It’s a happy coincidence, even serendipitous, that Saanich author Troy Wilson’s latest book, Dog vs. Ultra Dog, has been released on the 15th anniversary of the first book he ever published, Perfect Man, in 2004.
Wilson’s sixth book, Dog vs. Ultra Dog (Owlkids), pays homage to Perfect Man (which continues to have a strong run in the Greater Victoria Public Library circulation), through a boys love of a superhero. Tim idolizes superhero Ultra Dog the same way Michael Maxwell McCallum idolizes Perfect Man.
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Despite the story connection the timing wasn’t intentional, as you never know exactly when a book will hit the stands, but the echoes of Perfect Man in Dog vs. Ultra Dog are definitely deliberate, Wilson said.
“I found it fun to come at the whole ‘boy really, really loves a superhero’ thing from a different angle,” he said. “I love that my two superhero books have that connection this month. They make great companions, both in terms of their similarities and their differences.”
The Gordon Head resident is a regular at the Nellie McClung GVPL branch and his books are available at book stores and in the library, including 2017’s Liam Takes a Stand, 2018’s The Sinking of Captain Otter, and two of his classics, 2015’s The Duck Says and 2004’s Perfect Man.
Wilson’s story is one of persistence, as he went 10 years without publishing a book from 2005 to 2015 but has now published several with plenty more on the way. This summer he’ll release Little Red Reading Hood and the Misread Wolf (in July), a fun spin on the classic, which will be followed by another fairy tale retelling with a reading/bookish angle, he said.
In the meantime Wilson has also written 13 stories for Owlkids’ Chickadee and Chirp magazines. Usually, getting a magazine story or a book published involves Wilson pitching, pitching and pitching some more. But with Liam Takes a Stand, Owlkids approached him about retelling the 2011 magazine story as a book.
For Dog vs. Ultra Dog, it was the reverse, Wilson said.
“I approached Owlkids about making the [2007 Chickadee story ‘Williams vs. Ultra Dog’] into a book. In both instances, it was a second chance to get the story right,” he said.
Wilson’s books are for all ages, 4 to 104, and are available at most book stores in town.