Shannon, Samantha: - Samantha Shannon is a best-selling author and licensed educational counselor who uses her background in education, love for nature and animals, and experience aiding in the emotional social development of children to create fun and impactful books. Samantha has also published multiple books under her pen name, Parker Sinclair, in the fantasy and YA genres. Visit: parkersinclair.net & jakethegrowlingdog.com for more information or find all books on Amazon and IngramSpark. Samantha's love for creatures great and small has led her to incorporate animals in all of the books, from eagles to cheetahs! Throughout her life, Samantha's family has always included a dog, and they've always been more than pets. They were fur-brothers, sisters, and babies. When Samantha had her first child in 2009, she wanted to write a picture book based on her sister's dog, Jake. While visiting her sister in the Pacific Northwest, Samantha realized that Jake growled all the time. He growled while playing frisbee, getting an ear rub, running, and even when he was sleeping! Despite his unusual choice of noisemaking, Jake is a sweet dog, which makes him the perfect character for a children's picture book. With Samantha's background in educational counseling, Jake's first story includes a character education & loving-kindness activity for families, schools, & counselors. Jake's story speaks to all of us about accepting, and appreciating, the differences in others--both caring attitudes we need in our diverse and beautiful world.