Ever wonder why bad things happen to good people?
A former Trail resident just may have the answer as Helene Clarke returns to the Silver City Saturday to promote her newly published children’s book, “Why Did the Osprey Poop on My Head.”
Clarke moved to Trail when she was 12, graduated at J. L. Crowe and attended Selkirk College before traveling. But it wasn’t until after her travels in Australia and Southeast Asia where she was in involved in Youth With a Mission (YWAM), she returned to Bible College in Caroline, Alberta and found her niche.
“YWAM had introduced me to puppets and Bible school brought back some creative writing skills.”
After graduating with a degree in Christian Ministries, Clarke spent the next few years writing scripts for puppet shows and discovered she enjoyed writing about real issues while making people laugh.
She then signed up for a writing course from the Institute of Children’s Literature and soon the seeds for Osprey were sown.
The idea came after Clarke and her husband Tim, a former Fruitvale resident, were walking along a beach when an Osprey flew over and pooped on his head.
“It’s a light-hearted story about a young boy who knows that God is good but questions why bad things happen,” said Clarke.
“Which is actually the comment my husband said as it landed on his head, ‘I know God’s good but why would this osprey poop on my head.’”
It became the perfect title for her first children’s book and while Clarke has no kids of her own, she takes inspiration from her 20 nieces and nephews and her own voracious appetite for books.
“Books were an important part of my life from an early age,” said Helene. “I loved stories that allowed me to do the impossible and caused my imagination to soar.”
To find out more about Helene Clarke’s provocative title join her at a book signing at Clive’s Coffee Bar in Trail, Saturday at 2 p.m.
The book is recommended for children ages four to seven and will be available for sale for $10. It is published by Tate Publishing out of Mustang, Oklahoma and illustrated by Justin Stier.
The Clarkes now reside in Vernon.