Casey Lou and the Monster in the Attic

I love my children and I believe in their talents. That is the reason this book was born and nurtured in the heart of my family. I simply couldn’t think of better people to bring Casey Lou’s story to life.

Casey Lou is my daughter Jessica’s dog. She is a miniature rat terrier who weighs in at about ten pounds. Casey Lou has always been a mixture of loving puppy and energetic trouble. When we first met her, the whole family was smitten. She “had us at hello.”

Shortly after Jessica adopted Casey Lou and they were getting to know each other, something strange began to happen at my house. One night, while doing some laundry in the garage, I heard a noise above me. It sounded something like “MMMMURRRRP!” Over the next few months I continued to hear it at odd times. I told Josh, my son, about it and he laughed saying, “Oh, so you have a Monster in the attic?” He stopped laughing when he came out to do his laundry one night and heard the spooky sound for himself. We hired every type of animal removal expert to locate and remove the source of that noise without success. So we just decided to let it be.

The entrance of Casey Lou on the scene around the same time I began hearing the mysterious noise made by the “monster in the attic” somehow came together for me. I told Jessica I wanted to write a book to help children learn to think through their fears so they could be brave. Casey Lou seemed the right character to go up against our monster. Thus the book, Casey Lou and the Monster in the Attic, was born.

Jessica, a leader and process expert in the interactive marking world, sat me down and asked a series of questions to help create the story line behind the book. From there it was simple to write Casey Lou’s tale. I asked my son Josh if he was interested in illustrating the book for me. He hadn’t done any artwork for several years but offered to think about it. Four months later he showed up for Christmas with six pictures of Casey Lou and we had the beginning of something really exciting. With the help of Blake Gardener, who drew the two background pictures of the yard and attic, we were ready to put it all together. Allison Artnak, a friend and incredibly talented designer, offered to design the book from start to finish. The final look is all thanks to her.

Casey Lou and the Monster in the Attic is a family affair, completed with the help and commitment of a host of friends. It is a story based on a real dog, a real noise, and the very real fears that every child faces. Casey Lou learns to think through her fears in order to be brave. If you’ve ever needed help with your own “monsters,” Casey Lou can help.