Arts and Culture

WATCH: This Ogopogo inspired book sequel is 37 years in the making

First in series was published in 1985

It was December 18, 1981, and Don Levers was travelling across the lake with his wife when they both caught a glimpse of something in the water.

Maybe it was a wave, though the rest of the lake was calm like glass. Being winter, there were no boats on the lake, either.

And the strange sighting was confirmed by another couple, who had pulled over to the side of the road to investigate further, too.

“Of course, in 1981, you didn’t tell people you saw something in the water,” the former RDCO board member told Kelowna10 with a laugh. “Here’s this crazy politician seeing Ogopogo in the water.”

That experience, alongside his routine travels up and down the valley as a salesman, partially inspired the self-described storyteller to pen his first children’s book, Ogopogo: The Misunderstood Lake Monster.

Now, a new adventure is in store for the legendary lake monster - known as nx̌aʔx̌ʔitkʷ in nsyilxcən - in the children’s book, Ogopogo: And the Mysterious Stranger.

And while the sequel took 37 years to hit store shelves, Levers said he penned it in 1987. He actually had several sequels in mind, wanting to write about the entire fantastical Ogopogo family tree.

“Right back to the original generations that came from dragons. That’s my take on them. And then they spread throughout the world in all these different lakes,” he explained. “I was going to come up with something like that.”

But life got in the way. Levers was transferred to Victoria from Kelowna, hindering his ability to work with the original illustrator, Jack Thompson.

Then in January 2021, Jadon Dick with Okanagan Publishing called, and the pair stumbled on the topic during conversation. Levers made note of the already written sequel and, as they say, the rest in history.

The new book centres around the residents saying, ‘thank you’ to Ogopogo for saving three bus loads of children from falling into the lake. (The premise of the original story). The community plan to throw Ogopogo a party. Amidst the excitement, a mysterious stranger arrives, and his true intentions are explored.

Levers said the stories are all driven by his imagination and weaving fantasy with local lore. At the root, they are just fun stories, he said.

“I used to love reading to my kids every night, reading them stories, and I hope this will be one of those stories parents like to read with their kids,” he added.

The story is helped to life by colourful illustrations, courtesy of Angelina Danielle, who is a recent animations graduate.

“At first it was intimidating because I wasn’t sure what to expect,” she told Kelowna10. “After you talk for a while, you start developing a friendship, and it was really easy to bounce ideas back and forth.”

This is the first book she’s worked on professionally and she got the job through an email at school.

“Anything you can imagine you can put onto a book and draw,” Danielle said. “I would love to do more books; I think this what I want to do with my life.”

Levers, Dick, and Danielle worked intimately on the book, something Levers cherished.

“Normally, when there are children’s authors … the author sends the book to the publisher and that may be the last they may see of it,” he explained. “Having been involved with every page and the creativeness of each page … was incredible.”

The original book has sold over 30,000 copies since 1985, and Levers humorously hopes the sequel will sell for 37 years, too.

Ogopogo: And the Mysterious Stranger is available at select local bookstores and online.

Published 2022-07-23 by Tyler Marr and Jordan Brenda

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