How Mother Rat Invented The World: A Fanciful Tale About Creation, Love, Serendipity, Rats, and Other Serious Subjects - Softcover

Stubblefield, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1737509105 ISBN 13: 9781737509103

Publisher: Practical Tales Publishing, 2022

Synopsis

“A long time ago, before the sun, the moon, the stars—even before the Earth and sky existed—Mother Rat lived in the workshop.”

The opening words of How Mother Rat Invented the World tell of a workshop that existed outside of space and time, but to Mother Rat, a very practical packrat, it was simply the home she shared with her three children, her friend Blue Jay, and the Old Man and Woman. For a long time—although since time did not yet exist, we cannot say how long—the Old Man and Woman struggled to create a universe. But, despite all their knowledge of physics and mathematics, all their care and hard work, something was missing from their creation’s vast, shining clockwork—until Mother Rat showed them the importance of chance, diversity, imagination, and love in making a world we all can share.

Mother Rat’s story is a secular creation myth, a love letter to science and invention, a celebration of nature, and a children’s story for everyone, no matter their age, who embraces imagination, an open heart, and an enduring sense of wonder.

About this title

About the Authors

William Stubblefield writes fiction, essays, and poetry. After a career in software and cognitive science, he shifted his emphasis to his first love: writing fiction and poetry. His work tends toward speculative fiction since it lets him explore the intersection of the scientific and poetic, and because so much of his thinking was shaped by science fiction masters including Clarke, Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury, Herbert, Delany, Dick, Le Guin, and Vonnegut. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains with his wife, Merry, an assortment of domestic animals (several cats and a cockatiel), and a yard graced with visits from diverse wildlife. When not writing, he enjoys playing the guitar, working on his mid-century modern house, and embracing life's adventures, both extraordinary and mundane.

Merry Stubblefield receieved a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University, and a Master of Applied Science in Computer Science from Boston University. After a scientific career that included a Technical Staff position at Sandia National Laboratories, she earned a Juris Doctorate from Vermont Law School, focusing on Animal Law. Her legal work has included animal rights and environmental cases. She is also a pianist and artist, and has provided the illustrations that brought Mother Rat to life.

Edition details

• Publisher: Practical Tales Publishing
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1737509105
• ISBN 13: 9781737509103
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Stubblefield Merry
• Number of pages: 47