Babe's Bucket List Challenge #6: Write a Book

 Welcome to Babe's Bucket List Challenge, where I'm tackling twelve of the thirty things on my bucket list and writing about the experiences...won't you join me?

Remember my dad (from the Word of the Year post)?  Dad's joie de vivre was unmatched -- he loved life!  Music, surfing, engineering, strong coffee, and family were part of his core.  He loved tinkering with ideas and often worked with his grandsons on projects such as building a siege tower, designing and building a chicken coop, and designing and shooting off rockets...plus going fishing.  He lived life with an engineer's precision, a surfer's spirit, and a drummer's soul.  Even as his health declined, his spirit, sense of humor, and love for ice cream never wavered.

In his honor, this year I have created a bucket list - a compliation of dreams and aspirations - to work from.  My husband (who grew up in our town and interned with him as a teen) has also written down a bucket list, and we're going for it!  You can download your own Bucket List template at the Word of the Year post.

Challenge number six on the list?  Writing a book.

I'd like to take a moment here to shout out all of the authors out there...especially those who have been quite prolific.  It's one thing to have a creative idea, and to even have a rough plot in your head.  It's quite another to bring it to fruition on the page!

While I began writing a longer novel, and still have all of those planning pages and rough drafts, ultimately I knew I would have to shift gears to be able to accomplish this goal this year.  I had been kicking around an idea for a children's book and found that one much easier to pull together in a shortened period of time.  I'm thinking the fact that it was non-fiction also helped here, as I didn't have to keep my head wrapped around an alternate universe to keep all of the plotlines together, as one does for a novel.

Hippie Mama's ABC is a non-fiction, educational book (did you expect any less from a long-term homeschooler?) written for preschool and elementary aged children.  It covers natural and simple living, homesteading, and self-sufficiency, all at an introductory level.  Again, as a homeschooler, I've also included hands-on activities for concept reinforcement.  It is available on both kindle format and in paperback, and while I'm biased, I really think you're going to love it!

  

Hippie Mama's ABC

Imagine if you knew how to grow your own juicy strawberries, make your own bread, and fix a broken toy all by yourself. Learning about self-sufficiency and homesteading is a little bit like becoming a real-life explorer and helper at the same time. It means learning how to take care of yourself, your family, and the world around you. When kids learn these things, they discover that they are strong, smart, and able to do amazing things!  Told through the ABCs for elementary-aged children, there are also hands-on activities and parent-led adventures included.

While I am still currently working on my full-length novel, it's going to be a while before that one sees the light of day.  With dozens of pages of notes, multiple timelines plotted out, and a character map, it's something that requires chunks of time to devote to thinking and writing that I simply do have not have at the moment.  In this in-between stage -- taking care of both childrens and aging parents -- we do the best we can with the time we have.  Until then....Buonanotte, Tesoro!

Hippie Mama's ABC is available in kindle version or paperback