Area Author Love Releases New Book

Bandit is the true story of a dog that walked 96 miles across the Bob Marshall Wilderness in two days through the 2007 Ahorn Fire near Augusta, Mont.

Bandit's family, Tucker and Amy Mills and their sons, Bryar and Turk of Mills Wilderness Adventures (www.millswildernessadventures.com) were on a wilderness trip with guests when the fire blew up behind them blocking their way home. After crossing the wilderness to end their trip at the Holland Lake Trailhead near Condon, Mont., Bandit went missing. The Mills family didn't know if they would ever see him again.

After reading about Bandit's adventure in the Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007 Missoulian, children's author Donna Love contacted the Mills family to ask if she could turn Bandit's story into a children's book. Love interviewed Amy Mills in early 2008. The book began life as a chapter book with information about "the Bob" scattered throughout each chapter.

Over time the manuscript morphed into a picture book with Bandit's story on one page and informational text on a facing page. While her illustrator, daughter Laura, intermittently worked on illustrations while raising her own young daughter, Love set out to find a publisher.

After exhausting all publishing avenues that they knew, they decided to independently publish Bandit. It is now available on Amazon and in local bookstores.

Love's interest in Bandit was taking children on an adventure into the Bob. Amy Mills provided many details but, since Bandit was alone, no one really knows how he made it home through the forest fire. All they know is that two days after disappearing from the Holland Lake Trailhead, Bandit showed up at home in Augusta two days later, very tired and very hungry, having walked 96 miles across the wilderness.

Along with reading about Bandit's adventure, this delightful read is packed with information about wilderness wildfire, the Bob Marshall Wilderness and why wilderness is a rich legacy for us all.

Love will be signing copies of Bandit at the Grizzly Claw Trading Company, in Seeley Lake Saturday, June 25 from 1-3 p.m. She will also be at Fact and Fiction Bookstore, 220 N. Higgins, in downtown Missoula July 2, from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

For more information visit http://www.donnalove.com