6 Quick Questions

Why did you write this book?
  • I have been going through a period of great personal learning and wanted to pull together a series of subjects that were positively impacting me. I was using what I learned from these other authors in my own life and found myself constantly sharing what I had learned with others and decided to write out my thoughts.

How did you come up with Sam?
  • As I did research on how to present my thoughts in writing I came across some coaching that suggest readers will jump into a story faster than listen to an expert tell them what to do.  Since I don’t consider myself an expert in these areas this format appealed to me. I have always loved dogs and it seemed to be a fun way to keep the subject matter light hearted. Once I had decided to have all my characters be dogs, I needed my main character to be the type of dog that would be open for change. My older brother had two dogs right out of college and they were both Chocolate Labs, Sam is a combination of both.

What about the Giants?
  • My first love was baseball and as kid I was a walking encyclopedia of baseball statistics. I needed a story line for the book to follow and the Giants World Series title was very fresh in my mind. I also thought the narrative of the Giants had many elements that would work with the mentors lessons. History may show that the Giants really started to create a unique way to have success in 2010 and that notion continues to gather steam with their championship in 2012.  Researching the 2010 season in the summer of 2012 made for a great personal season of memories of 2010 and that led into a fall of amazing new ones as the Giants won it all again.

How did you pick the Restaurants?
  • My wife and I lived in both the Cow Hollow and Marina districts and enjoyed so many of the out of the way places that make San Francisco such a world class city. I also have had quite a few family members work in the city dating back to the early 1900’s so writing about San Francisco was a bit of a walk through my own families history. 

What about the Patch and the other locations at AT&T Park?
  • AT&T Park or “The Yard” is a special place for all of us who call ourselves Giants Fans. At the beginning of the story I wanted to create a club that Sam was a member of that made up a big part of his personal identity. As Sam learns how to create his own personal identity throughout the story, his need for the club or in this case “The Patch” diminishes.  A major league baseball park is a great place to showcase how many different groups of people are sharing an experience together. I hope it opens the readers eyes to considering changing up some of their own patterns and routines and enjoy the adventures that ensue.  

What do you hope readers take away from "Change Doesn't Bite?
  • It depends on where they are in their life, and what part of the story speaks to them most. 
  • If a reader is struggling with the rate of change in our world I hope it is a call to action to look inward and set up a plan for adapting. 
  • If the reader is young and just starting out I hope the lessons from the mentors are a positive challenge and a bit of a road map. 
  • I hope baseball fans like the story and that Giants fans enjoy reliving the 2010 championship team. 
  • Finally my hope is that locals respect the authenticity of the setting and that tourists might enjoy an inside view to parts of the SF that are off the beaten path.