How did I write the Smokey Bear novel? I grew up in an isolated log cabin in the Maryland woods, so my best friends were my sweet deaf Dalmatian Flicka, my sly goat Rosabel, and the half-wild ducks whom I knew by name. Also, along the creek that wound deep into the pine forest were wild animals. I'd creep up so close to a wild rabbit that I could see his nose twitch. Moreover, my third-grade teacher inspired me to write, so that later, as a young teen, I found how thrilling it was to see my animal stories in print.

Those years set the stage for 1950, when the wild cub, Smokey Bear, arrived in Washington, D. C. Of course I rushed to the zoo. For a long time I watched him licking his burned paws. Accustomed to sensing animals' feelings, I looked into his sad eyes. I wondered what it had been like for him, running from the forest fire. That question made me vow to write a book--from his viewpoint.

By summer's end, though, I had to tuck away my manuscript to finish high school, college, and then to become a Ph.D. clinical psychologist and Jungian analyst. Still fond of writing, I penned articles for professional journals and the book "Wisdom of the Heart" for the public. Throughout those decades, though, I found myself thinking now and then about Smokey.

Finally, when I retired in 2000, I found my old manuscript. It was a charming short story about a little bear cub--but too childish for my grown-up taste. Still, I was exhilarated anew to find 60 marvelous photographs of Smokey from the Forest Service archives for the book.

I embarked on creating a historical novel for adults and youngsters. It became a 14-year journey. With ample time to research the actual bear, I found eyewitness accounts of the tiny cub's rescue and his long life and naturalists' close-up observations of black bears. To create an adventurous novel, I also imagined other animals whom Smokey might have encountered in his life.

Why did I write the book? When I was composing at my desk, I was driven by curiosity: to see what would happen in the next chapter. But what, over all, compelled me to write the book? Why, in particular, was I so drawn to Smokey's story that I persisted over the long haul? I found that a theme emerged in the book itself--the importance of leading a meaningful life--a mission my parents had instilled in me and my brothers. But what drove my endurance for endless polishing of the manuscript over those 14 years? I wanted to do justice to animals' lives. This must be why I easily chose for the novel's opening page: "Dedicated to the wild animals and the wilderness we love, and those who protect them." One of those wild animals was "Smokey Bear: The Cub Who Left His Pawprints on History."

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more