FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- It's not often that one finds an alpaca in one's pocket.
One Fort Drum spouse recently wrote a children's book about a little boy's obsession with owning a pocket-sized pet alpaca.
Mindy Whitten's "An Alpaca in my Pocket" is the first published book of several that she's currently working on.
Whitten had the initial idea to write about alpacas during a drive with her Family. As they drove past an alpaca farm, her husband, Andy, said "let's get an alpaca!"
"I think it is funny -- impulse live-stocking!" she exclaimed.
While the Family had a good laugh, Whitten was inspired.
While she was growing up in New Orleans and later Dahlonega, Ga., Whitten's parents always encouraged her and her sisters to read.
"My parents read to us from birth," she said. "Silly songs were encouraged, and (they supported our) artistic [removed]and) exploration."
"I have always enjoyed the rhyme and meter of a well-written story," Whitten continued. "So much so, that I went through a phase in middle school where all of my creative writing assignments were written in rhyme -- even the two- and three-pagers!"
Whitten's teachers even appreciated her creativity.
"After aging a little, I figured that some of my stuff might compete with what was out there, so I just thought I'd try (writing a book)," she explained.
Whitten and her two sisters, Katie and Amy, all grew up to work in creative jobs. She graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in industrial design, while her sisters majored in landscape design and architecture, respectively.
Whitten dedicated the book to them.
"Siblings are so weird; you drive each other crazy until everybody moves out and becomes what they will," she said. "Then, you become really supportive and encouraging of each other's ideas. That's how we have been."
"They are both very creative, and (they) know what it means to get ideas out of your brain and into the world," Whitten added. "They have both been especially encouraging about this particular endeavor."
Creativity is also a trait she encourages in her three sons, Ryan, 5, and twins, Callen and Luke, 2.
Unbeknownst to Whitten, her sons actually helped her create the main character in "An Alpaca in My Pocket."
"Actually, I don't know if I meant to, but (the little boy in the book) sure does look like my oldest," she said. "Perhaps the next book will provide an opportunity to imitate the younger two."
Balancing Army life and motherhood definitely made it difficult for Whitten to actually put her creative ideas on paper.
When the Family moved from Fort Rucker, Ala., Whitten wanted to finish the book in the two months leading up to her husband's deployment to Afghanistan.
"(I) came close, and then he (deployed) for a year and I had two babies and a preschooler."
Being a "single parent" during her husband's deployment made finishing the books tricky, Whitten admitted.
"When the books are coming along really well, the children decorate the walls, I wear pajamas all day and the dishes tower over the sink," she said. "The other 98 percent of the time when the house is clean, make-up actually comes in contact with my face and the kids are more constructively occupied, the books are buried in the closet!"
Even though her first book is complete, her husband, who returned from Afghanistan with 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade last fall, sometimes sees very little of his wife. While she works on her books in peace and quiet, Andy Whitten spends time with their three sons.
"My poor husband!" she said. "But, he is supportive, and (he) knows that this is exciting for me."
When Whitten's first book was ready for print, she decided that instead of waiting months to hear from a big-name publisher, she would use a reputable self-publishing company. She learned that big publishers often won't acknowledge new writers if they haven't been published or aren't already famous.
"I'm happy with the result, and now I have something to show the bigger (publishers)," she explained.
Since her husband has been home, Whitten has had an opportunity to write three more books. She is still working on the illustrations for them.
"The biggest challenge in drawing characters is that they have to look like the same character from the beginning of the book to the end. One piece of art can take hours or days," she said.
With each book being more than 30 pages long and the time it takes to draw each picture, her artwork is sometimes destroyed by one or all three of the tiny blurs running around the house.
"That's a lot of time that the art is around my children and, therefore, a target of destruction," Whitten said. "I have to choose book-development time carefully at our house."
Whitten will have a book sale and signing from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Post Exchange. She also will read some of her work during story time from 10 to 10:45 a.m. April 17 and June 12 at McEwen Library.
"I hope that people like it and that the effect of reading it together is a happy kid!" she exclaimed.
The next book Whitten plans to release is about mischievous cattle.
"That's all I will say, except that I'm super excited for the next one," she noted. "It may be my favorite!"
For more information about Whitten's books, email her at AnAlpacaInMyPocket@gmail.com.
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