Shiloh? My favorite part is, well I have a lot of favorite parts like when Marty first finds Shiloh or when Marty was alone and finally got to really play with Shiloh inside and outside. Two why did you decide to make Judd curse? Three can you make a book about Marty and Shiloh after the three books or is one of the other two books that, I’ve only read the first Shiloh book. My final question is how old was Marty when the first book took place?

Ps, me and my classmates watched your movie today and loved it.

Phyllis replied:

I made Judd cuss a couple of times, because when you portray a character, you have to imagine how he would walk, he would talk, he would look, he would treat other people…and it seemed to me that he was a man who would swear.  I believe that Marty was eleven in the first book.  If you read the final three books, you will see how things end up with Marty, Judd and Shiloh.