The Paths you Took in Shiloh

Comment:

I am writing to you today because I want to talk about your book, “Shiloh”. First of all, I want to say that “Shiloh” was an amazing book and I would rate it 10 out of 10 stars. One question I have is; How did you come up with that ending? It’s a very good one and if I wrote this book it would not be as good as yours. The biggest surprise for me was when you mentioned Baker’s dog because no one thought about it and then all the sudden he makes a huge part of the story. I also want to know; Was hard choosing the paths you took in the story? I think if I was an author I would have trouble thinking of the paths and choices to make.

Phyllis replied:

I’m delighted that you gave it such a high rating.  When I started writing the book, I began by wanting to know how an eleven year old boy could convince a man like Judd to let him have his dog.  But as I got to know my characters and try to put myself in the place of each one, they acted just as they did in the story, because that seemed like the most logical way they would behave and feel.  It was hard to write about the Bakers’ dog and its attack, but yes, Marty’s decision to hide the dog had its consequences.  If you read all four books, which are like a continued story, you will see that Marty had other choices to make, and that all his problems weren’t solved once he got  Shiloh from Judd.