As I’ve written before, my dad has read Mr. Dog’s Christmas to me every Christmas Eve since I was two years old. I don’t remember those very early readings, of course. In fact, I don’t have recollections of Christmas until my sixth—a Christmas that’s immortalized in my family for an incident that ended with me being sent to my room. It’s also the Christmas that marked my transition from believer to playing-along-er. One of many magical Christmases past. “My parents heartily encouraged believing. They went all out to make Christmas a truly magical experience. Among the many weird and wonderful rituals they established was the burning of the wish list.” By my sixth year I was beginning to explore the...

Read more →

Halloween Greetings, dear readers! I’m delighted to be back, kicking off our fourth year of festivities with Mr. Dog! It’s been a wonderful whirlwind since our thrilling Kickstarter launch back in 2014. Each new holiday season brings lots of inspiration, rekindling my dream of sharing this beloved Christmas story with an even wider audience.   We have some fun new things up our sleeves this year, including… recipes for craft cocktails and savory snacks worthy of a Hollow Tree celebration, an all-new read-aloud advent calendar (Do you have a furry friend or two in your home? We have a fun new idea and will invite your participation. Stay tuned for details!), our first-ever Gift Guide (everything one needs for a...

Read more →

Though I grew up loving Albert Bigelow Paine’s “Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn,” it wasn’t until later in life that I learned of the existence of three volumes of Hollow Tree stories, a generous series featuring all the familiar characters from the Christmas tale—and many, many more. As I became familiar with Paine's series, I was a little surprised to learn that Mr. Dog wasn’t always on such great terms with the Hollow Tree folks. If you only know Mr. Dog and friends through our book, you’re kind of in the same boat I was. Maybe you’ve wondered about that line “You see, Mr. Dog liked them all now…”. It certainly gives a clue that there’s a backstory, doesn’t...

Read more →

I am eternally grateful to my brother, Jason, for inspiring me to publish "Mr. Dog’s Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn." As I wrote to him on the book’s acknowledgements page: “...this book simply wouldn’t be, were it not for your sly suggestion to me one Christmas morning.” Though Jason carefully avoids the limelight, I know what a softie he is about "Mr. Dog’s Christmas" and I really wanted him to share his thoughts here on the blog. So I pestered and guilted him the way only a big sister can. He relented and delivered this: the most beautiful recollection of our childhood Christmases—and Mr. Dog’s place there—that I could have hoped for. Thank you once again, little brother. ~Betsy...

Read more →

Happy New Year! We hope this finds you enjoying the first days of 2015, with memories of Christmas lingering pleasantly. Our heads are still spinning from the whirlwind of October, November and December, when our books finally arrived and we were able to share the beautiful result of so many months of hard work. We thought you might enjoy these “out-takes.” They may not be the most professional photos... but they definitely capture the joyful, independent, bootstrapped nature of our family endeavor! October 18th: Betsy tentatively opens the advance copy, just received from the printer. A scary and thrilling moment! October 27th: Jim gets his first look at the book. Overcome with pride. Martini at the ready! November 3rd: The...

Read more →