Interview With Author Larry Nouvel

 

 

1. What inspired you to write Quiet Valor: What Lies Between Us. True Stories of Dogs, Cats, and People, and What Passes Between Them? My daughter, Michelle, suggested it. She knew before I did that it should be written. I spent most of my working life inventing products for dogs and cats. That meant watching closely what frightened an animal and what calmed it. When I began writing the Quiet Valor series, the two worlds kept finding each other. This book puts them together. Each chapter tells a true story of a person and an animal who earned each other's trust, then explains what was happening inside both of them.  

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? It is about the bond between people and their companion animals, told through true stories and the science underneath them. You meet Sheba, a dog who spent three years in a shelter before the right family came. You meet Caroline Hagedorn, who spent years earning the trust of a feral tomcat she named Meatie. And you meet Eric O'Grey, whose shelter dog, Peety, walked him into a new life. Between the stories, I explain what stress does to an animal and what calms it. One example is the gaze between a dog and its owner, which raises oxytocin in both. It is written for anyone who has loved an animal and wondered what was going on behind its eyes. You do not need a science background.  

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? I hope they look at their own dog or cat differently. Much of what we call bad behavior is fear, and fear can be understood and eased. I also hope they notice that the people in these stories had no special training. They paid attention. They kept showing up. Anyone can do that.  

4. How did you decide on your book's title and cover design? The title is the question at the center of the book. Something passes between a person and an animal, and it builds into trust. Science can measure some of it. The rest we can only describe. The cover shows a golden dog and a tabby cat facing each other. Between them, a hand holds out a small glowing lantern, the symbol of the Quiet Valor series.  

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers, other than run!? Start, no matter your age. I began at 82. Write from the record. Every story in my books comes from published reports, and readers can check them. Keep your paragraphs short and let the facts carry the feeling. If you would not say a sentence out loud to a friend, cut it. 

6. What trends in the book world do you see, and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? Readers want true stories they can trust. With so much online that cannot be verified, I think nonfiction that shows its sources will matter more. I also see authors building their own readership. I share true stories on Facebook regularly, and those readers have become the audience for my books. 

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? Almost all of them. As a chemist and animal scientist, I have handled hundreds of animals, and I am still a student of them. My work on pheromones, the chemical signals animals use to reassure one another, is part of the science in this book. Lecturing to veterinary students and groomers taught me to explain that science in plain words.  

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? Plain and direct. I use real names and give facts the reader can check, and I do not invent what anyone was thinking. Every chapter pairs a documented story with the science that explains it. The sources are listed at the end of each chapter.  

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? The hardest part was getting the science right without burying the stories. I checked every scientific claim against the original research and removed anything I could not confirm. The other challenge was restraint. The animals and their people had to speak for themselves. My job was to get out of the way.  

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? Because it will change how you see the animal on your couch. You will understand what it needs from you, and what it gives back. You will also meet people who gave an animal a second chance and never asked for credit. It is a book of true stories and real science, written for anyone who has ever loved a dog or a cat.  

About The Author: Larry Nouvel is a chemist and animal scientist in Plano, Texas. He founded LNouvel, Inc. and the UnRuffled Pets® line of pheromone-based calming products for dogs and cats. He has spent decades in pheromone research and is a co-inventor on patents for calming technologies, including 2M2B, the rabbit mammary pheromone. He has lectured at veterinary schools and grooming conferences. He began writing books less than a year ago, at 82, and has since completed the ten books of the Quiet Valor® series. For more information, please see: www.quietvalorbooks.org.

 

Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator! 

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 10, 850,000 page views. With over 5,700+ posts over the past 15 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2026, 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2026.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum