Writing the children’s book “The Color Changing Strawberries” was an accomplishment for former Park City resident Beatrix Koev.
“It has always been a childhood dream of mine to be able to write one day,” said Koev, who now lives in Star Valley, Wyo. “I used to write poems when I was 18, and when I went to a publisher, she told me never to pick up a pen again.
“But looking back, I realize the poems were a bit cheesy.”
Koev also faced a language barrier. She was raised in Hungary and immigrated to the United States and learned English with her soon-to-be husband when she was 21.
While living in Washington, D.C., they visited Park City in 2002 for the Winter Games.
“We just fell in love with Park City,” Koev said. “I loved the whole mood. It has an old-time charm and is very recreational and diverse.”
Koev bought moved to Park City after buying and remodeling a house in 2006. They moved to Wyoming in June, and throughout those transitions, Koev still maintained her dream to become an author.
“I always loved reading and writing and telling stories to children,” she said. “I never thought I would be able to write again, but it happened. I was surprised myself, especially because English is my second language.”
The book, which was published by Publish America, a company based in Maryland, is about an unnamed boy and his garden.
“I decided not to use names, because I wanted to focus on nature, gardening, animals and surrounding areas,” Koev explained. “I feel very strongly about the lifestyle children live, whether they live in the city or in the country. I feel they all are so far removed from nature.”
Koev’s goal was to show children and their parents that there is more to life than sitting inside, in front of a computer or TV.
“It was very different when I was growing up,” she said. “I ran around all summer long with no shoes. I would go down to the creek and work in the garden., pulling the carrots and eating them while they are dirty.
“There are still some children who grow up like that, but the parents need to make an effort, because it’s so easy to plop them in front of the TV and give them a bag of chips.”
Koev began writing the book this past spring, and while doing so, she found she was writing just as much for herself as she was for the children she hoped would read it.
“To be honest with you, this has been a very spiritual experience,” she said. “I almost feel the story came to me at a time of my life when I had a lot of difficulties and I needed it most.”
Some of the challenges Koev faced included running a commercial construction company with her husband and moving to Wyoming.
“We ran the construction company for six years,” she said. “We did the structural steel for the Park City Police station and other places. And then we were selling our house. It was a time we kind of lost direction and there was too much going on in our lives.”
To get away from the stress, Koev went hiking and the book idea sprouted.
“There really weren’t any problems getting the outline and idea,” she said. “That’s why I think it was a gift, because it was exactly what I needed at the time and it fulfilled a deep need for something more than money and running a business and selling our house.”
She also drew inspiration from her 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter.
“My son really loves gardening,” Koev said. “We had a flower garden in Park City and he helped me put all the bulbs in and helped water the garden. And my daughter goes outside and picks up worms with a stick. I see how they are so happy and connected to nature and reality, and I somehow just wanted to share this.”
The family now has a garden in Wyoming where they grow strawberries.
“Life has gotten a lot simpler for us,” she said. “I go out in the meadow in the afternoon. The sun hits the grass in an interesting way and shimmers, and the wind touches my face. It’s like the theme of the book, which is about going back to something within you from your childhood where things were so simple. That same mood I tried to find when I was a child in my garden.”
While “The Color Changing Strawberries” will be available through www.amazon.com and Barnes & Nobel on Jan. 11, the book can be purchased through the publisher at www.publishamerica.com Koev said.
“It is planned to be the first book in a series of five,” she said.
Still, Koev is already planning other, unrelated books.
“I want to write something about chemistry for older children,” she said. “My husband studies chemical engineering at the University of Utah. Those atoms and ions are in a world of their own. I can just see the characters.”