I Thought You Were Dead by Pete Nelson

They say Man's Best Friend is a Dog...

They Must Have Been Talking About Stella!

Last night I went to an author event at my local Indie Bookstore, Books on the Common,to listen to Pete Nelson talk about his new book, I Thought You Were Dead. Funny, engaging and a real down-to-earth guy, Pete talked about the love for his dog Alice (who was the inspiration for Stella in his book), Seedy bars (research material), and how it took 15 years & 1200 pages to tell the story of Paul, a guy whose life seems to be one disaster after another, and his faithful companion Stella, who gives him unbiased advise on practically everything. Oh, and BTW, Stella is half German Shepherd and half Yellow Lab, but that never stops her from sharing her opinions. Of course over time Pete edited the book down to 261 pages, and this week it was finally published! And Independent Booksellers (Indies) have chosen I Thought You Were Dead as an Indie Next List pick for April! I've started to read this and have found myself laughing out loud at some of Stella's great observations. I'll be reading this book over the weekend, but thought I would share this with you before my "official" review. I just love the idea of Stella sharing her wisdom with Paul and with us readers! But there's more to I Thought You Were Dead than a dog who's a great conversationalist... Here's what the publishers have to say about I Thought You Were Dead...

Back of the Book... For Paul Gustavson, a hack writer for the wildly popular For Morons series, life is a succession of obstacles. His wife has left him, his father has suffered a debilitating stroke, his girlfriend is dating another man, he has impotency issues, and his overachieving brother invested his parents' money in stocks that tanked. Still, Paul has his friends at Bay State bar, a steady line of cocktails, and a new pair of running shoes (he’s promised himself to get in shape). And then there’s Stella, the one constant in his life, who gives him sage advice, doesn’t judge him, and gives him unconditional love. However, Stella won't accompany Paul into his favorite dive bar. In I Thought You Were Dead, author Pete Nelson delivers a novel that is all at once heartwarming, heartbreaking, and heart-wrenchingly funny. Most of all, it's a story that proves that when a good dog is by your side—especially one with whom you can have an engaging conversation—life can be full of surprises.

The "Full" Review coming soon... Happy Reading! Suzanne...