The concept
I devised the idea for Rico while counting vote-by-mail ballots in a warehouse. The movement of paper and boxes and the sounds of tabulators inspired me. I envisioned a whimsical universe reminiscent of Willy Wonka’s world, where animals are trained to perform all the tasks. With the help of conveyor belts, pulleys, and tall ladders, counting votes would be executed with the ease and grace of a performance from Swan Lake.
Election Integrity
I based the main character, Rico, on my supervisor at work, who was responsible for voter registration. Their passion and commitment to ensuring the integrity of the registration process inspired me to rethink my original concept. I started writing a story that reflects the American 2020 election, where one candidate undermines the integrity of the election results. Ultimately, the integrity of the registration process determines the actual winner.
Voter ID
Since the universe I envisioned would consist entirely of animals, I considered using feathers or hair for voter identification. However, embracing a sense of whimsy, I decided to change the method to cutting cheese. This allowed me to incorporate the various scents collected by Rico from distant places, which would be stored in his registry in anticipation of voting day.
Populism
The pigs in the story are modeled after populist politicians worldwide who often promote fear and despair instead of hope and a positive vision for the future. King Rich represents the greed and stubborn hoarding of wealth prevalent in today’s society. His opponent is an owl, symbolizing that knowledge can overcome falsehoods. In the end, the voters choose Mira over King Rich. When the election is contested, the proof is in the puff. The integrity of the voter registration process validates the election.
The final product
Once I developed my storyline, I attempted to write it in rhyming couplets, inspired by Dr. Seuss. I approached an illustrator with my concept, but after trying the image generator, I was impressed by the speed and vibrancy of the AI-generated images. This led me to decide to use AI for the artwork. I then published the children’s book on Amazon as an experiment to assess the ease of the process. However, I encountered many pitfalls and failures along the way. Stay tuned for more stories about my journey in publishing a children’s book focused on election integrity.
Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/YbCASBfMMXQ?si=1D56QhKkviYb3YKK
Peter Blenman Author 