Since they were little, Diane Welch's kids have been blaming a "Mr. Nobody" for anonymous misdemeanours around the house. Lost shoes and a mess in the kitchen are all the fault of this invisible creature.
Taking this in stride, the Abbotsford stay-at-home mom has transformed the running household joke into the star character of a children's book entitled "Introducing Mr. Nobody."
"We're always saying, 'Mr. Nobody must've done it,'" explains Diane. "He's not mean or cruel, and wouldn't do something that causes harm to you."
Many of the nine stories in the book are nearly true, such as unknown characters always getting into the kitchen's baking supplies.
Diane's four children each have a character named after them. Nine-year-old son August – "Austin" in the book – narrates the stories.
Husband Dave, a glass artist at a Surrey studio, lent his hand to drawing the illustrations. Although "Mr. Nobody" was originally a dog-like critter in August's imagination, he evolved into a forever elusive, good-natured Sasquatch-looking animal.
Diane has taken care to weave themes of love, family, and forgiveness into the characters' adventures.
"It's really neat how you can tie in a lot of life lessons into this," she said.
It took Diane and Dave three years to trek through the publishing process, but they have succeeded. Chapters/Indigo and Amazon.com are carrying the book.
The Welches are officially launching "Introducing Mr. Nobody" in Abbotsford on Friday, Sept. 27 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Abbotsford Pentecostal Assembly (3145 Gladwin Road). Diane will also be speaking at the Langley Chapters on Oct. 19, 2–5 p.m.
Since the publication in August, Diane has found herself accepted into the writing community of the Fraser Valley. She is even teaching a creative writing course at Columbia Bible College in November.
"My hope is to continue to be able to write, hopefully be able to teach," she said.
Diane is now working on a second book, where Mr. Nobody will likely have a partner in crime, whose name, August thinks, should be Mr. Magoogoo.
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