Sheila Shillingburg
The idea for this story came from an episode of Animal Planet’s Dr. Jeff Rocky Mountain Veterinarian. In the episode, a remote veterinary clinic was being held at a remote, mountain town. On the drive up, a picture was taken of a house trailer, rusting on the side of the road. Oddly, that’s where I got my idea. Abby Rhodes is taken by her aunt from their home in Denver, Colorado, to stay with a grandfather she never knew. He lives in Arizona, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. His closest neighbors are a family of Navajo who live on the reservation, a pony ride away.The character of Cici Babcock was named after a character on TV’s the Nanny. The tutor, mr. Hagglethorn, is named after an episode of the all-new Scooby-Doo movies - the haunted horseman of hagglethorn hall.
