FAIRHOPE — Love is truly golden when it’s unconditional. For Eastern Shore author Sonny Brewer, the feelings he has for his golden retriever, Cormac, are mutual.

Brewer’s latest novel is about the love he shares with his canine companion, and what happened after he vanished one day while the author and his family were away.

Brewer said Cormac: The Tale of a Dog Gone Missing is a fictionalized account of a true story — the search for his beloved dog. He noted parts of the story were embellished, and characters combined, in order to better grab the reader’s imagination.

Asked what inspired him to tell the story, Brewer said, “The book came about because the event took place, the loss of my dog. My publisher asked me last November while we were sitting on a sofa at a friend’s home on Fish River what ideas were in my head.”

Cormac’s tale piqued the interested of San Francisco-based MacAdam/Cage, and the novel got the green light.

“I think he had in his mind that hope beyond hope the book will sell the way Marley and Me sold,” Brewer said with a chuckle, referring to the popular book about a dog’s love for his human family. “I did not read it. I didn’t want to subconsciously imitate something in that story.”

Brewer, his wife, Diana, and their two sons brought Cormac home after the puppy decided the patriarch of the family was the pick of the litter.

“He picked me out,” Brewer said. “You think you go to pick out a dog, and that worked well.”

Cormac was often spooked by thunderstorms and lightning, however, and ran away during a severe storm while Brewer was on a book tour for an earlier novel.

He said, “Cormac bolted from our yard while we were in San Francisco. By the time I got home, he was not to be found.”

Thus began the odyssey that prompted Brewer to move heaven and earth to find his dog.

“My dog was missing. I was frustrated,” he said. “I stayed on his trail for a month, and I found him.”

Brewer received support from an entire community while searching for Cormac, including a veterinarian, bookstore colleagues, animal rescue staff and old friends. The story of how it all happened is what he thinks will hold the interest of readers — young and old alike.

“I think it will (especially) appeal to readers who have a dog,” Brewer said. “The narrative hook for a reader is that it’s a story about a dog.”

Some who don’t have a dog, but have read the book, told Brewer the tale made them wish they had a furry friend by their side, something that might not surprise other animal lovers.

Commenting about Cormac: The Tale of a Dog Gone Missing, fellow Fairhope author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Rick Bragg said, “Everyone who has ever looked down an empty road, waiting for a beloved animal to come walking home, will love this book.”

Brewer noted his golden retriever is physically no worse for the wear of his adventure, but behaves a little differently these days.

“Cormac came back from that experience a lot more timid,” he said. “He does not want to be out of my sight. Before, he was chasing squirrels. You can definitely tell he is not as brave or adventurous as he was before. He still loves people though. He doesn’t know a stranger.”

Cormac’s story has drawn the interest of motion picture producers from the Gulf Coast to Hollywood. Brewer is currently writing a screenplay based on the book.

He is the author of two other novels, The Poet of Tolstoy Park and A Sound Like Thunder. Brewer is also editor of the Stories from the Blue Moon Café series of Southern fiction.

The author and Cormac will be at Page and Palette, 32 S. Section St. in Fairhope at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5., to sign copies of the book. A reading will begin at 7:30.

With their purchase of Brewer’s book, readers will have the opportunity to enter a drawing to win one of numerous dog-related door prizes.

“Bones for Cormac” will be on sale for $1 each. Anyone buying a bone will also receive a sampling of Purina’s new all-natural dog food, Pro Plan Selects.

Children will also have a chance to participate in the fun with a journey on the sidewalks of downtown Fairhope in a cart pulled by a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. The cost of the ride is $5. All proceeds from both the bone sale and cart ride will benefit the Canine Health

Foundation.

The bookstore recently sponsored a dog-related writing/art contest to coincide with the event. Students in grades K-12 entered their favorite dog story or canine artwork. The top seven winners will receive a prize from Purina.

For more information about these First Friday ArtWalk festivities, call Page & Palette at 928-5295, or visit www.pageandpalette.com.