What’s a girl to do when the publishing world has been turned upside down by ebooks, when publishers who say they want something fresh and new really want Law and Order, Topeka and when the price of books have gotten so steep despite the bad economy that it feels unfair to the reader?  Self-publish an ebook, that’s what.  With an ebook, I could make the book delicious but keep the price low.  I could reach more readers and make a little dough to keep Sky in bully sticks.  (You have your addiction, she has hers.)

But wait.  I could create what I’ve long wanted to – an all graphic dog training book.  I could keep the training effective, humane, easy-to-do, and, because the book is graphic, memorable.  But Photoshopping, formatting, all that tech stuff?  No way.

So the problem was, how do I find a copacetic epublisher to do all the things that make my eyeballs roll up into my head, someone I could work with who would make great suggestions and listen to my ideas, someone who would feel about the book – and about dogs – the way I do.

No problem.

Larry Block (Manhattan Noir, 8 Million Ways to Die, A Walk Among the Tombstones and about a gazillion other wonderful books) said he was going to self publish a book with Telemachus Press.

Aha.

And that’s how I found Steve and Claudia Jackson, Steve here with one of their rescue dogs, Jackson.  Yup, Jackson Jackson, because Jackson was already his name before they adopted him.  Is that Karma, or what!  And is this?  Steve and Claudia and their staff were professional, warm and attentive and gave my book the superb care they would have given to one of their own.

Dog Smart, The Art of Training Your Dog is now available, for $4.99, at the iTunes store and for the Kindle.  It will soon also be available for the Nook and there will shortly be another version on Amazon that you can buy and download to your PC or Mac if you don’t use an e-reader.  Dog Smart can help you make your dog an even better friend than he is now, showing you how to teach him all the basics, solve your dog problems, communicate more effectively, understand canine body language and learn to play a variety of games and even do some nifty tricks.  And if the writing bug should strike and if you should write the book you’ve always wanted to, the way I did, now you know where to go, to my hardworking publisher at Telemachus Press.