Writer Ferrets: Chasing the Muse

Budgeron is struggling mightily to write the great ferret novel, a story so rich, so finely wrought, it will set the world of ferret literature on its tail. By day, he writes adventure stories for kits' magazines. By night, he lights the Lamp of Wisdom and calls forth Count Urbain de Rothskit, hero of the massive volume, Where Ferrets Walk. After a near-perfect first sentence, Budgeron sighs in his tiny attic writing room and waits for the second to come.

Downstairs, a page-turner romance tumbles effortlessly from the keyboard of Budgeron's mate, Danielle. A pawdicurist who decides to write for fun, Danielle never expected her first page would explode with Veronique Sibhoan Ferret, a willful, naughty, mesmerizing animal who would one day bewitch millions of readers.

Budgeron and Danielle are aspiring writer ferrets following their calling through the quiet rooms where stories are born, past the mailbox and rejection slips and finally into the white hot world of big-time book publishing. In the end, each finds success writing for the one heart they must truly please: their own.

Writer Ferrets: Chasing the Muse is a tale about the search for what really matters in life; the struggle to free our inner voice; the pursuit of a dream against significant odds and the need to love and be loved by a like-minded spirit.

My own life has been full of loss for the last several years. Loss of hope, loss of career, loss of my marriage, loss of trust in my world... all of these have conspired to rob me of my dreams. Picking up this book on a whim, I felt all my hopes come rushing back in to fill the void inside of me.

I have always (since I was a small child) dreamed of writing. I was never able to garner the courage to actually attempt it, and I couldn't ever explain to anyone why. Finally, after losing so much in my life I finally managed to gain the courage to reach out to my dream with both hands and chase it wherever it might lead. This courage is due in great part to Mr. Bach and this book, and I will be forever in his debt.

He captures the frustration and elation of the creative process beautifully. Yes, he writes simply, and yes at times he's a bit sappy. This is part of the charm and if you are too jaded or too cynical to appreciate it then I truly feel sorry for you.

Do yourself a favor. Buy this book. Read this book. Enjoy this book. If you are an aspiring writer, if you know an aspiring writer, or if you just simply love the simplicity of openly and honestly chasing your dreams you NEED this book.


A Book For Children Of All Ages   November 2, 2002
Florence Cardinal (Bonnyville, AB Canada)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

It isn't often I "gush" about a book, but I will about this one. Yesterday I opened to the first page of "The Ferret Chronicles - Writer Ferrets: Chasing the muse." I have just finished it.

This could well be classed a children's book, as could most books by Richard Bach: "Jonathon Livingston Seagull," "There's No Such Place as Far Away."

But this one, about a pair of ferrets and how they find their "muse" is both informative and inspirational. I would recommend it to any aspiring writer.

And, if it needs a childlike mind to read and enjoy it, then I must have such a mind, and I'm proud of it.

"Writer Ferrets: Chasing the Muse": by Richard Bach. A good book for all children, no matter what their age.


A charming little tale   October 12, 2002
John K. Palchak (Champaign, IL United States)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Richard Bach weaves a fascinating yarn concerning the joys and struggles of being a writer. The story focuses on a writer struggling to write "The Great Ferret Novel"....in the meantime, he makes his living writing other "lesser" works. A great story about success, failure, and staying true to your inner muse. Highly recommended for children, adults, and anyone who's ever taken pen to paper because it felt good, and not because they had to.


For the Young Writer on Your Christmas List   November 12, 2002
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Richard Bach's love of the creative process illuminates every page of this charming story. This would make a nice gift for any aspiring writer on your Christmas list but I think it would have a special resonance for younger writers (twelve to fourteen). This book neatly illustrates the idea that struggling to meet others' expectations just doesn't contain the satisfaction (or rewards) of honoring one's own muse. I wish Writer Ferrets existed when I was fifteen and got a "C" on a creative writing asignment. From that moment, I spent decades trying to raise that grade by writing what I thought others wanted to read. Like the main character in "Chasing the Muse" I found myself stuck and producing writing that had nothing to do with my own inner voice. Lucky for me I found a friend who showed me the error of my ways and later gifted me with this book to underscore her point. If you are a struggling (or blocked) writer, I think you'll enjoy a quiet hour or two with the "Writer Ferrets."


Finding who they're meant to be   January 21, 2010
Chrijeff (Scranton, PA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

The middle volume in the Ferret Chronicles is not only a story of inspiration and hope, it also fairly bristles with background information about the ferret culture and feels a little like a game of Six Degrees of Separation. (Budgeron Ferret, the main character, once spent a summer on a ranch with Boa (of Rescue Ferrets at Sea) and Strobe (of Air Ferrets Aloft); his sister is Willow, the grandkit of the latter's angel ferret fairy Baxter.) After achieving a modest success as the author of "One Paw, Two Paws, Three Paws, Four Paws," a book written for kits (young ferrets), Budgeron manages to bring in an income by selling short stories to kits' magazines while struggling to write the Great Ferret Novel, "Where Ferrets Walk." But try though he will, he can't seem to get past the first sentence. Meanwhile, by sheer chance (or is it?), he meets Danielle, a dear friend of his sister's, who supports herself as a pawdicurist and substitute teacher, and they marry. Inspired by his devotion to his muse, Danielle decides to try to write a book too, "just for fun," and immediately finds herself originating a character so unique that the world of mustelid publishing will be stood on its ears by her story--a "naughty ferret" she names Veronique Sibhoan. Budgeron, determined to become a "real writer," suddenly discovers a new story telling itself to him--"Bevo the Hummingbird," based upon a beloved stuffed animal of his kithood. And when both Veronique and Bevo become runaway successes, their authors find their lives and their viewpoints transformed.

Authors are often urged to "write what they know," but this is less a story about doing so than it is about "doing what comes naturally"--letting your own imagination take the lead and hanging onto its tail for dear life. As such it may be an inspiration to aspiring writers of the human persuasion, especially those who specialize in genre or juveniles and are convinced that only Literary Fiction is really worthwhile. A delightful story that may be the best Ferret book of all.