PERRYSBURG – Tom Waggoner got a lot of family support and encouragement while writing his
novel for tweens, "Danger in the Hills."His wife and three children had clamored for years for
him to record the bedtime stories Waggoner had spun from his childhood on the family farm. But perhaps
his mother-in-law, Jane Titer, who is 85, was the clincher.A couple of years ago, she took her
son-in-law aside and said, "Are you going to get this done before I’m dead?"Waggoner, dryly
chuckling at the memory, said, "I really buckled down and finished the book.""Danger in
the Hills," a story about a thoughtful groundhog whose family means more to him than anything in
the world, will be released by Tate Publishing and Enterprises LLC later this month. It can be
preordered on Amazon.com and through Barnes and Noble."This is a labor of love. That’s the best way
to describe it," said Waggoner of the writing and publishing process.Daughter Alexis can’t wait to
share "Danger in the Hills" with her two children, newborn Brecken and 2-year-old Kellen. She
remembered when her dad’s job would keep him away some nights during her childhood. She and her
brothers, Ryan and Mark, would plug in a tape-recorded version of some of the animal stories that he had
created.Her favorite characters were otters Otto and Aurora, who weren’t in every story."It’s like
when you’re a little kid and you have a favorite TV show, but your favorite character wasn’t in every
one (episode)," Alexis said.Waggoner grew up on a farm near Findlay where a menagerie of critters
was always around: raccoons, cats, dogs, tadpoles, salamanders and even two skunks, affectionately named
Chubby and Elizabeth."That kind of grew into Ernie and Petunia, the two parents in the book. We
told all these stories of their trials and tribulations," he said of "Danger in the
Hills."Waggoner said the book’s best audience is probably fourth-graders through junior-high
students."I would describe it as an adventure story."At home in Perrysburg near the river, the
tables and walls in the family office are lined with family photos. But the most eye-catching feature is
the floor to ceiling shelves stuffed with books, mostly made up of popular fiction, such as James
Patterson, Janet Evanovich and Patricia Cornwell."My favorite read this year was the Winston
Churchill ‘Last Lion’ trilogy," Waggoner said.Reading and stories have always been a big part of
the family’s life. When Waggoner and his wife of 35 years, Melanie, retire for the evening, they switch
on the two little lights above the bed and plow into the latest bestseller."We’re just kind of a
reading family."When Waggoner wasn’t playing with the wildlife as a child, his nose was in a book.
His favorites include "Wind in the Willows," "Watership Down" – and a dog-eared copy
of "Bubo the Great-Horned Owl," which he found in the Van Buren Elementary library. The story
was told through the eyes of the owl and Waggoner couldn’t read it enough. Strangely, with all of
today’s technology and search engines, he said he hasn’t been able to find the "Bubo" book
anywhere.At Bowling Green State University, where he studied to become a teacher, Waggoner took to heart
the "magnificent" advice given by a professor in a children’s literature class."She told
us early on, don’t be foolish about what you read" and "Unless you want to really write a
book, don’t do it. It’s very difficult. It’s a lot of work to do well."After getting his bachelor’s
degree, Waggoner taught for a couple years, but decided to change careers. He is now president of turf
and specialty group at the Anderson’s, Maumee. He’s been with the company for 27 years.He had one
signing for "Danger in the Hills" last month at Perrysburg’s My Daily Grind shop and hopes to
do more in the area.