It's not everyday you stumble across a turtle in northern Alberta, but for one local resident, a timely encounter with one of the small reptiles set off an elaborate journey that concluded this summer with the publication of a children's book.
Goodridge resident Mereline Griffith calls her story ‘The Secret of Shay Cho Bay' a “creative non-fiction” book, describing her flirtation with a turtle over a 10-year period.
“The book is based on a true story which all started when I moved to a lake lot on the north side of Moose Lake probably about 10 years ago now,” Griffith said. “I used to take in long walks on the beach and one day I started to notice strange little tracks and I was always puzzled by what exactly had made them.”
She added, “Eventually, I found out it was a turtle. I only saw the little thing once in four or five years, and I heard a few others had seen a turtle in and around the beach area, which is pretty neat considering they don't belong there. Turtles are totally foreign to this area – I think the only turtles we have in Alberta are in the extreme south.”
The book describes the adventure Griffith took in her mind as she tried to find out what animal the tracks belonged to. It lends itself to children specifically as they themselves try to guess what creature the tracks belong to while they read the book.
Griffith though does not take all the credit for the finished product, expressing her thanks to local artist Susan Lynas for illustrating the book.
“Susan is an absolutely amazing artist and she really took my words and made them shine with her incredible drawings,” Griffith said. “We're both very proud of this little product and we really want to do what we can to spread the word and share it as much as we can.”
This isn't the first time Griffith has been published however – earlier this year she published a memoir book for her husband's family that includes traditional pioneer recipes and social history from the Goodridge area. She has also had several small pieces of poetry published throughout the years.
The niche for writing stems from a local writing group Griffith proudly considers herself a member of. The private group has been meeting for several years and it was the members that encouraged Griffith to have her most recent piece of work published.
“This book all came from a little homework assignment we set ourselves. This particular one was for us to write something in a place we've never written before. So I went down to the lake and sat in our pontoon boat and, being near the beach, I thought I'd write about the turtle,” Griffith said.
“When I eventually got around to sharing it at our next monthly meeting, we all thought this could work quite well as a children's book,” she added.
Since then Griffith has sent copies of her book to local libraries and she herself participated in a special book reading session at the Bonnyville FCSS last week.
Sitting at the Nouvelle office last week, reflecting on her work Griffith said it was a “fantastic feeling” to be a published author.
“It definitely feels good sitting here with my own published book in my hand,” Griffith said. “A writer has all this creativity and all these ideas, but to actually be able to channel that into a final, published product is quite amazing. I'm excited now just to be able to share this with as many people as possible.”
To purchase a copy of ‘The Secret of Shay Cho Bay', visit Le Papillon in Bonnyville, or order a copy online from the Friesen Press Bookstore.