Steph & Dan
 
Who are Steph & Dan? Our story: It was the most beautiful sunny fall day in Vancouver, BC, Canada. It usually rains in October, but things just seem to work out for us. A horse drawn carriage picked us up at our hotel and brought us and our families to a large (huge!) hollow tree in Stanley Park. We were married inside the hollow of that tree. The civil officiant spoke the following words: Click pic for blog
And so it began. We work hard at making every minute count. We are best friends, husband and wife, mom and dad; and now co-authors. What is Onion Breath? The story behind the story... Onion Breath came to life over a period of 2 months in the Spring of 2007. During that time, Dan was also putting the final touches on his young adult novel Outside the Box and finishing his last semester in Grad School. Steph was also quite busy with the little ones, ages 20 months and 3 months. On top on that we also have two teenagers to keep in line (they’ve been terrific and such great help during this process!). It has been a fun ride, we can't wait to share our book with our children. The original intent of Onion Breath was to write and illustrate a story for our own children and grandchildren. Something that would give them a hint of our imagination and personalities. A gift that would be fun and endure over time. Having children can definitely bring your imagination out of remission. Last winter, one of our daughters fell asleep on the couch. She was sleeping with her mouth wide open, as most of us do now and then. This particular daughter is a slightly picky eater (nowhere near as bad as Roy and Eugene in the story, though!). As Steph watched her, she thought of something she’d heard that said "everyone has swallowed at least one spider in their sleep." Steph’s imagination kicked in--what if someone had chronic bad breath? Would the spiders still go in there... and then she thought about our picky eater, and the story came to life. Why the atheist reference? Steph was about half-way through the story when she asked Dan to help with a rhyme. The verse was: "Now try the side dish and don't make a face..." She wasn't sure how to end it. In a split second Dan came up with "We're all atheists, so no need to say grace." Steph laughed hysterically; then thought for a moment. Why not? That’s what we are. It was completely serendipitous. We hemmed and hawed a bit whether or not we would leave it. The more we thought about it, the more it seemed we had to leave it. Removing it would be selling out. The line doesn't demean anyone's belief, just states a fact--atheists don't pray. And we thought not hiding it might help establish a sense of belonging or normalcy for our atheist children. If you go to the library or local bookstore you’ll find books about all different beliefs and lifestyles, showing how it’s okay that Johnny's friend is Muslim or Heather has two Mommies. There are only a couple of books published that describe humanism for young kids. You generally WON’T find them in those libraries or bookstores, though. There are a lot of good books for serious, older readers, but not so much on the fun side. What we like about Onion Breath is that we came up with this great story, where it just so happens the family is atheist. We didn’t set out to write a preachy book, or to explain, apologize for, or push atheism. But teaching cultural diversity and acceptance needs to start at a young age, and it needs to be fun. Onion Breath is not a book about atheism. It’s a book about two young boys who are picky eaters-- they just happen to be atheists. Maybe it will spark some conversations between parents and children. Atheists are probably the last group of people to be recognized as being discriminated against. If our verse on page 34 hits a nerve, you might want to ask yourself why? If you’re offended; if that single word ruins the fun for you, try thinking of it this way: if the verse had been "Now try the side dish and don't make face, be good boys and remember to say grace" would you have objected? Would you even have noticed? http://www.stayoutsidethebox.comshapeimage_4_link_0
Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two bodies, but there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place to enter into the days of your togetherness;
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.