When I was little, I wanted to be a goalie astronaut on the moon. However, my early occupational goals don't look like that they are going to come together the way I had dreamed, but I do get to be part of a launch after all, starting January 26. If you want to learn more about being part of the fun and energetic launch team, email us Peacebunnyisland@gmail.com and write launch on the memo.
When Dan Strone (CEO of Trident Media, a literary agent company in New York City) called our bunny office phone in August 2019, it's fair to say that it felt like it was from outer space.
It was end of summer - and I was so excited to have some local press the Minnesota State Fair. In a parallel world, he was looking for a good story somewhere located in the Midwest, and serendipity struck. He shared a vision about a book release in Spring 2020, which I remember seemed so very very far away, and that single phone call changed my plans and trajectory.
My family never could have foreseen how the entry of these two influential men could be so instrumental to the last year and through the memoir writing process and publishing. It's one thing to have journals and memories. It's quite another to learn the discipline of writing every day and rewriting and rewriting until it sounds like you. The story becomes a part of you.
Repeat NYT Best Selling author Todd Gold came alongside, and time after time I thought I fully appreciated how much he was offering to me. Then he offered more. I would be the first non-celebrity he would coach. He brought so much more than expertise as I began the process of building the 60 page proposal which needed to include a chapter sample. And I had no clue about how to do any of this. He has become a true friend.
Mr. Strone worked hard for me and negotiated hard, finally finding a home for my book yet to be written when Sarah Atkinson from Tyndale Momentum read the proposal and worked through the details to get the rights to publish it in their nonfiction division.
Don't let this magical process pass you by: An CEO from New York agency saw the potential in a Minnesota news story, connected me a distinguished memoir expert in Los Angeles to create a proposal that led an Chicago based publishing company to buy 65,000+ words written by an unheard of, unproven, unpublished 15 year old -- even before I had written the words down in story form. And some people still wonder why I live a life of gratitude!
Writing down the journey to Peacebunny Island became a major project that occupied my focus during the late spring/summer 2020 COVID-19 quarantine. All of our in person bunny events that normally led to donations to be used for bunny care were cancelled. We had plenty of senior home and hospice window visits, but my schedule really opened up. That's my positive spin on spring 2020. Now I had a very strong push with a contract in hand and deadlines to meet and a team who was rooting for me and pushing me forward and the project forward.
I embraced the summer quarantine with suddenly no shortage of time. Ultimately that meant more time with bunnies and more time to write. Sitting in the Peacebunny Cottage, or lying in a hammock on Kinderbunny Island, or sitting on a sandbar with toes in the river, or in my parents bed downstairs with the computer on my lap. For the most part, the vignettes began to flow. Because I didn't need to be creative in the plot line like fiction writers do, it came relatively quickly. It was a time of remembering all the "why" we do what we do stories. My world was real and right in front of me and it just takes work to paint the pictures. The main challenge was editing down journal entries and cutting down the length and scope. There are just SO MANY stories of people whom we have met. Places we've traveled. So many sweet fluffy pals. So many moments that felt like deserved chapters, but I wasn't to share War and Peacebunnies. As Mr. Gold said over and over, we needed to keep the plot moving rather than tell all the amazing moments. So we will have all those in our hearts and journals and the draft chapters that were cut. Just too long. But what a process! It was the catalyst to go through old videos and photos and just take time to remember. The joys. The challenges. The lessons. The silliness. The hard physical work. The full range of emotions. The heart-breaking moments we witnessed. The families whose lives intersected with ours because of bunnies.
More time to write. For the most part, the vignettes began to flow. Because I didn't need to be creative in the plot line like fiction writers do, it came relatively quickly. It was a time of remembering all the "why" we do what we do stories. Myworld was real and r
ight in front of me and it just takes work to paint the pictures. The main c
hallenge was editing down journal entries and cutting down the length and scope. There are just SO MANY stories of people whom we have met. Places we've traveled. So many sweet fluffy pals. So many moments that felt like deserved chapters, but I wasn't to share War and Peacebunnies. As Mr. Gold said over and over, we needed to keep the plot moving rather than tell all the amazing moments. So we will have all those in our hearts and journals and the draft chapters that were cut. Just too long. But what a process! It was the catalyst to go through old videos and photos and just take time to remember. The joys. The challenges. The lessons. The silliness. The hard physical work. The full range of emotions. The heart-breaking moments we witnessed. The families whose lives intersected with ours because of bunnies.
And YOU are now part of that family too.
The journey of writing a book has led to lesson after lesson. And led me to really amazing people. It has stretched me in ways I never could have imagined. From the day I met Mr. Strone I have fully believed that this book was a way God has once again provided for His bunnies -- and ultimately for the people they will bless and minister to as they share hope and hoppiness. His eye is on the sparrow and the floofers that are entrusted to our care. The book has the potential for creating a new income stream to keep things moving forward, because every bit helps. For 2021 I have committed 100% of the proceeds to go into the Peacebunny Foundation and Peacebunny Islands, starting with the monthly expenses that need to get paid. Yep I'm 16 and I pay a mortgage. ;-) And we just keep moving forward.
Thanks for reading and joining us on this journey.
HAVE A HOPPY DAY!
- Caleb
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