By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

Adam Deveau feels there is nothing more precious than watching his young child’s face light up as he reads an original, heartwarming story about moose and otters.

Wanting to share Adam’s gift of storytelling with other children, his two childhood friends, Dan O’Connell and Reed Allen, pitched an interesting business idea.

Let’s start a subscription book club.

When January arrived, the trio launched the Mythic Moose Book Club. Subscribers can choose a printed book ($6.99) or e-book ($2.99). Or, subscribers can go with a yearly plan ($31.99) and save 10%. Every month, a new, unique book written by the Mythic Moose team is delivered to a subscriber’s mailbox or inbox.

The website is www.mythicmoosebookclub.com

The News reached out to Adam, Dan and Reed this week and posed the following questions to the writer and business partners:

BN. How long have you three known each other, and how did you become close friends?

Adam: Dan and I have been friends since around age 6 (growing up in Bridgton). Reed grew up in Sebago so we didn’t meet him until middle school. The three of us spent a ton of time working on creative projects together as kids whether it was for school or our own amusement. 

BN. How did you come together to launch Mythic Moose Book Club?

Adam: Reed reached out after 15 years to see how things were going. It felt like we hadn’t missed a day. I shared with them that I had written a kid’s book and that led to us kicking ideas around.

BN. How did you come up with the club name, and how did you decide to go in the direction of a book club?

A-D-R: We wanted the name to be fun for kids while also speaking to our roots growing up in Maine. The state has so much beautiful wildlife and images of moose are always awe-inspiring. Mythic made sense because we all still have a child-like appreciation for magic and mythology and felt it would be fitting for a young audience as well. It came after a long list of names that we didn’t feel really worked.

BN. What roles do Dan and Reed play?

Adam: There are responsibilities that fall on each of us individually, but the majority of tasks involve input from all of us. Working collaboratively is one of our favorite parts of doing this project. In general, I write the books, coordinate illustrations, and do some of the social media posting. Dan is lead on marketing, copywriting, and editing.  Reed is not only a reliable tie breaker for votes, he’s our website and brand designer, and also formats all of our books for printing.

BN. You mention that the book club is your chance to share a passion for teaching, storytelling and art. Where/when/how did you develop this “passion?”

Adam: After college, I had different jobs that were not really a good fit for me. I gave the world of education a try and finally found some career success (he is a seventh grade Special Ed teacher at Windham Middle School). Realizing that teaching was a strength of mine that could benefit other people really helped foster that passion.

BN. Adam, as a writer, what influenced you to go in this direction (any past teacher, etc. spark/inspire you to write)? What do you enjoy about writing?

Adam: I’ve been inspired by no one more than my family. The first month’s story, “You Otter Know We Love You,” was written for my one and a half year old daughter and I enjoyed writing something that I thought she would like. She enjoys books that are rhythmic and rhyming so I wanted to create that for her. Creativity has been an important part of my life and I know the same is true for Dan and Reed.

BN. What led you to write children stories and why did you decide on the 0-5 age range?

Adam: I wrote the first story for my daughter. I love books in that age range because it feels like there’s room for creativity and expression. We hope to offer stories for additional age ranges in the future.

BN. What goes into coming up with the next story to tell?

Adam: Any time I feel inspired with story ideas, I jot down a basic outline. Then, I sit down and see where my imagination takes me.

BN. Because you offer a new book each month, it must be quite an effort to turn out a new story while also teaching during the day? How do you do it?

Adam: We have definitely worked some late nights on this project! We all have different attributes that have contributed to keeping everything on track. I don’t think it would be possible to do it alone.

BN. Along with a good story, the art work is also quite important for a child to see. Who illustrates, and how did you go about selecting the individual(s) — what were you looking for?

A-D-R: We have worked with a variety of artists that we chose based on their style and their ability to convey the feelings of the book in a visual manner. We want images that are fun, colorful, and simple. Our goal is to focus on the Maine community and partner with as many local artists as possible in the near future. We are excited to have started that process already!

BN. Early response to the club and books? What do people seem to like the most? Requests?

A-D-R: People have given us great feedback on the stories and price. We wanted this to be something that everyone can afford to enjoy so we made that a priority and did everything we could to make that possible.

BN. Finish the following, “Mythic Moose Book Club will be a success if...”

A-D-R: The people who choose to subscribe enjoy our books and the moments they spend reading them with their children.

BN. Why did you decide to donate % of book sales to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital ( https://www.stjude.cloud/ )?

A-D-R: We felt that giving to charity was extremely important and it was something we all agreed on immediately. We chose St. Jude’s ( https://www.stjude.cloud/ ) because of their mission to help cure children that deal with things they shouldn’t have to even imagine.