Griffin Bay Bookstore and San Juan Island Library have teamed up to host a book talk and signing for “Lucky to be Alive: A Love Story”, a debut novel by local playwright, journalist, and author Wendy E. Shepard.

The event is Saturday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m. at Griffin Bay Bookstore.

Inspired by true happenings, “Lucky” presents a philosophical journey through the season of life as it traces the wanderings and exuberant will to live of a Border Collie, Lucky, as it searches for home on an island in the Pacific Northwest.

Along the way, unbeknownst to him, Lucky teaches his human companions what it means to live together, in harmony, with all of Nature’s living things.

“Lucky embodied the unchanging, unconditional kind of love that is essential for commitment, whether it is to ourselves, to another, to our planet — to whatever crosses our path, whether or not we like it,” Shepard says.

Longing for a rural setting like the one in New England where she was raised, Shepard moved to San Juan Island about 20 years ago, following a career in the arts and as an arts education administrator, which included positions at Bard College and California Institute of the Arts.

Several of the plays penned by Shepard have been performed as part of San Juan Community Theatre’s Playwrights Festival.

As part of Saturday’s event, Shepard will read from “Lucky” and sign copies of her debut work of fiction.

For info, Griffin Bay, 378-5511, www.griffinbaybook.com; library, 378-2798, www.sjlib.org.