Cathy Tully

The puppy in All You Need Is Love was my own Yorkie, Little Man, who touched my heart and my life more deeply than any animal I have ever had the privilege of owning. May he rest in peace.

The dog in Marrying Mr. Right was my vet’s dog, Hugo. Lovable, loyal and sweet this dog used to sit at my feet when I worked at the vet’s office. I miss him immensely and just had to put him and his sweetness into a story.

Missy Modesto in Marrying Mr. Right is a mirror reflection of a girl I grew up with have known since infanthood. Missy is special. Kind, loyal, loving and honest– I couldn’t ask for a better friend.

I used information I learned as an interior designer for Rebecca in Training Travis.  For a short time, I owned my own design business back in the 80’s. That knowledge has stayed with me all these years and I needed to use it in a book. Rebecca was the perfect character to insert my prior experience into.  Since I’d always wanted a Black Scotty dog, named Sherlock, this was the perfect book to include one.

In my new book, Twelve Days to Joy, Ollie is my Beagle/Corgie mix I rescued in 2016. I never thought I could love a dog more than my own Little Man. Ollie has proved that theory wrong over and over again. He’s the sweetest, most lovable, and loyal dog I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. I hope I am blessed with many, many, more years of Ollie’s companionship.

When I wrote Twelve Days to Joy I have just lost my own father. Writing the sadness into that story helped me rebound from a loss I will honestly, never get over. I hope when you read Twelve Days you will feel all the emotions I did too because that’s what writing is—if you laugh, or cry while reading, there is no doubt that the author was doing the same while writing that story. Sharing those feelings with you, the reader, is an honor.

Unexpected Family was one of the first books I’d ever written. I pulled it out of the drawer a few years ago and revised and expanded the story. It has grown to be one of my favorites. It is the only book I’ve written that doesn’t include a dog in the story. Since Maggie rents a storefront in NYC I thought a cat would be more suitable for this story. As a young girl, I did own two cats of my own. Romeo and Tiger. They provided me with hours of love and I will always remember them fondly.