Jane Reads: Ralphie, Always Loved by Andrea Yerramilli | Blog Tour with Guest Post and Giveaway

"And Now for Something Completely Different"

Maxie is responsible for today's blog post. (Well, all except for the actual typing. I had to help with that.) When she saw an email about an upcoming book tour for Ralphie, Always Loved, Maxie insisted that we join the tour. I pointed out to her that a children's book is quite a departure from our usual genre of cozy mysteries, and she pointed out that our tagline is Mostly Mysteries.

Maxie is familiar with another children's book, The Tenth Good Thing about Barney by Judith Viorst, which can help console children whose cats have crossed the rainbow bridge. She recommends this new picture book, because it will be equally comforting to a family dealing with the loss of their cherished dog, or any pet, in fact.

~~~

The Blurb

This is the story of the life, love, and adventures of a beloved family dog, and how he delighted and touched his family and everyone he met.

Ralphie was born with a heart on his belly.
He loves food, his family, his friends, his neighbors.
He loves pretty much everything and everyone.
And they love him back.
And that's how it is all through his life.
Read the book and fall in love with him too.

Rambunctious and hyperactive, Ralphie had already been returned to the animal shelter three times, but when Andrea and her husband adopted him and gave him a loving home where he was understood, accepted, and taught, he learned fast. As Ralphie's human family grew, so did his capacity for love and the ways he could express it. He remained a loving and beloved family member who touched the hearts of the whole neighborhood until he was ready to say goodbye at the grand old age of sixteen. Ralphie, Always Loved will remind you of all that is good, and reaffirm your belief in love's power to uplift and transform.

Ralphie, Always Loved by Andrea Yerramilli

Illustrated by: Samantha Van Riet

Genre: Children's Fiction, Children's Picture Book

Release date: October 28, 2017

Publisher: About Something Good, LLC

Paperback: 32 pages

ISBN-10: 0998760153

ISBN-13: 978-0998760155

Hardcover: 32 pages

ISBN-10: 0998760102

ISBN-13: 978-0998760100

e-Book File Size: 5832 KB

ASIN: B078C66J6J
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound

The Guest Post

Ralphie’s Story
by Andrea Yerramilli

Ralphie, Always Loved is a children’s picture book about a dog, and it’s not just another dog story. Not to me, anyway. Ralphie began the story of his life with rejection after rejection, till he came home to us. Imagine his excitement about being taken “home” for the first time, and then his dejection at being brought back to the shelter. Then going “home” again, only to be returned again, and then thinking third time’s the charm… but it wasn’t. Ralphie must have believed that he was going to make it, because he was not bitter or grumpy, as I can sometimes get when things don’t go my way. He was Ralphie and he took it all in his stride.

Ralphie was always happy, he was always busy, and he loved to make friends. I don’t think there was ever anyone or anything that he did not like. If it was food, or anything edible, he ate it. If he was happy, he showed it. If he was scared, he jumped onto your lap and sat there shaking. (He was 50-odd pounds, but he didn’t care.) Ralphie lived his life, all sixteen and a half years, to the fullest.

Ralphie accepted being part of our family with excitement. He looked up to his human dad and his canine sister for guidance, and he looked to me, his human mom, for cuddles and a belly full of delicious food. When we had kids, Ralphie accepted them and loved them fully. Every night he started out behind the rocker in the baby’s room, and moved from one family member to the next until sometime in the middle of the night, when he jumped up and snuggled up near me — which is where he slept till morning.

When Ralphie was fourteen, our family moved from the East Coast to the West Coast, and because he was too old to fly, we drove cross country with him, a five-day journey that will live in my heart and memory forever. He soon became the talk of the town in our new home, with his wiggly walk and his old, graying face. Everyone stopped to say hello to him. All the love he put out into the universe was returned to him many times over. Ralphie reinforced for me that, in the end, love is the only thing that matters. He was an embodiment of everything kind and loving, and I couldn’t let his story end with him. So I wrote this picture book.

Ralphie, Always Loved is a story of pet adoption, pet loss, and a loving family. It is also the life story of a dog who loved life and lived it well. I wrote this book because I wanted Ralphie to live forever. He inspired me to love, and I think he can inspire little ones to love. I hope he will also inspire the parents who read his story to keep on loving too, and to know that love never ends!

The Author

About Andrea Yerramilli

Andrea has always been an avid reader and that jump-started her imagination at a very early age. In fact she escaped to the Land of Make Believe more often than her mother liked.

She is a former marketing professional who is a mom to kids both with and without fur. Andrea says that it helps to have one foot planted firmly in reality while the other is foot loose and fancy-free in Imagination Land. She enjoys the best of both worlds.

In 2013, Andrea and her husband started About Something Good (ASG) as a vehicle to curate, inspire and share goodness in the world. In a world where negative images flood the media, and words like “hate” get tossed around so easily, Andrea felt she needed a space that encouraged and focused on the words like “love” and the beauty that is life.

Andrea is committed to finding the good in everything and believes: that a sense of belonging to someone's heart is what makes us feel complete, that kindness goes a long way, and that keeping your mind and heart open can help when things happen that you don't understand.

Andrea lives in New Jersey with her husband and children.

Find Andrea on the web at