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NWS Author Next Door: Priscilla Miller

NWS Author Next Door Spotlight: Priscilla Miller


We first featured Priscilla Miller as an Author Next Door in 2015. Now she’s returning with her latest book, Remmy: A Hero Dog Of War.  Based on her feature article that appeared on the front page of the Elk Rapids News in 2012, Miller’s new book is about a retired military service dog adopted by Doug and Pam Davis of Traverse City. The dog’s former handler in Afghanistan accidentally discovered Priscilla’s article online, and that’s how Doug and Pam learned what a hero their K-9 family member was. The happy ending to the story, and Miller’s book, was a reunion with the handler and his canine companion. Hollywood producers heard about the reunion and flew a film crew to Traverse City to record a television documentary called, “Saving Private K-9” for the Sportsman’s Channel.  During the recording Priscilla met Remmy’s former handler and was inspired to write this book.

“Initially I was not aware of what a valuable, lifesaving asset these military working dogs are and wanted to share Remmy’s story so others might gain a new respect for the incredible service these hero dogs perform,” said Priscilla.

This book is her effort to “pay it forward” with all proceeds from the sale of “Remmy: A Hero Dog Of War” going to help support the following charities, Mission K-9 Rescue, the group that brought Remmy to the Davis home, and the Warriors Path: PTSD Treatment & Therapy, founded by another one of Remmy’s former handlers.

The book is available at Create Space and Amazon

Priscilla grew up in Royal Oak, Michigan, married young and raised five children. As a WWII Gold Star Orphan, her love of reading provided a welcome escape from her lonely childhood. Reading transported her into a world where she lived vicariously with a real family via Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” books. Her writing ability first became apparent when her fifth grade teacher questioned whether a theme paper she wrote was the work of an adult.

“I always had the soul of a writer but never had the time to write until I retired and moved to Alden, Michigan,” she said, where her writing career began in 2004.

Her first feature story submitted to the Traverse City Record Eagle newspaper was based on letters sent to her by her father while stationed in the Navy just days prior to his untimely death in 1943. Her story landed on the front page of the Traverse City Record-Eagle  Father’s Day Edition of the Northern Living section. Within a short period of time her feature stories and articles began appearing in the Antrim Review, Prime Time News, Record-Eagle, Northern Express, and the Elk Rapids News.  Drawing on her own life experiences, her stories also appeared in Angels On My Doorstep, The Answer, and A Birthday Miracle, in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.  In 2009, after receiving a diagnosis of Wet Macular Degeneration, Priscilla was faced with a new sense of urgency as she wrote and published her first book, “Reflections at the Water’s Edge: An Illustrated History of the Alden Area,” featuring a collection of memories from longtime Alden residents along with photographs provided by them and others from the archives of Alden’s Depot Museum.

In 2014, Miller fulfilled an over 40 year old promise to her son, that “someday” she would write a story about his unusual looking teddy bear named McGillicutty. She wrote her first children’s book, “McGillicutty: A Very Special Bear” featuring beautiful, full color illustrations by award-winning artist Mary Guntzviller.