Best-selling author lets dog live on through books

By JIM TRAGESER - Staff Writer | Saturday, September 13, 2008 10:33 PM PDT ∞

For a dog who died last year, Trixie Koontz is mighty busy. She's got a new book out in hardcover ("Bliss to You: Trixie's Guide to a Happy Life," Hyperion), two children's books in the pipeline, and a 2009 picture calendar coming out.

That Trixie is able to live on for fans of her first two best-selling books ("Life is Good!: Lessons in Joyful Living" from 2004 and "Christmas Is Good!: Trixie Treats & Holiday Wisdom" from 2005) ---- let alone write a best-selling book to begin with ---- has more than a little to do with her longtime owner, best-selling author Dean Koontz (who will be signing copies of the new Trixie book Saturday in Oceanside).

Koontz and his wife, Gerda, had adopted Trixie when an injury prevented her from being able to complete her training to become a canine assistance dog.

"I was writing the novel 'Midnight,' and it had a character who was in a wheelchear, so I gave the character a service dog. When the book came out, it was my first to go to No. 1 in hardcover," Koontz said by phone recently from his south Orange County home.

"I was contacted by Canine Companions for Independence, and asked if when the paperback came out, if I could mention them in the back. So I did that, and we went down there to meet the people in this organization.

"To meet them is just to love the whole thing. Very quickly, we began to be involved."

Through the years, Koontz and his wife became such patrons of the nonprofit that the San Diego County CCI facility in Oceanside was named the Dean, Gerda & Trixie Koontz Campus.

Koontz said the arrival of Trixie, a golden retriever, changed his and Gerda's lives.

"I used to work to 7, 7:30 at night, and so did my wife, but once we got Trixie, that had to stop because she wouldn't have it. She had a clock in her head, and when it got to be about 5, she'd come into the office and stare at me. She changed our lives in that way."

As for writing books under Trixie's name, Koontz said that came from watching her and learning how dogs see the world.

"You have some dogs that become as close to you as a child ever could. You start to wonder how they look at the world and how they think. Pretty soon, I was getting in her head and figuring out how she sees things. She was such an intelligent dog, I realized there was a great deal going on there."

Koontz said he has a newsletter he sends to members of his fan club, and that's where Trixie's writing career began.

"I start including thoughts from Trixie in the newsletter. People started responding so strongly that pretty soon it became the Trixie newsletter."

Koontz said that while writing his adult best-selling novels takes a lot of energy and focus, writing the Trixie books provides relief.

"I work a 10-hour day and when I have a deadline, that can soar if I'm behind. I work mostly six days a week, and when it gets to crunch, that can go to seven.

"But the Trixie books are fun ---- those can be done almost as play. I don't even calculate the time I put into them. I'll write them in between, or when I'm burned out on the current manuscript."

The Trixie books also help support the CCI training programs to place companion dogs with the disabled.

"I've been very fortunate over the years, and a long time ago I stopped working for anything we needed.

"All of the money from the Trixie books goes to CCI ---- and that's why we're trying to grow Trixie into more than books."

In addition to the 2009 calendar, Koontz said there are also plans to come out with a Trixie video game.

"We're looking at a thing that can be possibly be built to be a long, sustaining source of income for CCI."

There is a new dog in the Koontz household after Trixie's death ---- her great-niece Anna (also a CCI candidate who was unable to complete training). But Koontz doesn't know whether Anna will be co-writing any books with him.

"I don't know that we can have two dog authors in the same family!"

Dean Koontz book-signing

When: 11 a.m. Saturday

Where: Canine Companions for Independence, Dean, Gerda & Trixie Koontz Campus, 124 Rancho del Oro Drive, Oceanside

Cost: Books will be available for sale at the event

Info: (760) 901-4300 or cci.org

Web: deankoontz.com

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