“Throughout my life,
I have heard people say,
‘When life gives you lemons,
Make lemonade.’
In telling this tale,
I hope to convey,
that lemonade from life’s lemons
is not the only way.”
That’s the theme of Barnaby and the Mechanical Hand, local author Brenton Weidman’s self-published first book, available on Amazon.
Weidman also illustrated the book, which tells the story of Barnaby and his lemon tree. A friendly bear wants lemon for its tea. Barnaby plucks one from the tree and and absentmindedly reaches toward the bear as it yawns.
“I was lost
in my thoughts
as I reached
out to bear.
Of my hand’s location,
I was unaware”
The lemon and Barnaby’s hand mistakenly land in the bear’s mouth as its jaws close, and suddenly “the lemon and my hand were no longer there.”
Barnaby gets a mechanical hand and, instead of dwelling on his misfortune and settling for making lemonade from lemons, makes it his mission to give lemons a life beyond simply being fruit.
“Ultimately it’s about the value of friendship,” Weidman says, “but the the story ends differently than you would expect.”
By day, Weidman works in a warehouse. The 30-year-old father of two sons, ages 5 and 2, describes his first literary effort as a hobby, not a career change. He estimates that he’s sunk about $100 into the project, and says he and his wife will be satisfied if he breaks even.
Weidman kept his costs low by having a friend who writes graphic novels critique his work, instead of hiring a professional editor. He also used the popular artificial intelligence engine, ChatGPT, for grammar and style help.
Could there be more books in Weidman’s future?
“I don’t know if children’s books or writing in general is in my future,” he told LebTown. But “as of late, I’ve been kicking around the idea of a sci-fi book.”
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