MENUMENU
  • About
  • Buy
  • Press
  • Book Clubs
  • Writer Resources
  • Allie Larkin
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • g

Allison Larkin

Internationally Best-Selling Author

You are here: Home / STAY / Thank you!

Thank you!

October 22, 2009 Filed Under: STAY


Thank you SO much for all of your kind words about the cover for STAY! You guys are amazing!

I really love that Argo is on the cover. It wasn’t the original plan, but apparently finding a stock photo of a black German Shepherd isn’t super easy. Since we happen to have a black German Shepherd lying around the house, it worked out well. We took over 1,000 pictures of him and sent them off to Dutton so the amazing designer could work her magic and make that cover.

Since Argo was such a huge part of writing STAY, having him on the cover just feels perfect. Not only was he the inspiration for Van’s dog, Joe, but he was my writing buddy. He sat next to me and snored while I wrote. He went hiking with me when I needed to work through story hiccups in my head. He was there for every rejection and every celebration in the submission process. And it is a hell of a lot easier to put yourself out there and deal with rejection when you have a big furry cheerleader who loves you no matter what.

Argo has taught me so much in the past five years, and I am who I am now, in large part because of him. I think STAY is, among other things, a tribute to the importance of pets and having that kind of unconditional love waiting for us at home. So it’s fitting that the cover is (in addition to being a brilliant way to sum up the story visually) a secret little tribute my trusty dog, Argo.

4 Comments

Comments

  1. Corinne Bowen says

    October 22, 2009 at 5:25 pm

    You’re making me teary! I feel the same way about trusty Thomas:) When is Van going to get here already! I’m dying to meet her. xo

    Reply
  2. Noelle says

    October 22, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    That’s so great, and inspired me to call my first book, “Get off my forearms, Cat.”

    It may or may not work.

    Reply
  3. Reluctant Blogger says

    October 23, 2009 at 7:18 pm

    Oh yes, I agree about pets. My cat is just such wonderful company. She follows me around all day long and types in people’s comment boxes when I am not looking. She does all sorts of weird things to my laptop that it takes me hours to undo. It was speaking to me when I went to use it earlier – she had switched something on that I didn’t even know I had.

    Reply
  4. courtney says

    November 1, 2009 at 1:29 am

    What a great pup he is! Loyal four-legged friends are the best.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

  • Home
  • Allie Larkin
  • Blog
  • Book Clubs
  • Contact
  • Writer Resources

allielarkinwrites

Okay, fine. Her jacket is reversible and we kinda Okay, fine. Her jacket is reversible and we kinda match. I admit it. Alright? We all knew this was coming. None of this should be a surprise to any of us. #dailyroxydog #huskychihuahua #dogjacket #peoplewhomatchtheirdogs
Just a dog in a puffy jacket that matches her lawn Just a dog in a puffy jacket that matches her lawn chair. And she likes it! #dailyroxydog #chihuahuamix #ilovemydog
We are in the habit of starting and ending our day We are in the habit of starting and ending our days side by side in our lawn chairs, while the light rises or dims. It’s still chilly at the outer edges of the day. Sometimes Roxy shivers. I bought her a sweater, but she won’t wear it. Sometimes I try to wrap her in my jacket, but she’s not having that either, so I throw her ball and try to get her run and then she comes back to her chair, warm for a little longer. #dailyroxydog #huskychihuahua #dogssittinginchairs
“I got a secret I should tell. I’m going up to “I got a secret I should tell. I’m going up to heaven in a split pea shell.” ~ @petermulvey43 Words Too Small to Say
Happy as a dog in a freshly dug nap hole. #dailyro Happy as a dog in a freshly dug nap hole. #dailyroxydog #huskymixesofinstagram
I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic ant I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic antique store sometime in November and didn’t buy it. But then, of course, I kept thinking about her. She’s the perfect size for my office, and I found those drawer pulls hilarious. When I finally went back in December, I told myself I was shopping for wall art, because I assumed she would be gone. But she was right where I’d seen her last: balanced on another dresser with boxes of old picture frames and tchotchkes piled on top (the true mark of a magic antique store). I didn’t even realize she had a towel rack — that she was a wash stand, not a dresser — until I asked about the price, said I’d take her, and my favorite magic antique store person asked if we needed to unscrew the towel rack to fit her in my car. I suspect this little sweetie is not from the days of necessary wash stands so much as from a country kitchen in the 80s. She was in rough shape, and not made from wood worth stripping and re-staining, but her price reflected that. I had to disassemble that door and put it back together, but I’d been in the market for some experience working with old furniture, and she made me feel brave about trying. I thought about painting her something more neutral, but I’m so glad I didn’t. She deserves to be pink. She’s not perfectly painted and needs a few touch ups. I learned some things about chalk paint and finishes. The drawers stick a bit. Eventually, I’d like to line them with fabric and when I do, I might plane the edges to smooth things out. But goodness, I love her in a way that I wouldn’t if I hadn’t spent time cleaning away her cobwebs and scrubbing the grime from her hilarious drawer pulls. She’s also become a little shrine for the book I’m working on, which makes me love her even more. I’ve always been a person who sees some soul in certain things, and I’m learning to cherish that idiosyncrasy, because there’s so much joy to be found in a brave little toaster or an underdog wash stand. We’re not here in the world for all that long. We may as well love some bright little things. #furnituremakeover
Load More... Follow on Instagram

© Allison Larkin | Site by Little Leaf Design