Marriner Eccles of Marin County, Calif., works in finance economics and has "not a writing bone in my body."
It didn't stop this scion of the Sun Valley Eccles family from turning his left-brain-led mind to conceiving, writing and publishing a children's book, "Samantha" and now organizing a benefit book launch at The Community Library in Ketchum, 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 4.
Proceeds from the sale of books will go into an endowment for the Children's Library, to be called Samantha's Fund. Books are available for $20 at the Community Library, Chapter One Bookstore and Iconoclast Bookstore. Refreshments will be served at the book launch, illustrator Jill Hall, and Marriner Eccles will both be in attendance to read and sign the book and speak about the process of creating, illustrating and publishing the story.
Eccles has long ties to the Wood River Valley.
"My grandfather was also Marriner Eccles. He was a close friend of the Harriman family. The old family house was on West Lake Drive in Sun Valley," he said. His father is Campbell Eccles.
In fact, his grandfather was the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. He helped President Franklin D. Roosevelt design the New Deal.
The original idea for "Samantha" started last summer.
"We were here with family members, my sisters and our children, and even grandchildren, watching the ducks the same thing way we did 50 years ago," Eccles said. "The kids were feeding the ducks, using duck language and running around. The whole thing came rushing back. It occurred to me that three generations have been doing this. Amazing that this magical place, this small pond, could produce so much happiness."
Later, Eccles was in Sun Valley while his wife was sitting out a movie he didn't like. He watched the swans tuck in for the night. The next day he decided he'd write about it.
He contacted his wife's friend, a children's librarian and illustrator, Jill Hall. The book was eventually self published to maximize proceeds to the library, by Dragon Pencil in Georgia.
"Jill had not been in Sun Valley, so we sent her pictures and told her we wanted a fresh approach and especially from a child's point of view," Eccles said. "We didn't want it glossy and bright or cartoonish. I wanted it to be traditional and speak to a time long ago and good for whole family."
The book is the first in a trio of stories about animals in the Sun Valley area. The second book, which is already finished, is about a fox, while the third will be about a trout.
Illustration by Jill Hall from ?Samantha.?
