Author and artist Jan Britland lives in Punta Gorda, Florida with her husband Bill. In addition to a bulldog named Madison, and a parrot named Lola, the household pets include three red-eared slider turtles named Sparky, Luigi and Hale. Oh, and Goldie a pond fish. All of whom are portrayed Jan's stories. When she is not writing children's books, Jan teaches oil painting to adults.
It has been fun getting to know Jan better and the back-story of this wildly fun, adventurous story of a dog named Rodger Dodger. I was surprised to find out that Rodger Dodger is based off a real dog Jan and her kids used to see up a tree no less. “In 1986 I had to drive my children to a new town to start school at their new school. It was a 45 minute drive, which can become boring. On our drive, we would pass a beagle type dog chained to a huge Magnolia tree. On some days, we would see the chain hanging down from the tree. I think we just assumed the dog was in the house until one day we realized he was up in the tree. From that day on Rodger Dodger Dog, as we called him, became a favorite. As we passed him every day I would start telling a story about Rodger Dodger’s adventures up the tree and beyond,” shared Jan.
However, this mom not yet turned author didn’t know what was in store for her. It was many years later, Jan shared, before the Rodger Dodger Dog stories she told her kids would become a book. “I received a phone call from my daughter Kelly who had young children of her own. She was complaining her son Dalton brought home a book from pre-school that didn't make sense to him or her. She wanted me to write down the Rodger Dodger Dog stories so she could share them with her children. I of course immediately sat down and started writing,” shared Jan.
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