Particles of Light: The misadventures of one bright son of a gun, his smart mouth dog and everything under the sun. (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781807021429)

Folks in West Texas tend to put high value on family, religion, guns, oil and good food. And they're often too damn comfortable with racism, violence, kickin' dogs and doing as they're told.

It's a place where teaching a pooch to talk can get a guy killed. And his little dog, too.

When Danny, a brilliant mixed-race teen with autism, still recovering from the heartbreaking loss of his mother, helps his new mutt, Lido, learn to speak English, the two rascals shine a light on what dogs really think of people, life, love and the true nature of everything. It lands them smack into a red hot skillet-full of Texas-crazy misadventures. Danny's odd but inspired problem solving, Lido's sass and warm canine soul, their common pursuit of perfect pancakes and the meaning of the universe, all make this interspecies young duo into celebrated activists, hunted criminals and targets for murder.