Dear Readers,

Some stories find you when you least expect them.

Recently, I was in Indiana, walking through a quiet downtown street when I came across something that stopped me in my tracks: an old, shuttered bookstore. The windows were dusty, the sign barely legible, and time had clearly had its way with the place—but there was something about it that pulled at me.

I stood there for a long moment, staring at the building, imagining what it once was. Who had unlocked those doors each morning? What kind of people had wandered the aisles, fingers brushing against worn spines and whispered titles? What dreams had been born between those shelves?

I kept walking, and just a few minutes later, I saw a young woman walking her dog—a golden retriever, full of energy and joy, leading her down the street like he owned it. And something just… clicked.

I turned back. To the bookstore. To the feeling.

It must sound a little strange, but in that moment, I felt like I had stepped into a scene from Wuthering Heights—specifically the 1992 film version with Ralph Fiennes, where the narrator begins:

"First I found the place. I wondered who had lived there. What their lives were like. Something whispered to my mind, and I began to write. My pen creates stories of a world that might have been— a world of my imagining. And here is one I’m going to tell."

That whisper found me too.

That’s where All You Need is Love and a Dog was born—not from a carefully scheduled brainstorming session, but from a feeling, a place, and a spark of inspiration that wrapped around my imagination and wouldn’t let go.

The story follows Sheila Dutton, a city girl whose perfectly planned life falls apart in one sweep. On a whim, she finds herself in a small coastal town in Maine—where she inherits a mischievous golden retriever named Milo and a failing bookstore she never expected to own. There, she meets a gruff but kind-hearted carpenter who’s just as wary of new beginnings as she is.

What follows is a journey of healing, rediscovery, and falling in love—not just with a person, but with a place, a community, and a quieter, more meaningful way of living.

As I outlined the novel, I kept returning to that Indiana bookstore and that moment of stillness. That feeling of standing on the edge of a story, waiting for it to begin.

I can’t wait to share this one with you. It’s a story full of warmth, wit, second chances, and, of course, one very good dog.

Thank you, as always, for being here—for taking this journey with me, story after story. Your support means more than you know.

Until next time,

Luis