When a dog decides that you’re going to be friends, no matter what? It doesn’t matter if you have a heart of stone.

Troy Wilson has visited my blog several times.  He lives in Victoria, BC, Canada. His debut picture book, Perfect Man, was published 20 years ago, and received praise from none other than Stan “The Man” Lee. You can learn more about him at his website or follow him on BlueSky.

STILL FRIENDS is a picture book all about a dog who becomes attached to a statue. At first he is standoffish, but then he finds the value in the friendship. The short brief lines of text told from the dog’s point of view will make you laugh as well as aww. The glorious illustrations do the same. There are moments when the comedy is key, and others where I swear a Monet may have been purloined. It’s funny and beautiful and touching in all the right ways.

Welcome back Troy!

Me: I love this story! It’s such a realistic dog perspective. What gave you the idea?

Troy: It’s such a realistic dog perspective because I was inspired by real dogs. I saw two Facebook posts of dogs who were trying to get statues to play fetch with them. And not AI dogs or cartoon dogs, either. Definitely real ones.

Me: Ha! That’s awesome. Once again your text is so brilliantly simple with these short lines that just sing. And those puns are fantastic! How many revisions did it take to get to this final state? Was it always like this from the first draft?

Troy: Awww. Thanks so much for including the words “brilliantly” and “sing” here, Jena. Usually, reviewers and interviewers just describe my text as “simple” or “sparse” or “short”. Which, of course, is technically true. However, it doesn’t exactly feel like a compliment.  Doesn’t exactly feel like the overall effort and effect have been seen. With you, I feel seen.

Anyway, back to revisions and drafts. The first draft had the simplicity and had the sequence, but it didn’t always sing. So close, but yet so far. It’s surprising to look back and see just how much was there right from the start – and just how much wasn’t. 

No idea how many revisions it took. I don’t keep track of those stats (and I’m useless at estimating them). I do know that I made significant improvements before submitting it to Orca. And Orca editor Sarah Howden was the perfect partner to help me take it across the finish line. Always a pleasure to work with someone who sweats the details just as much as you do. I tried all kinds of alternate wordings on for size and Sarah had the patience of a saint throughout.

Me: Can you talk about the marketing of your story? How did your book end up being published by Orca Book Publishers? Were they your first submission?

Troy: Back in April 2022, my then-agent and I both underestimated this manuscript. I showed it to her along with two other dog manuscripts because I couldn’t decide which was best. Our verdict? None of them. Because some flashy non-dog manuscript caught our attention shortly thereafter. And our attention stayed on other manuscripts for the rest of our professional relationship.

Cut to January 2024. My agent and I had amicably parted ways because I wanted to fly solo again. I had been tweaking the dog-and-statue manuscript, and it had come along nicely. So I submitted it to Orca. But I was still underestimating it. Had I been more bullish about it I might have sent it to Orca AND a bunch of other publishers simultaneously. Instead I sent it to Orca and Orca alone. And thank goodness for that. Because they’ve turned out to be the ideal home for it. The final book could not have turned out better. Not with any other publisher and not in any other universe.

FYI: Orca published my first couple picture books in 2004 and 2005. After those two, Orca and I never found another match between what they do and what I do – until now. And honestly, we might never find another match again. But I’m thrilled we’ve found this one.

Me: How did you get Adam Rex and Mike Boldt to write a blurb for the back of your book?

Troy: I asked. And then I sent them digital copies when they said yes. Super-grateful for their generosity and eloquence.

Mike knew me because he had illustrated my third picture book, The Duck Says, published by Scholastic Canada in 2015. Meanwhile, Adam didn’t know me from Adam. Or at least I don’t think he did.

(Yes, that’s right. My second book came out in 2005 and my third didn’t come out until … 2015! And that wasn’t for a lack of trying. I got nothing but rejections all those years. But I kept dusting myself off and getting back up. Now I’m at Book #10.)

Me: The illustrations by Mike Deas are perfect. They are comical, capturing the humor in each setup you deliver. Yet there is also stunning beauty akin to an impressionist painting all throughout! Were there any illustration surprises for you? What was your favorite illustration?

Troy: Remember how I had underestimated this manuscript? Well, I stopped underestimating it the second I saw Mike’s roughs.

You’re right, Mike definitely brings both the funny and the beauty. He also brings the complexity and the simplicity. He packs that park with so many fun details, without it ever feeling cluttered. It’s a gloriously busy park, but not a distractingly busy one, design-wise. Readers’ prime focus will always be with the dog and the statue and (sometimes) the dog’s owner

And, of course, Mike delivered all the essentials that my visual notes called for. Like the fact that we are dealing with a dog and a statue and an elderly woman in a park (the story text never mentions any of that). Like the different weather that the statue endures. Like the half-eaten food strewn around the statue near the end. And so on. But beyond the essentials? It was surprise after wonderful surprise. I didn’t expect the stone bridge or the stream. I didn’t expect the ever-present pigeons or the ever-present hot dog vendor. Or any of the other recurring or one-off characters. Or any of the activities that the dog’s owner joyfully partakes in.

Oh, and did you catch the pigeon pooping on the statue? That was neither Mike’s nor mine. That was editor Sarah Howden’s excellent idea. It takes a village.

As for my favorite illustration? I’m torn. On the one hand, I especially love the dog with his nose in the air when he won’t even look at the statue. On the other hand, I especially I love the endpapers (best endpapers in any book I’ve co-created, bar none).

Me: It’s true! There’s just so much to love in the illustrations here! What is one thing that surprised you in writing this story?

Troy: I was surprised when ‘old friends’ became ‘old friend’. Okay, let me explain. Originally, the statue was a woman. And originally, the dog had several owners. Probably a whole family of owners. Then Orca wanted to change the old-timey woman statue to an old-timey girl statue. I agreed immediately. But … that set other gears turning in my head. If the statue was a kid, maybe the dog shouldn’t have any other kid. And if the dog didn’t have any other kid, maybe he shouldn’t have a family, either. Maybe he should just have one adult owner. Then the dog/adult/girl trio could sort of form their own unique little family. The coming together of only three characters could perhaps be more satisfying than the coming together of some bigger, bulkier group. Plus, the rich compare-and-contrast between the elderly female owner and the old-but-young female statue was waaaaay too good to pass up. Thankfully, Orca agreed to this odd, unexpected change (partly because we could still feature tons of alive and lively kids in the background).

Me: Your last wonderful picture book featured a cat, while this book features a dog. You excel at animal stories so I have to ask: what’s your favorite animal and/or pet? Any that you haven’t written about yet that you’d love to?

Troy: Picking favorite illustration(s) from my latest picture book was super tough. But picking favorite animals/pets from the whole, entire world? Super-impossible!

Nor do I have any particular animal that I’m chomping at the bit to write about next.  I didn’t expect to write about the dog in Still Friends until I ran into those two Facebook dogs – and now this might be the best book I’ve ever co-created. So I think I’ll just let the universe surprise me.

On the other hand, I do know exactly which already-completed animal manuscript of mine that I’d love for a publisher to snatch up next. It’s a Christmas picture book about a girl and her pet that the great Dev Petty helped me tune up this past December. Not a match for Orca (I tried), but editor Sarah Howden did enthusiastically sing its praises and did strongly encourage me to find a home for it elsewhere. A contract for that Christmas story is the only Christmas gift I need this year. No wrapping required.

And speaking of gifts, this interview itself has been a gift – seriously. You remain one of the best kidlit interviewers out there, Jena. Thanks again!

Aww! Thanks for stopping by my blog again Troy. And I’m crossing fingers for that Christmas present! That sounds like a perfect gift.

Dear readers, this book just published this week. If you haven’t had a chance yet to track it down, you really must give it a read. It’s fantastically funny, touching, and beautiful all at the same time in the very best of picture book worlds. Trust me when I say, you won’t want to miss it!