Gabi Justice's Blog
April 7, 2022
A Letter from the Author
Dear Parents/Teachers:
Thinking about adding Dog Girl to your pre-teen’s or teen’s summer reading list but want to know what to expect?
Firstly, Dog Girl is fictious entertainment. And although I’ve had readers go out of their way to tell me how they loved Kendall and related completely with her mental health trials, I’m not a professional in the mental health field. When a reader expresses how Kendall’s story touched their heart because they too suffer from social anxiety, I’m thrilled because it means I did my job well … BUT, Kendall’s journey is not meant to be a guideline to be followed. I’m not a behavioral therapist. I’m a writer, a graduate, a mom, an observer. I’m a watcher who writes what I see and hopefully my words make you feel something special.
Secondly, Dog Girl is a coming-of-age romance between Kendall, an awkward girl who suffers from severe social anxiety, and Ryan, a young man who seems to have everything. By the end of the story, you realize no one’s life is perfect, not even handsome Ryan. Everyone has heartaches and obstacles to overcome.
The story is told from Kendall’s first-person point of view. Quickly, you’ll notice her idiosyncrasies. The alarm on her phone constantly buzzing to keep her on schedule because structure keeps her composed. Her frantic counting when she feels anxious or her deep breathing to calm herself. She has a journal to work out her thoughts in writing. And lastly, a voice in her head she’s named Peter Parker. Her anxiety began at age eleven, and well, she loved Spiderman. Naming her anxiety after someone she loved was a coping mechanism that worked. However, at age seventeen, Peter can feel more like an inner demon ready to explode than a friend to help her cope.
Dog Girl starts at a point in Kendall’s life when she’s making great progress and managing her anxiety. She’s worked hard to raise all her grades in her classes, and she no longer skips school. But all the forward progress teeters and threatens to crumble once a video of her near-death rescue of a pit bull tied to railroad tracks goes viral. Also, heartthrob high school senior Ryan volunteers at the rescue center and his constant presence adds to her stress. For a girl with severe social anxiety, the attention is too much to handle. And how she deals with it is the story of Dog Girl. She has her ups and downs, but ultimately comes out on top … BUT, the happy ending that I wrote does not mean all of her troubles vanished and suddenly she’s cured of mental illness. I wanted the story to end at a high point in Kendall’s life. Hopefully, her life after Dog Girl will continue its positive path. That’s for the reader’s imagination to decide.
So, what else can you expect—consider a PG-13 movie. A few curse words, a little sexual referencing—they are hormonal teenagers after all—and a small amount of violence since they are rescuing abused dogs and there is a ring of criminals on the loose. It’s a teen sleuth story, as well as a contemporary romance.
Best Regards,
Gabi
Thinking about adding Dog Girl to your pre-teen’s or teen’s summer reading list but want to know what to expect?
Firstly, Dog Girl is fictious entertainment. And although I’ve had readers go out of their way to tell me how they loved Kendall and related completely with her mental health trials, I’m not a professional in the mental health field. When a reader expresses how Kendall’s story touched their heart because they too suffer from social anxiety, I’m thrilled because it means I did my job well … BUT, Kendall’s journey is not meant to be a guideline to be followed. I’m not a behavioral therapist. I’m a writer, a graduate, a mom, an observer. I’m a watcher who writes what I see and hopefully my words make you feel something special.
Secondly, Dog Girl is a coming-of-age romance between Kendall, an awkward girl who suffers from severe social anxiety, and Ryan, a young man who seems to have everything. By the end of the story, you realize no one’s life is perfect, not even handsome Ryan. Everyone has heartaches and obstacles to overcome.
The story is told from Kendall’s first-person point of view. Quickly, you’ll notice her idiosyncrasies. The alarm on her phone constantly buzzing to keep her on schedule because structure keeps her composed. Her frantic counting when she feels anxious or her deep breathing to calm herself. She has a journal to work out her thoughts in writing. And lastly, a voice in her head she’s named Peter Parker. Her anxiety began at age eleven, and well, she loved Spiderman. Naming her anxiety after someone she loved was a coping mechanism that worked. However, at age seventeen, Peter can feel more like an inner demon ready to explode than a friend to help her cope.
Dog Girl starts at a point in Kendall’s life when she’s making great progress and managing her anxiety. She’s worked hard to raise all her grades in her classes, and she no longer skips school. But all the forward progress teeters and threatens to crumble once a video of her near-death rescue of a pit bull tied to railroad tracks goes viral. Also, heartthrob high school senior Ryan volunteers at the rescue center and his constant presence adds to her stress. For a girl with severe social anxiety, the attention is too much to handle. And how she deals with it is the story of Dog Girl. She has her ups and downs, but ultimately comes out on top … BUT, the happy ending that I wrote does not mean all of her troubles vanished and suddenly she’s cured of mental illness. I wanted the story to end at a high point in Kendall’s life. Hopefully, her life after Dog Girl will continue its positive path. That’s for the reader’s imagination to decide.
So, what else can you expect—consider a PG-13 movie. A few curse words, a little sexual referencing—they are hormonal teenagers after all—and a small amount of violence since they are rescuing abused dogs and there is a ring of criminals on the loose. It’s a teen sleuth story, as well as a contemporary romance.
Best Regards,
Gabi
January 25, 2021
Word of Mouth
Nothing beats word of mouth, and in the age of big tech, that means social media influencers. As writers and readers, we love to look at their beautiful posts or videos—books cast as models between burning candles, twinkling lights, delicious lattes, cozy blankets or as actors in fun skits set to music. You want to jump into the scene and curl up with the book on display. Or maybe you've developed a friendship via likes, comments, and DMs with a particular bookstagrammer or book tuber. I know I have.
As a writer, you all are a lifeline to readers. As a reader, you connect us to great books. My latest book purchase, Lauren Graham's Talking As Fast As I Can From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, was made because I saw it on @becksbookshelves Instagram. She's one of the wonderful women I've met on Instagram who loves books and continuously posts about them. One of those books was mine, Dog Girl. As for Lauren Graham's book, I didn't know it existed and still wouldn't if not for Becks. I love Gilmore Girls! She encouraged me to buy it so we could chat about it. See how fun these bookstagram relationships are. Maybe since she read and posted about Dog Girl there is a reader out in the world reading it and possibly chatting about it with Becks or someone else. Word of mouth!
As a writer that is not a well-known name, word of mouth is invaluable. So please, keep up the good work, whether it's on Goodreads, Instagram, Facebook, etc. spread the word along with a review. It matters, and we appreciate it! Dog Girl Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls
As a writer, you all are a lifeline to readers. As a reader, you connect us to great books. My latest book purchase, Lauren Graham's Talking As Fast As I Can From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, was made because I saw it on @becksbookshelves Instagram. She's one of the wonderful women I've met on Instagram who loves books and continuously posts about them. One of those books was mine, Dog Girl. As for Lauren Graham's book, I didn't know it existed and still wouldn't if not for Becks. I love Gilmore Girls! She encouraged me to buy it so we could chat about it. See how fun these bookstagram relationships are. Maybe since she read and posted about Dog Girl there is a reader out in the world reading it and possibly chatting about it with Becks or someone else. Word of mouth!
As a writer that is not a well-known name, word of mouth is invaluable. So please, keep up the good work, whether it's on Goodreads, Instagram, Facebook, etc. spread the word along with a review. It matters, and we appreciate it! Dog Girl Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls
September 29, 2020
September 18, 2020
Meeting My Fictional Protagonist in Real Life
We need more mercy in the world today. If you turn on the news all you see are confusing numbers of a cunning virus, people shooting people, mobs destroying property. It’s scary and heartbreaking. But today I saw hope in the hazel eyes of a rescued pit bull named Basil. For as cruel as humans had been to her, she still wagged her tail and nuzzled her nose up to me, a stranger. Why? … Because of Mercy Full Project!
Her name is Heydi and she’s the real-life version of Kendall, the protagonist in my book Dog Girl. Like Kendall she fights to save dogs. Unlike Kendall, she grew up in Columbia. After years of volunteering and fostering, and with a little encouragement from her husband Nash, she’s now on the other side. Only a year ago, September 2019, she opened her own nonprofit corporation. And honestly, it’s just in time with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Heydi explains, “Before people would take a dog to the shelter. The shelters are not taking any animals unless it is a hazard to the community or unless it’s a dog that is … falling apart … Okay, so if I don’t have a job; I don’t have food for my family; I cannot pay my car payment; I cannot pay my mortgage. How am I going to support the animal? Like I said we’re in a crisis … a social crisis. It just goes from a family to the animal to what’s happening in society. We’re going through a moment in history where we are forgetting we are human … They throw the animal in the street. I kid you not, literally throw.”
As a child, Heydi harassed kids in the streets of Columbia when they chased chickens or pulled cats’ tails. She threw bricks through her neighbor’s window to stop the neighbor from scalding stray dogs with hot water. She hid strays at her grandmother’s house. She was surrounded by a society unsympathetic to animals, but indifference never found its way into her heart. In fact, her experience bred the opposite and fueled her drive to make the world a better place.
As I sat with my daughter, Julia, at Khawa coffee in downtown Tampa, I saw Heydi’s wide smile and kind eyes before I saw the Mercy Full Project logo on her shirt. I hadn’t met her yet, but I knew I’d adore her from her welcoming nature and her social media posts. With my book Dog Girl only months away from publication, I had been searching for potential readers on Instagram and stumbled upon Mercy Full Project. When I realized it was right here in my backyard, I hit follow and what I saw made me cry happy and sad tears. I’d found my protagonist in flesh and bone.
I had to meet her. I had to donate.
Most of us love dogs. We get a puppy. We feed it, love it, take care of it, maybe even write a book with dog characters. But Heydi’s love for and commitment to animals goes above and beyond. Her daily routine and years full of stories exhausted me. I honestly do not think she sleeps.
After coffee and a long chat, we headed to one of her foster’s home. Petra lives on a few acres of land with horses, goats, and dogs. Like Heydi, she has devoted herself to animal rescue. Several dogs came trotting up to meet us. Petra welcomed us inside to meet the rescued pit, Basil. I got a good look at the open wounds on Basil’s paws as she laid in my lap, not an ounce of aggression in her. I can’t imagine the abuse this poor dog went through and yet she showered us with loving kisses. If there are angels, then this dog is for sure one of them. And Heydi and Petra have seen many dogs with stories of horrible cruelty.
Before we leave to head to another foster, Heydi opens the back hatch of her car to give Petra some necessities for Basil. Donated and purchased dog food, cat litter, animal medications, blankets, and more pile high in the back of her car. I doubt Heydi can see out of her rearview window. Heydi spends her spare time gathering these supplies and taking them to her fosters. And the route is miles and miles long. She treks from Orlando to Sarasota to Tampa to Miami. Can you imagine the cost of all of this? Plus, vet bills!
If you think this is Heydi’s full time job, think again. She’s fully employed as a Human Resources professional. Full time job, full time wife, full time daughter, and at one point she had twenty dogs in her little apartment.
At the coffee shop, I had asked her why she does it? She referenced her relationship with God. She also recounted the heartbreaking story that was her tipping point to become a facilitator. A dog sick with Parvo died in her arms at the intersection of Bearss Avenue and I-275 in Tampa as she sat in the passenger seat while Nash sped to the urgent care. “I saw his soul leave his body and I was devasted.” The grief lingered inside her for six months and sparked Mercy Full Project.
Something inside Heydi longs to save them and usually the worst ones. Nash gave her a grin then looked to me and explained that she will always find the animal with a broken leg or the one too mean to be wanted by anyone else. As of now, Mercy Full Project has adopted out one hundred and forty animals and currently houses fifty-five animals in fosters. One day she hopes to have her own facility. A place where dogs will reside until adoption if a foster home is unavailable. A place larger than her apartment or car to store the food, medicines, blankets, and such.
As Julia and I listened to her stories, she smiled wide and Nash nodded his head. Like us, he’s amazed and inspired. It takes a special person to wade through the thick inhumanity and persevere. Not to mention the occasional prejudice. She recalled a person that had reached out to Mercy Full Project to surrender an animal. As she explained the process to this person, the paperwork and such, he became angry. He didn’t like her accent and instead of having patience and trying to understand her or why all the red tape was necessary, he lashed out with racist words and told her to go back to her own country. Of course, my mouth gaped open, but she just shrugged and said, “If I let all these things get to me, I’d go crazy.” She also finds peace in the fact that there are so many good people that do help her and her nonprofit organization.
She has a mission, and Nash supports her all the way. They laughed about when they first met. He’s a car dealer and had business in Miami. He was dressed in a fine suit, driving a beautiful, new car while she sat in the passenger seat holding a newly rescued dog that had just pooped all over her. Again, Heydi shrugged and said, “He knew what he was getting into from the start.”
I laugh at the similarity of my two main characters first encounter. In Dog Girl, Kendall face plants in the mud trying to train a rambunctious Bull Terrier when good-looking, handsomely dressed Ryan strolls up. She’s mortified that she smells of dog poop, but all he sees is a tenacious girl with a big heart. Like I said, Heydi and Kendall share a lot of the same stories and personality quirks.
And as if all of this wasn’t enough, Heydi also feeds and provides for the local homeless. She’s adopted a park to clean and maintain in the heart of a less fortunate area of Tampa. This Dog Girl is amazing, and I hope my dear character Kendall grows up to be just like Heydi.
https://www.instagram.com/mercyfullpr...
Her name is Heydi and she’s the real-life version of Kendall, the protagonist in my book Dog Girl. Like Kendall she fights to save dogs. Unlike Kendall, she grew up in Columbia. After years of volunteering and fostering, and with a little encouragement from her husband Nash, she’s now on the other side. Only a year ago, September 2019, she opened her own nonprofit corporation. And honestly, it’s just in time with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Heydi explains, “Before people would take a dog to the shelter. The shelters are not taking any animals unless it is a hazard to the community or unless it’s a dog that is … falling apart … Okay, so if I don’t have a job; I don’t have food for my family; I cannot pay my car payment; I cannot pay my mortgage. How am I going to support the animal? Like I said we’re in a crisis … a social crisis. It just goes from a family to the animal to what’s happening in society. We’re going through a moment in history where we are forgetting we are human … They throw the animal in the street. I kid you not, literally throw.”
As a child, Heydi harassed kids in the streets of Columbia when they chased chickens or pulled cats’ tails. She threw bricks through her neighbor’s window to stop the neighbor from scalding stray dogs with hot water. She hid strays at her grandmother’s house. She was surrounded by a society unsympathetic to animals, but indifference never found its way into her heart. In fact, her experience bred the opposite and fueled her drive to make the world a better place.
As I sat with my daughter, Julia, at Khawa coffee in downtown Tampa, I saw Heydi’s wide smile and kind eyes before I saw the Mercy Full Project logo on her shirt. I hadn’t met her yet, but I knew I’d adore her from her welcoming nature and her social media posts. With my book Dog Girl only months away from publication, I had been searching for potential readers on Instagram and stumbled upon Mercy Full Project. When I realized it was right here in my backyard, I hit follow and what I saw made me cry happy and sad tears. I’d found my protagonist in flesh and bone.
I had to meet her. I had to donate.
Most of us love dogs. We get a puppy. We feed it, love it, take care of it, maybe even write a book with dog characters. But Heydi’s love for and commitment to animals goes above and beyond. Her daily routine and years full of stories exhausted me. I honestly do not think she sleeps.
After coffee and a long chat, we headed to one of her foster’s home. Petra lives on a few acres of land with horses, goats, and dogs. Like Heydi, she has devoted herself to animal rescue. Several dogs came trotting up to meet us. Petra welcomed us inside to meet the rescued pit, Basil. I got a good look at the open wounds on Basil’s paws as she laid in my lap, not an ounce of aggression in her. I can’t imagine the abuse this poor dog went through and yet she showered us with loving kisses. If there are angels, then this dog is for sure one of them. And Heydi and Petra have seen many dogs with stories of horrible cruelty.
Before we leave to head to another foster, Heydi opens the back hatch of her car to give Petra some necessities for Basil. Donated and purchased dog food, cat litter, animal medications, blankets, and more pile high in the back of her car. I doubt Heydi can see out of her rearview window. Heydi spends her spare time gathering these supplies and taking them to her fosters. And the route is miles and miles long. She treks from Orlando to Sarasota to Tampa to Miami. Can you imagine the cost of all of this? Plus, vet bills!
If you think this is Heydi’s full time job, think again. She’s fully employed as a Human Resources professional. Full time job, full time wife, full time daughter, and at one point she had twenty dogs in her little apartment.
At the coffee shop, I had asked her why she does it? She referenced her relationship with God. She also recounted the heartbreaking story that was her tipping point to become a facilitator. A dog sick with Parvo died in her arms at the intersection of Bearss Avenue and I-275 in Tampa as she sat in the passenger seat while Nash sped to the urgent care. “I saw his soul leave his body and I was devasted.” The grief lingered inside her for six months and sparked Mercy Full Project.
Something inside Heydi longs to save them and usually the worst ones. Nash gave her a grin then looked to me and explained that she will always find the animal with a broken leg or the one too mean to be wanted by anyone else. As of now, Mercy Full Project has adopted out one hundred and forty animals and currently houses fifty-five animals in fosters. One day she hopes to have her own facility. A place where dogs will reside until adoption if a foster home is unavailable. A place larger than her apartment or car to store the food, medicines, blankets, and such.
As Julia and I listened to her stories, she smiled wide and Nash nodded his head. Like us, he’s amazed and inspired. It takes a special person to wade through the thick inhumanity and persevere. Not to mention the occasional prejudice. She recalled a person that had reached out to Mercy Full Project to surrender an animal. As she explained the process to this person, the paperwork and such, he became angry. He didn’t like her accent and instead of having patience and trying to understand her or why all the red tape was necessary, he lashed out with racist words and told her to go back to her own country. Of course, my mouth gaped open, but she just shrugged and said, “If I let all these things get to me, I’d go crazy.” She also finds peace in the fact that there are so many good people that do help her and her nonprofit organization.
She has a mission, and Nash supports her all the way. They laughed about when they first met. He’s a car dealer and had business in Miami. He was dressed in a fine suit, driving a beautiful, new car while she sat in the passenger seat holding a newly rescued dog that had just pooped all over her. Again, Heydi shrugged and said, “He knew what he was getting into from the start.”
I laugh at the similarity of my two main characters first encounter. In Dog Girl, Kendall face plants in the mud trying to train a rambunctious Bull Terrier when good-looking, handsomely dressed Ryan strolls up. She’s mortified that she smells of dog poop, but all he sees is a tenacious girl with a big heart. Like I said, Heydi and Kendall share a lot of the same stories and personality quirks.
And as if all of this wasn’t enough, Heydi also feeds and provides for the local homeless. She’s adopted a park to clean and maintain in the heart of a less fortunate area of Tampa. This Dog Girl is amazing, and I hope my dear character Kendall grows up to be just like Heydi.
https://www.instagram.com/mercyfullpr...
