Jennifer Freedman brings readers of all ages a heart-warming tale of selflessness, values, and perseverance with Toby’s Tale. This is the story of a wonderful Schnauzer puppy who is looking for a family and a home to call his. On his journey, he is faced with the best and the worst the world has to offer as he makes his way into adulthood and towards a love that can last forever.
Toby’s Tale is full of valuable lessons and a lot of heart. The story makes the best of its colorful, memorable cast of animal and human characters to tell a beautiful journey that takes the readers through moments of love and kindness, and cruelty to make an impact. It does not shy away from the dangers of the journey home but ultimately creates a heart-warming narrative that brings a lot of emotions and wonder.
Toby’s Tale is perfect for young readers and especially those who love dogs and animals. It is a story with adventure and plenty of heart that centers on values like tenacity, love, loyalty, and family. Toby is looking for a home, a safe place to belong to, and his inner strength guides him towards this objective despite the many hardships on the way. Readers of all ages and walks of life will sympathize with his journey and will surely become attached to this brave and faithful dog.
Toby’s Tale is a story that can be especially enjoyed by those who love dogs and is meant for a primary audience of kids and teens. However, readers of all ages will find something to engage them in this book. From the charming cover to the delightful story, the book is a great option for those who want to feel good but don’t shy away from harder topics or harder, emotional moments. Toby’s Tale features meaningful choices, a lot of values, and plenty of heart.
Jennifer Freedman is a veteran journalist. She has worked for many years crafting powerful narratives and now is offering her debut novel. Freedman has worked all across the world, including in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. In 2020, she moved to Costa Rica and now starts each day with a gorgeous natural landscape and tropical birds singing outside of her window.
Toby’s Tale can make a great present for a child reader or a dog lover. As a story, it fully immerses the audience in the world Freedman shapes with a lot of skill. It allows everyone to experience everything, from happiness to hardship, through the eyes of a resourceful and charming pup as he journeys to adulthood and to a family that will truly become his. With a sweet cover and plenty of emotions, the book will not leave readers indifferent.
You can find Toby’s Tale on Amazon and get it as a paperback or an ebook. Make sure to stay tuned for future releases from Freedman and check out everything that this wonderful story has to offer. It is sure to become a new favorite for many.
We had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Freedman. Here are the excerpts from the interview.
Hi Jennifer, Great to have you with us today! Please share with our readers about yourself.
I’m a journalist, author, and mother of three beautiful children. I’ve worked as an editorial consultant since 2015 and am based in Costa Rica.
I feel like I’ve always had a story to tell. I decided around age 12 that I was going to be a journalist – a foreign correspondent, actually. I also started writing poetry when I was a child, so I guess writing was in my blood. I spent my career as a print journalist in Europe, the United States, and the Middle East.
But having children kick-started my decision to start writing books. When I was pregnant with my youngest daughter, I suddenly came up with the idea of Toby’s Tale and began writing it when I was on maternity leave. Or, it wrote itself. I didn’t sit down and prepare an outline and a plot; I just sort of went where the story took me. It turned into a much bigger project than I expected – a 70,000 word novel for middle school children. It was really fun to work with another style of writing where I could use my imagination, be creative and inject emotion and personality into my writing.
Please tell us more about your journey.
I’m not very good at expressing myself verbally, but written words come to me naturally. And children’s books made sense to me – I wanted to write the sort of book that I could read to my children that taught lessons and values while still being entertaining and fun and riveting. The kind of book that I would have loved reading (or having read to me) when I was a child. So again, my motivation was tied to becoming a mother.
Writing allows my words to flow freely, for my feelings to take shape, and for my creative juices to flow. It’s a wonderful outlet – and especially writing fiction because, as I said, it’s so different from journalistic writing. Even ‘bad’ writing is valuable because it teaches you how to be a better writer.
Being an author is a journey that has both pros and cons: being able to create anything that I want to create – an imaginary world, visions of the future, a world that is more ideal than the one we live in. An author can teach lessons, entertain, stimulate, bring people to tears or make them laugh. Once a writer starts writing, anything is possible! But it’s also time-consuming, and writing takes a lot of patience and dedication. And it’s not for the thin-skinned: while your friends and family may tell you that your writing is amazing, it may not be nearly as good as they say. And reviewers can be brutal, though that, too, can be a learning lesson.
Please tell us more about your book, Toby’s Tale.
Toby’s Tale is, first and foremost, an adventure. The basic storyline is simple: A Schnauzer puppy sets off on his own, leaving his mother and sister behind to protect them, to find a forever home. But that’s just the starting point.
Toby’s Tale centers on strength, tenacity, and love – I like to say it’s a learning experience shared in a visionary, fun way with valuable lessons about life. Just like a child, Toby learns about friendship, loyalty, and kindness, but he also experiences cruelty and hopelessness. He befriends a lovable old Beagle named Sam, a Confucius-spouting Pekingese named Fei-Fei, and a sweet but sad Irish Setter named Rosemary, but he also has to overcome challenges including a spiteful animal control officer, homelessness, and hunger. He has to make some very hard choices, but he learns the importance of doing the right thing. I think the key lesson for readers of Toby’s Tale is the power of love, inner strength, and tenacity. Even when Toby is really down, he doesn’t give up.
What else are you working on now?
I’m writing the second book in the Toby series – this one is called Toby’s Travels. Its main theme is diversity: learning love and compassion for others, even if they are different, overcoming biases (in Toby’s case, toward cats!), and learning to stand up to bullies and for what is right. And my first children’s picture book, Ashley’s Rescue: A Miracle Breakdown, will be published by Pen It Publications in the coming weeks.
What strategies helped you become successful in your journey?
I suppose it’s some of the very same things that helped Toby on his journey – never giving up and having the belief that I’d “make it.” Everyone needs to understand that life simply has its ups and downs, and we hold a lot of power in determining whether the ups outnumber the downs. As Thomas Edison said,
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
Any message for our readers.
I would like to encourage readers to leave reviews for authors – good, bad, whatever. Reviews help us in so many ways, from improving our writing to knowing that someone out there enjoyed what we wrote. Authors love to hear from their readers, so don’t feel shy about shooting us a message.
Fantastic! So tell us, how can people find out more about you?
Check out my website. I try to keep followers up on my activities via social media as well, so you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
Thank you so much, Jennifer, for giving us your precious time! We wish you all the best for your journey ahead!
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