 In a 1992 interview about Shiloh , Naylor said : " Like a patchwork quilt , a novel is made up of things that have happened to me and things I have heard or read about , all mixed up with imaginings . " Naylor 's characters are frequently based on herself and her two sons . She penned the novel following an excursion with her husband , Rex , to visit their friends , Frank and Trudy Madden , in West Virginia . Naylor and Rex were strolling along a river when they discovered a dog in the grass following them . Dejected and frightened , the dog was " the saddest , most mistreated @-@ looking beagle I 'd ever seen " , Naylor later said . Because the dog frequently shuddered and slunk forward on her belly , Naylor suspected she had been abused . On a whim , Naylor whistled and the dog rushed forward , lapping Naylor 's face . Tailing them until they reached the Maddens ' house , the beagle remained under a tree , her paws cushioning her head during the drizzly afternoon . Naylor cried during her and her husband 's trip home that night . 
