Q&A With Holly B. Gutwillinger 

Mickey Mikkelson connected me with debut author Holly B. Gutwillinger.  Holly B Gutwillinger wrote the novel North of Broken & Furever Home which was released on Valentines Day and is available to read now, wherever you get your books!  

Q: Holly welcome to Book Notions! Would you please give a brief description of North of Broken & Furever Home? Where did the idea for North of Broken & Furever Home come from? 

A: North of Broken & Furever Home is this Dogmama’s love letter to her dogs, Cash and Sully. What began as a four-line stanza evolved into a story I hope readers will enjoy—because I had the time of my life writing it. The first draft came together in a flurry, but it took several years to shape it into a story worthy of my dogs’ lives and one that I’m proud of.

This novel began as autofiction, but the more I wrote, the more I wanted to give my dog Sully his own voice so I could better understand where he was coming from and what he needed from me. That shift in perspective changed everything. The theme started as a rescue story—by the end, it became clear it was about acceptance all along.

The story follows the protagonist, Renley Nelsen. She is a forty-seven-year-old wife, mother, daughter, looking for purpose, belonging, and who she is at her core. When her best friend, Emma, invites her on a one-day dog rescue mission up north, Renley overcomes fears she didn’t know she had. She also falls head over heels with one of the pups in the pack. 

In this dual-narrative story, both the woman and the dog must learn that healing requires the bravery to stay and find acceptance rather than the need to be rescued.

Q: Where did the idea for North of Broken & Furever Home come from?

A: My two dogs, Cash and Sully, are 100% the inspiration for this book.

They inspired me to take a deeper look at their story and at what life looked like for them before coming to live with us.

I adopted them both over ten years ago, and over that period, I’ve tried everything to help them overcome their anxieties and conquer their fears. Sully is afraid of everything and everyone, while Cash’s aggressive younger pup days kept us out of dog parks.

I made micro-adjustments to Sully’s routine to improve his canine life, but it only eased his fears for a short time. Cuddling was/is not part of Sully’s vocabulary, whereas Cash is a sixty-five-pound lap dog. Approaching Sully has never been easy, but I’ve never given up.

Three years ago, on an early September morning, Sully pivoted from his corner in the yard when he spotted me. He pranced onto the stoned path leading up to me, where I sat and pondered his lonely life. He bounded toward me with ears perked, tail swinging and tongue to the side. Once he reached me, he nudged the crook of my arm with his snout.

In that brief instant, four separate lines downloaded to my inner voice in a poem of sorts. The words comforted me and let me know Sully was content. I was the one who needed to accept it. From that moment on, we pivoted. Our human-dog relationship transformed – as did my writing life.

I kept the prose flowing into heartfelt love letters to my two dogs, including words of affirmation, but something nagged at me. This simple stanza became a full-length manuscript in three months, recreating Sully’s life the best I knew how. I’ve been working on it ever since, and the time has come to put it in readers’ hands.

Without a doubt, this story found its way to me, and my dog, Sully, was the conduit. 

Q: How long did it take you to write North of Broken & Furever Home? 

A: I began working on this novel in the fall of 2022 when Sully, my dog, ran up the stone path toward me. A brief stanza suddenly came to mind, and from then on, I kept writing short pieces about my two dogs. I continued developing my craft as a writer and shaping the narrative until I completed a first draft, which I couldn’t believe I had done. After meeting experienced writers who encouraged me, I kept going, and it took three years to bring the story together.

Q: What lessons and reminders do you hope readers learn and remember once they finish reading North of Broken & Furever Home? 

A: I hope readers find what they need in my book. Whether it’s a simple getaway read, or they read to feel connected to the protagonist, or to understand their rescue dog better.

 Ultimately, I wrote this book to understand my two rescue dogs better, and in the end, I came to some mind-blowing conclusions. I realized we didn’t need rescuing; it was always about acceptance.

Q: Are you currently writing a sequel to North of Broken & Furever Home or are you writing a completely different story with new characters?

A: I have some ideas swirling above me for a sequel. I provided an ending that might lend itself well to a new romance. However, I’m currently working on my next novel, which is titled “Must Love Rescue Dogs.” It’s a romantic comedy where the meet-cute occurs at a dog park near the fictitious town of Blackrock. Alex, 27, is preparing to start vet school in the fall when she encounters Owen, who was gifted a car parts franchise in his father’s will. He wants nothing more than to break away from his family’s wealth and reputation to build his own path. The story unfolds through a series of events where Owen comes to Poppy’s rescue, but a twist of events results in Owen needing to be rescued! The reader can expect more dogs than human characters in this novel! I’m currently in the messy first draft stage.