I wrote a book!

I’m thrilled to announce that the book I wrote, SALTY DOG GOES TO DENIM DAY, is now on sales at the Cherokee County (Georgia) History Museum!

Synopsis

“When Mama forgets her lunch before work, her clever canine Salty Dog goes on a journey through 1960s Canton to return it to her. His final destination? The Canton Cotton Mills! Written by Canton screenwriter, Jennifer Dunn, and illustrated by noted watercolor artist, Elly Hobgood, “Salty Dog Goes to Denim Day” is a fun exploration through downtown Canton with the Cotton Mill’s droopy-eared mascot.”

Meet Me at the Launch Party

SALTY DOG GOES TO DENIM DAY launches next Sunday, November 26th! Finish your Black Friday and Small Business Saturday shopping, then join us at the new Cherokee County History Museum for a book signing! The illustrator, the famous and ultra talented watercolorist Elly Hobgood, will also be there to sign copies!

Event Details

Salty Dog Goes to Denim Day Book Launch

Cherokee County History Museum

221 E. Marietta St.

Canton, GA 30114

Sunday, November 26, 2023

1pm-4pm

You can buy your copy there, or order now here.

Why I Wrote a Book

When the wonderful folks at my local historical association, History Cherokee, put out the word that they were looking for a children’s book set around the Canton Cotton Mills and featuring Salty Dog, I was sold. After all, who doesn’t love an adorable puppy who, as the slogan for Canton-made Salty Dog Denim goes, “Soft as a puppy, tougher than an old hound dog.”

My family is from Cherokee County for many, many generations on nearly every side. It wouldn’t be a far stretch to say that pretty much all of my family members from the 1920s to the 1980s (when the mills outsourced overseas) worked at Mill #1 or Mill #2 in some capacity. My grandpa was a doffer, my dad was a draftsman, my great grandma Troy Bishop worked her fingerprints completely off in the weave room. (Notice where Mama works in the book. 😉) The whole fingerprints thing is likely why she became a union steward in the 60’s – to keep her employers on the straight and narrow when it came to the worker’s rights.

SALTY DOG GOES TO DENIM DAY is just my small way of playing a part in our town’s legacy. After all, it wasn’t the actual mill that brought such a sense of community to our small town. It was the friends and loved ones that the mill wage sustained, and the fun and fellowship they were able to create along the way.

I hope that sense of love and community is what you get out of the book. And I hope you’ll enjoy reading SALTY DOG GOES TO DENIM DAY as much as I enjoyed writing it!