Authors are
often advised to write about what they know best. I usually follow that rule
and write about stories that are close to my heart. The story I am about to
tell you, however, fell in my lap unexpectedly. To be accurate, it fell into
the trunk of our car.
It was a
sunny day when my husband and I visited my father in a Florida hospital.
Leaving the hospital, my husband pulled his car in front of the entrance and
started packing our belongings in the trunk. While I waited, I stood on the
sidewalk and, shading my eyes with my palm, looked out at the coast, which was
bathed in brilliant light.
The sun was
bright and intense, shedding dazzling sunbeams on sparkling water. Caught in
the net of the teasing sunrays, the waves lapping on the shore gleamed with
unusual colors. Covered with crystal sparkles, a beautiful rainbow arched above
the nearby bridge. From afar, it looked as if it were trapped under heavy
layers of water. Amazed at the beautiful view, I lifted my eyes to the
cloudless sky.
Suddenly, a
little mouse slid down the canopy that covered the hospital entrance and fell
inside our car trunk. Stunned, I closed my mouth with my hand. My husband
looked at me in disbelief. Before we knew it, the unwelcome guest had
disappeared between our luggage. Laughing, I could hardly believe my good luck.
A story about a hospital mouse was unfolding in front of my eyes.
At first, we
tried to scare the little intruder out by making noise and moving the luggage,
but the sneaky mouse disappeared without a trace. Upset, Mr. D, who is highly
allergic to any hairy creature, opened all the car doors and unpacked the
trunk. Watching him, I saw an opportunity for a story.
At that time,
I did not know much about the life of mice and had no idea why they would
choose a hospital as their home. The concept of a story about a tiny adventurer
immediately came to mind. A hospital mouse had decided to go on vacation!
With no other
choice, we drove back to New Jersey with the mouse in our trunk. Watching my
husband traveling for eighteen hours with a mouse inside our car is another
story. Someday I will make a comic book about a shrewd mouse and the annoyed
Mr. D.
Though we
laughed all the way home, my husband also jumped at the slightest noise.
Besides being allergic to animal hair, my husband was also apparently scared of
mice. Sneezing nonstop, he finally made it home. As he parked in the garage, he
opened the trunk and left our car and its hidden occupant to the cat.
I felt bad
for the little mouse, whom I had already named Carlo. In my mind, the Florida
mouse resembled one of our friends, who was born in the same hospital our
little guest came from. He later married a beautiful red-haired wife and has
three red-haired daughters. What
a beautiful family of mice, I
thought. I could not sleep that night. The story about a Florida mouse stuck in
my mind.
In the
morning, we carefully opened the garage door. Afraid of the mouse, my husband
armed himself with a broom, but I stopped him from entering the garage. I
wanted to see our little guest alive. I quietly walked to the garage door and
looked inside through the narrow window.
To my
surprise, Carlo was sitting on the edge of the car trunk staring at our cat,
Nyda, who was lying on top of the car. They appeared to be having a pleasant
conversation. I quietly walked away.
Cooking
dinner in the kitchen, I glanced outside through the window. The cat was
leaving the garage. Shortly afterwards, Mr. D. walked by the window with a
broom in his hands. I wanted to stop him and quickly opened the garage door.
Carlo the mouse was sitting on the doorstep, as if he were waiting for me to
let him into the kitchen.
Scared, I
slammed the door and ran to the window. Carlo left the garage in a hurry and
ran toward the lake. What happened next was pure imagination. In the next few
days, I wrote the story “Carlo the Mouse on Vacation” and let my husband read
it. As he did, he laughed and insisted that I publish it.
After I
published “Carlo the Mouse on Vacation,” some readers wanted to know what type
of life Carlo lived in the hospital before he fell into our trunk. I thought
about it for a while, and then decided to go back in time and write another six
funny stories about Carlo’s life inside the hospital walls. I then connected
them to the existing book, “Carlo the Mouse on Vacation.” In addition, I
included an extra story about how Carlo met his favorite cook, “Bam.”
In December,
this project will move to the illustration stage in the publishing process. It
will take a year to publish the first four books. I am very excited about this
project and can’t wait to introduce you to the mischievous Carlo the mouse as a
baby and a teen.
The
manuscripts are ready, and I am now working on the next few books about Carlo
the Mouse in Paris. Many of you who read “Carlo the Mouse on Vacation” remember
that the story ended with Carlo trapped inside a pizza box, which was handed to
a man in black.
Here is a sneak peek for you: The next few books will take place on the streets
of Paris and will be very intriguing. Spies … betrayal … and a war between
international mice… Mr. D. and Carlo will never get along.
I am dying to tell you more, but this is as much as I am allowed to reveal. I
hope you understand.
© All Rights Reserved by Mrs.D.Books.
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