It used to be a familiar sight around the neighborhood: Amanda with a fistful of leashes attached to a pack of happily trotting pups; Amanda on her scooter pulling up to a house with a pocketful of doggie treats, greeted by a joyful barking of “She’s here! She’s here!”; Amanda sitting on a front step with a contented, purring kitty velcroed to her lap.

Then one day last year, as my next-door neighbors and I were both planning to be out of town at the same time, we were surprised, then dismayed, then completely delighted when Amanda told us that she wouldn’t be in the pet-sitting biz any more (What!?). The reason was that she had just signed a major three-book contract with Random House (What!?!?).

One day she’s our favorite neighborhood pet-sitter, the next she’s a publishing rockstar. It was a goosebump moment.

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