Suzie Saves the Day
Suzie Saves the Day, a realistic-fiction children’s book, came from a desire of mine to do something to honor my late father, Kenard Kreycik. I had on my bucket list to write a children’s book someday and five years after he died, I really felt the push to do something. I kept thinking of the best story with Dad and Suzie, as there are so many. But I just couldn’t come up with the perfect story. Then, one afternoon it all came flooding in and I wrote as fast as I could! Now I had a story, what do I do with it? I started my search and found a Christian publisher in South Carolina that made everything sound so easy.
Before I tell you the story behind the book you should know the relationship between my dad and Suzie. Suzie was an elk calf we had to help her mother have by pulling it. Usually, the cow won’t claim the calf if there is any foreign smell which is about impossible to keep off. So, we had a bottle elk calf that dad raised in our basement. Suzie grew up healthy and strong. She followed dad everywhere and as she got older, if anyone but dad came up to her, she would get on her hind legs and try to box you with her two front hooves. Eventually she got big enough she had to go to the pasture with the other elk. It took a while, but the other elk did let her play in their “elk games”. Everyday when dad would go in the pasture to feed or check them, he would holler, “Here Suz, Come on Suz”, she would come running like a big baby! Their relationship was inseparable.
Suzie Saves the Day is a true story with a little drama included. In the spring of the year, we always moved the cow elk herd to a smaller pasture where we planted rye grass for them to eat giving their big pasture grass time to grow. One night someone came along and opened that gate and let the whole herd go free! The next morning, Dad found the cow herd of 30 and one high quality bull running in a circle about two miles away. He hollered for Suzie to come, and she led the whole herd back, following Dad’s lead right back into the pasture. It was a miracle, and she truly saved the day! In the book I did add that they had an encounter with some coyotes, but the elk used their instinctive protective maneuvers and strikes them until they leave. This part is also true as elk really do kill predators like coyotes with their front hooves. They strike fast and very hard and they never miss!
After one year of going back and forth with editors and illustrators, my book was complete. All I had to do was wait for it to be printed! I was so excited when my book showed up, I just cried. It was perfect; Suzie and my dad’s characters were adorable and the pictures of my dad and Suzie that I wanted to be included were so special to me. This was the fall of 2018. My grand plan was to sell the book at the covered wagon tours. Visitors would come, meet Suzie, and want to buy a book as a remembrance of her and the unique experience they had at the Kreycik Elk & Buffalo Ranch! My plan was a perfect added value to the tours. Then, the spring of 2019 hit us with the Bomb Cyclone and the historic flood. The Niobrara River below the ranch was flooded from the Spencer Dam breaking. The flood did not take any of our livestock or land, but the springs that sprung out of the hills we traveled through for the tours washed all our trails. It was too much to repair and after 23 years of tours, we made a family decision that this was our sign to let it go. I was so sad that we didn’t have the big last year finale where people could have their last chance to come on a tour that never has before. Just like that, it was over, and the last thing really connecting me to my dad had come to its final days.
So here I am with my first order of books I need to sell to recoup my investment. I didn’t have the tours to sell them, so I had to come up with a new plan. I made a post and places wanted me to come for book signings. I started at our school in Verdigre with a little presentation of the story behind the book, read the book, and signed any books kids purchased. An added perk is the banner poster of Suzie so kids can take a selfie with Suzie at my book signings! I soon was traveling to many schools and libraries sharing my story of how Suzie saved the day until the pandemic hit, and my book efforts were shut down once more.
I am still willing to come to present my story of the ranch, Suzie, and my book at events, organizations, and schools. My contact information is on this website.
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