Rowley, a 43-year-old paralegal and screenwriter, had sold several unproduced screenplays before writing a short story about the death of his dachshund, Lily, to cope with his grief.

[2] The Hollywood Reporter noted that the offer "was made with unusual speed",[3] with The New York Observer calling it "a timeline unheard of in the slow-paced publishing industry".

[4] Booklist praised Lily and the Octopus as "an exceedingly authentic, keenly insightful, and heartbreakingly poignant tribute to the purity of love between a pet and its human".

[5] Publishers Weekly called the novel "sensitive, hilarious, and emotionally rewarding", adding that "in generous helpings of bittersweet humanity, Rowley has written an immensely poignant and touchingly relatable tale".

"[7] Sara Gruen called Lily and the Octopus "A quirky and deeply affecting charmer of a novel [that] is funny, wise, and utterly original in its exploration of what it means to love any mortal creature.