BY KAREN BOSSICK
Dana Moloney is accustomed to handling legal briefs by day.
But come evening she metamorphosizes into a poet who is bent on following the journey of a fly—a mountain fly.
Moloney will hold a book launch party for her new “Mountain Fly” children’s adventure book from 4 to 7 today—Thursday, July 13—in Suite 201 of The Lupine Building. The building is at the corner of 2nd and River streets in Ketchum.
The book, the first in a series of adventure books, was illustrated by Austin, Texas-based illustrator Jim Keating, a longtime friend of Moloney’s.
The book follows the story of a fly dressed in pink sneakers and yellow overalls who wants to travel. He does just that, hitching a ride in a campervan as it makes its way from the mountains to the beach. Life on the road could be a little intimidating for such a small creature, but Mountain Fly finds its place in nature in this vast and wild country.
The story is more truth than fiction. Moloney says she got the idea from a fly that accompanied her husband Danny and she in their 1996 VW van as they drove from the mountains to the beach.
“We couldn’t get the fly out of the van,” she recounted. “It would be buzzing us, then hide…even when camping. Eventually, when we arrived at the beach it flew out of the van.”
On a whim, Moloney made up a little poem about the occasion and shared it with her husband:
“I am a mountain fly, but I long for a change, to experience adventure and a tropical rain…”
“Danny said, ‘Write that down,’ ” she said. “I have the original Names & Numbers notepad pages with my scribbles on it here in my office… I will have those pinned up for the event as well. They constitute the first draft from sooooo many years ago.”
Moloney said she will also string a substantial number of Keating’s original artwork sketches in her office for the book launch, which will be assisted by Iconoclast Books.
“It’s fun to see the process. He sketches, paints, uploads to his computer, and then he spends substantial time creating his detailed illustrations. We have been working this for years!”
Moloney, who coached snowboarding for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation for eight years, has completed six stories so far. Each takes the fly to another geological region, including one for Beach Fly and one for Desert Fly.