Tippy Finds a Home ... in Flat Rock
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Mary Beth Stevens with Tippy
Three weeks after adopting a spunky terrier she named Tippy, all Mary Beth Stevens could think about was how much she missed the calm and quiet of her pre-puppy household. When she confessed to her husband about her adoption remorse, the couple experienced an “O’Henry Oh Wow Moment” that would have made the famous author smile knowingly.
“My husband Robert said yes to Tippy because he thought I wanted him, and I’d said yes because I thought he wanted him,” Mary Beth recalls with a smile. By that point, of course, the die was cast and the squeaky toy was shredded all over the living room floor. They resolved to find a way to make it work.
Fortunately for all parties involved, the adoption stuck and Mary Beth parlayed the experience into a new phase of her life - as an author of children’s books. Not surprisingly, her books are about a small terror of a terrier named Tippy.
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Mary Beth with her dogs Suzie and Tippy
Mary Beth Stevens, age 66, grew up and went to college in Iowa. Her dreams of being a high school choral teacher were tempered by a stint as a student teacher during which she realized that choral teachers don’t have many opportunities to sing themselves. She resolved to get a graduate degree in Voice Performance and ended up at Boston University. New England appealed to her and she would spend the next 41 years in Massachusetts.
Her career path took another turn after finishing her graduate work. “I always tell people that when you have a master's degree in Voice Performance, the only person that cares about that is your mother.” Although she did have many opportunities to practice her craft in the Boston area, economic realities led her to a career in communications and public relations. Still, her passion for singing never abated. She sang with Boston’s Cantata Singers for over twenty years and ultimately served a four-year stint as Board Chair for the organization.
Mary Beth also got involved with Great Dog Rescue New England which works to find new homes for stray or abandoned dogs - often from the Southeast. It was through this volunteer work that Mary Beth met Tippy (at the time his name was Nemo) in 2017 and agreed to foster the Jack Russell until a forever home could be located. “We only fostered big dogs because I knew I wouldn’t be tempted to keep them. Then this little guy came along and I said, ‘Oh, what the heck?” Famous last words.
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PHoto by Ajax Furtography
At age 5, Tippy was surrendered by his owners in southern Mississippi. A very devoted dog, it took Tippy a while to let go of his past attachments and forge a new bond with Mary Beth and Robert. “Seeing how devoted he is now, it’s no surprise that it took him a while to give his heart to us,” Mary Beth explains.
As a foster dog mom, Mary Beth was asked to write a description of Tippy and make recommendations about what type of home would be best for his temperament. As she wrote out the description of Tippy’s perfect “forever home”, Mary Beth realized she was writing a description of her own home. Mary Beth and her husband resigned themselves to a classic case of “foster failure.” Tippy finally had his forever home.
With her earlier misgivings in the past, Mary Beth can’t imagine her life without Tippy now. “He's just like the Dennis the Menace of dogs. He’s just fun. I love watching him bounce around in the yard.”
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It was Tippy’s outsized personality in a small body that led Mary Beth to a new chapter in her life - as a children’s book author. Tippy was an endless source of wild escapades and funny stories that Mary Beth would later recount to her friends. Their response to hearing the stories? “Mary Beth, you should write a book!”
The thought of being an author had never occurred to Mary Beth. But then, she had once thought that she’d never own a dog either. With a new and more open perspective, Mary Beth sat down and started writing. “When it’s January in New England, what else are you going to do?” she recalls now with a laugh.
The happy result for children everywhere was Tippy Finds a Home. That first book was followed two years later by Tippy Finds His Purpose, and most recently, Tippy Learns a Lesson.
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Having written three books now, Mary Beth is able to see the similarities between her passion for singing and her evolution as an author. “Singing is about communication. It's about the text and it's about getting the text across to people. Writing is the same thing.”
She also appreciates the serendipity of her later-in-life foray into drawing and painting. As fate would have it, her drawing instructor, Susan Spellman, was also a children’s book illustrator. Mary Beth learned a little about drawing but also learned a lot about what it takes to publish a children’s book from Susan. The two became fast friends and forged a partnership that led to Susan illustrating each of Mary Beth’s books
The Tippy Books are illustrated by Susan Spellman
Tippy’s story is summarized on the book jacket of Tippy Finds a Home:
“Tippy Finds a Home is the story of a little homeless dog, alone in the world and in search of a forever home. He’s smart, energetic, playful and a bit of a handful, but in the end, love does conquer all and Tippy finds a family that is simply perfect for him.”
As a child in Iowa, Mary Beth’s family had dogs and she advocates for the role of dog in a child’s life. “I’m a firm believer that every child needs to grow up with dogs. Dogs play a very important role; protector, playmate, and comforter. But they also require that kids learn responsibility and compassion.”
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The process of writing her first book taught Mary Beth some important lessons. “Children’s books are the marriage of text and illustration. The key to writing a really good children's book is letting the illustrations do the work for you.” Mary Beth sees her books as an opportunity for the adult reader and their child to interact. “A children’s book provides opportunities to engage the child, not just in the story, but in observation. What is Tippy doing now? How many dogs are there on this page? What color is Tippy’s toy rabbit?”
Mary Beth has also enjoyed the opportunity to visit elementary school rooms to share her books with teachers and their young students. “That’s been really fun for me to talk with kids about dogs and about Tippy - but also to talk to them about writing and the writing process.”
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In 2020, Mary Beth and her husband decided it was time to find a new home for themselves. They were looking for four distinct seasons, some cultural activities nearby, and reasonable access to a major airport. College friends lived in Hendersonville and the couple came south to check out western North Carolina. They liked what they saw. “We kept driving around to all these various places and we drove into Flat Rock and I thought, ‘This is it. This is where we need to be.’”
The Village has not disappointed. “The village is just so charming. I love the beauty of Flat Rock and I love that the village has just a little bit of everything. It is like paradise.” In an unexpected way, Mary Beth’s new home reminds her of her days in Iowa. “The people are kind and there is an agricultural base. Even though it's 900 miles away, it resonates with me in a way that I had forgotten after all those years away.”
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When Mary Beth visits a classroom to talk about her Tippy books, she closes each session by telling the children, “I believe that everybody has a story and you might not know your story yet but you will have a story to tell.” For Mary Beth Stevens, that story is about a woman who found a dog who changed her life and inspired her to write a book. A story about a woman who also found a home - in Flat Rock, North Carolina.
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More About the Tippy Series
You may purchase the book at Amazon. Twenty percent of the proceeds are donated to Blue Ridge Humane Society where Mary Beth currently serves as a Board Member. Amazon Link Here
Mary Beth Steven’s website here.
Tippy the Terrier on Facebook here.
