Confessions and Origins

I have a confession to make. Thought I should come clean about it sooner than later.

This Change Agents website and Change Agents Facebook group weren’t formed directly to engage people in the climate fight. Instead, they’re an outgrowth from my climate fiction novel, The Change Agents: Whispers in the Wind, to be published later this year. I wrote the book as an entertaining way to interest people in and motivate them to make changes to fight global warming. I envisioned The Change Agents as an actual “thing” in which people participated coming after the book was published, not before as has been the case. When I realized finishing and publishing the book was going to take more time than I initially thought, I became impatient. Taking a friend’s wise advice, I started The Change Agents group to get the ball rolling and people involved, while continuing to work on the novel.

The Change Agents actually originated from a desire to honor a dear pet, Bebop (pictured here), and deal with the grief of his unexpected passing. I wanted to write a story featuring him and ruminated for a while on what the problem and antagonist would be. While reading a climate blog, the lightbulb went off in my head that climate change was the topic and the enemy. I eventually imagined a story in which animals, realizing they’re headed toward extinction from the warming climate, engage humans to slow the impacts of climate change. Those working in the resulting partnership name themselves The Change Agents. Thus the story and The Change Agents were born.

I have this picture in my office and often felt as though he was guiding me to find the story and tell it. Thank you, Bebop, for all you gave me during your life and afterward.

Whatever your inspiration, let’s work together as Change Agents to fight the enemy of global warming and save our collective world!