DRACUT — It all started with a bedtime story.
That’s how Stella Bonner, 10, describes the origins of “Darien the Librarian,” the 50,000-word novel she recently finished writing with her dad, Patrick.
The father and daughter had been adding to the story little by little at bedtime each night, and had even written some of it down. But they’d never made substantial progress. So when schools and businesses closed their doors in March in light of the coronavirus pandemic, they saw an opportunity.
“We wrote a few chapters here and there, but we didn’t really get started until quarantine, so we had a chance to sit down and really start,” said Stella, who attends Campbell Elementary School in Dracut.
Flash forward several weeks and many writing sessions later, and Stella and her dad have now raised more than $26,000 for nonprofit organization Feeding America by offering up electronic copies of the book to those who donate at least $10 to their Facebook fundraiser.
The novel follows Darien, a young girl who discovers she has the magical power to jump in and out of books and interact with the characters within them. Classic titles such as “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “The Count of Monte Cristo” make an appearance as Darien adventures through their pages with her friends.
And Stella and her dad aren’t ready to put their pens down just yet — the pair plan to center at least two more books around “Darien the Librarian’s” setting of Ocean Point, a fictitious coastal town inspired by Scituate, Mass. For Bonner, the best part of writing the book was getting to work on it with his daughter, who he described as a “big, big reader.”
“I enjoy writing; it’s always been a hobby. But I always backburner it, so to have her pressing me to keep writing was a nice way to avoid procrastinating, and she really enjoyed it and started learning things about plotting and characters and things like that,” Bonner said. “So it kind of worked both ways — she pushed me and I got to educate her.”
Finishing a novel is a big accomplishment at any age, but Bonner said Stella didn’t want to celebrate by getting it published. Instead, she wanted to do something for others, inspired by the livestream benefit concerts, specials and performances that have become commonplace on television and social media in recent weeks.
“We already have money for clothes and for food and stuff, and some people don’t have money to do that,” Stella said. “So I wanted to help people who can’t help themselves.”
Originally, the father and daughter set the goal for their Feeding America fundraiser at $500, assuming they’d receive donations mostly from family and friends — but they soon blew past that benchmark. The donations came from as far as Rome, Hong Kong, and New York, and Stella said they’ve even received requests to translate the book into Spanish.
Bonner said the family has been floored by the outpouring of generosity and support .
“It feels really good to be sharing my story,” Stella said.
To donate to the fundraiser, which has been extended through the end of the month, visit https://ift.tt/2XeE8Wl. Donors can also give directly through Feeding America’s website and email Bonner at darienthelibrarian@gmail.com to receive an electronic copy of the book.
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