I live with my main character: The ride of a lifetime
Compared to the writers in my area, I come to the writing game late in life. I only started to write when my husband told a family friend that he felt I wrote well. She passed that on to me. I mulled that over for a few months.
Having two surgeries coming up soon I knew I would have a lot of down time. So, I looked around my house for ideas on something I could write about. Something that I could write a book around.
My eyes landed on Jasper, our Yellow Cheek Amazon parrot. We rescued and adopted him in 1999 at the age of five. This was just a year after I started to rescue birds of any kind. At that point he had been with us for 10 years.
Wanting to learn as much as possible about him, I started to research his home and what he would see. I wanted to better understand this amazing animal who was now with us. What I came across was the issues that plague this region. The more research I did the more I got a better understanding of what he could lose if he was still there.
That got me thinking. It lead me to want to write a book that was educational and entertaining for this age group. A book that would make them appreciate, learn and perhaps become advocates of the animals and what they face. Being an avid reader, since forever it seems, I was fortunate to come across books by wonderful authors who made my love for reading just grow. If I could accomplish that for children I would be very happy.
Inspired to try my hand at a children’s book for any future grandchildren, I made the leap and started with volume one to my Jasper, Amazon parrot series.
I had an advantage from the start. Being around Jasper as long as I have, and at this point it is 21 years, we have seen how intelligent and adaptable he is. But not only that, his ability to learn and grow is remarkable. I would not have known this prior to rescuing him. Also, I could not have possibly imagined how to write it.
Fortunately, inside my series are scenes that have actually played out with us. One certain situation in one volume has ants on Jasper. He has to figure out how to get rid of them without getting bit.
One day an ant crawled onto Jasper’s beak. First, he called for help. Then, he tried to figure it out. Watching him go through that gave me the perfect way to describe it to the tee.
Another example is how Jasper is around my other birds. While he is not a fan of some of them, if anyone or anything tries to mess with them he is all into your business. His mannerisms, time and time again, have given me insight into writing how Jasper takes care of his brother Willie in the series.
It’s little things like this that make this series special. I have actual insight into his mood and how he works things out. All I have to do is observe and pay attention.
Living with my main character is a joy. Not many people can say this. It has given me an invaluable information that I could not possibly understand or view if he was not right by my side.
It is only fitting that my book and series is wrapped around him. I could not ask for a better companion to help me write my books.
Want to learn more about Jasper the Amazon Parrot?
Listen to it on Audible! or iTunes!
Lastly, check out the author's website.
Happy reading,
Erin & Anna
