AUTHOR BRINGS FURRY FRIENDS
Perry, poodles to visit Pulaski
, Staff Writer
02-22-2008
PULASKI - A local author and her two small, furry four-legged friends will make an appearance in downtown Pulaski this Saturday.
Tristan Perry, Montgomery County resident and author of the Furry Tails children’s book series, will visit Coffee Buy the Book this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with her two poodles, Nutmeg and Mocha.
During that time, Perry will be signing copies of the first book in her series, “Furry Tails: The Adventures of Cinnamon Persimmon,” which is available for purchase at Coffee Buy the Book. In addition, free dog biscuits will be given out to both the furry and non-furry, in celebration of International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day.
“Furry Tails: The Adventures of Cinnamon Persimmon,” is a book based around the Atkins family and their new apricot-colored toy poodle named Cinnamon Persimmon.
“Many adventures await Cinnamon, from backyard encounters with other animals to befriending a sick, elderly patient to lift her spirits,” according to a description of the book. “Cinnamon is quite the curious puppy, which gets her into trouble at times. The poodle with the big brown eyes is sure to make both furry and non-furry friends along the way, yet no one could love her more than her new family.”
The first Furry Tails book was published in December 2006. This past September, the book was reviewed in the popular Dog Fancy Magazine and was mentioned as a “Paw Turner.”
Although Perry currently devotes much of her time to writing and promoting Furry Tails, her career began in a very different direction. Perry, who grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, initially earned a degree in nursing. After marrying her husband, Will Perry, a meteorologist, and moving to Kentucky, she earned her master’s degree in community health nursing from the University of Kentucky.
Her husband was eventually transferred through his job to Blacksburg, where Perry has worked in gerontology nursing and teaching nursing at the collegiate level after earning a PhD at Virginia Tech.
At the suggestion of her husband, Perry made the decision to write a children’s book due to the need for a change in her life.
“Furry Tails has been easy to write,” Perry said. “Through earning my PhD, I became more comfortable with writing and even as a kid, I liked writing and always kept a journal. And, I love poodles and I’ve lived with them for a long time. Studying their behavior and interactions really helped me with the research for writing Furry Tails.”
Perry said that the characters in Furry Tails are definitely patterned after her family. The character “Cinnamon Persimmon” is actually based on her sister’s poodle, which was the first poodle to join their family. She noted that she planned to include her poodles Nutmeg and Mocha in future books in the series.
“In the first book, I worked to develop Cinnamon as a character,” Perry said. “Now that I’ve done that, I can focus on her exploits in the rest of the series.”
Perry said she took her husband’s advice once again when he suggested that she call the series “Furry Tails.” It’s a play on the word “tale,” with the idea that poodles have furry, puffy, pom-pom tails.
The mission of the Furry Tails series is to entertain and subtly educate readers, using wholesome family values, Perry said.
“I’ve stuck to my roots and what is important- family, pets, church and education,” Perry said. “You’ve got to be honest in what you write. Readers can tell when you don’t know or are not comfortable with what you’re writing about.”
Perry also said that she hopes her books will encourage children to read and write, which can lead to other skills and interests.
“I still read often because I feel that it makes me a better writer,” Perry said. “My mother encouraged me to read when I was younger, so really, this all started with Nancy Drew.”
As for her most recent project, Perry has switched gears a bit and incorporated her love for hiking and the outdoors by writing a book for adults based upon ghost stories and legends along the Appalachian Trail. Perry noted that this book will be released this summer.
Perry said that she still “keeps a hand in nursing” and also speaks at conferences and events. She said that she also participates in book fairs for local schools and added that if any local schools are interested in having her participate in a book fair or in having her visit, they can contact her at tristan.perry@furrytailbooks.com or visit her website, which she frequently updates, at http://furrytailsbooks.com/.
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