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...

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Greetings, Dear Reader! I'm delighted to share a very special post with you in this week before Christmas, and in celebration of our very successful first year. Our publisher, Betsy Cordes, interviews someone with an important connection to our book's author, Albert Bigelow Paine. Enjoy, and may you have a very Merry Christmas!   This project has had lots of really happy surprises for me, but one of the biggest has been the opportunity to connect with Stephen Bigelow Cushman, the great-grandson of Albert Bigelow Paine (author of Mr. Dog’s Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn). Stephen Cushman is a professor of English at the University of Virginia, specializing in American poetry. Early last month, after a bit of getting...

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Happy Spring Greetings, Folks! We hope you’ve had a cozy hibernation. I’m emerging from my own long winter’s nap to share the latest news here at the Old Hollow Tree. I’m quite proud to tell you that our illustrator, Adam McCauley, was recently recognized by the Society of Illustrators, in part for his work on our forthcoming book! Adam’s “Mr. Dog Spins a Tale” (seen below, left) appeared along with several of his illustrations in the Society’s 56th annual exhibition in New York City last month, and will be included in the annual publication this fall. We’re thrilled for the honor this brings to Adam and to our book! Top: Poster-sized reproductions of Adam’s “Mr. Dog Spins a Tale” and...

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I'm Betsy of That's So Enterprises (proud soon-to-be publishers of Mr. Dog's Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn) and I'm delighted to share this introduction to our book and our story. Every Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember, my dad has read aloud to my family a wonderful story, "Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn," by Albert Bigelow Paine. Originally published in 1898, the story centers on a group of animals who reside at The Hollow Tree Inn and their rascally friend, Mr. Dog, who decides to surprise the Hollow Tree folks by playing Santa Claus. Christmas Eve 1996: my dad reads the story to us with my son, Henry (in his pirate phase), in his lap. My dad...

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