A love of animals led to an illustrated children’s book.
Angela Maskey was working at Jim Hudson Lexus when a technician found an injured rabbit inside a vehicle. It hopped around trying to escape before it was captured and placed in a box.
“They came to me,” said Maskey, who wrote “Amanda: A Rabbit Rescue Tale” with illustrations by Bill Wood. “It was injured really bad.”
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The wild animal needed medical attention and fast. Maskey said she called all over town in search of a veterinarian who would treat the animal. When she found one, the bill was going to be pricey. Despite that, she wanted to see the animal healed.
When the surgery was completed, Maskey had to play nurse to the rabbit for a couple of weeks. The medications were expensive, too, but a local pharmacist worked with her on that. The only problem Maskey had was getting too attached.
“They told me not to fall in love with her,” she said.
The animal was wild and needed to be returned to it after it was healed enough. It could never be a pet.
Although she tried not to fall in love with it, Maskey did get attached naming the rabbit, Amanda.
Amanda recovered from the surgery, and one day, Maskey opened the cage for the rabbit to leave. She lives in an Evans neighborhood where there are lots of other rabbits, so she felt it would be a good place for Amanda.
“She ran out. I left it open for her. I left her food, but she never came back,” she said.
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Once Maskey decided to write the book, she needed to find an artist. A mutual acquaintance linked Maskey with Wood, who also draws editorial cartoons for “The Augusta Press.”
“A children’s book was a bucket list item,” said Wood.
Maskey and Wood shared a similar vision for the book although it took some time to get the project completed.
Instead of going on the family trip during spring break, Wood stayed in Augusta and devoted the time to finishing the illustrations.
Both Maskey and Wood said they are happy with the finished product.
“Amanda: A Rabbit Rescue Tale” has a message of community, of people helping each other and of being kind to nature.
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Maskey said she’s planning to be at the Saturday Augusta Market at Riverwalk to sell the book, but she also plans to be at the Junior League of Augusta’s holiday market, Nov. 12-14 at the Columbia County Exhibition Center.
In addition to the book, there’s a stuffed Amanda toy and an array of other Amanda merchandise.
The books and toys are also available online at amandatherabbit.com.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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