It started on vacation. When Jodi Beasley of Versailles, Ohio, took her family to a beach house on Murrell’s Inlet, South Carolina, she didn’t expect it to inspire the next phase of her life — children’s book author.
Monday, April 18, she shared her work with the students at Benjamin Logan Elementary School. And, it turns out, the school district has a close connection to the story. Superintendent John Scheu owns the house the Beasleys rented on that memorable week.
Beasley’s two books were inspired by the foxes frolicking through the neighborhood around Scheu’s South vacation home. The animals live in sand dunes across the street and can sometimes be seen under back patios.
“We leave a note for renters, asking them to feed the foxes,” Scheu said. “And they enjoy that.”
After her trip, Beasley contacted Scheu about her plans to write a book based on her experiences with the fox known as Black Sox.
“The first thing I wanted to ask was if he was OK with me doing the story since it was something special he did,” she said. “But I also wanted to use the name Black Sox.” Black Sox was John’s name for the main, more recognizable fox.
Scheu gave her a thumbs-up, and Beasley wrote Black Sox the Fox: A Week at the Beach first, then followed it with Black Sox the Fox: A Week at Camp. And, in fact, the latter was based on sending her children to Camp Wesley near Bellefontaine.
Besides writing, Beasley enjoys being a stay-at-home mom, along with babysitting. She’s also worked as a teacher’s aide. Though she hopes more books are in her future Beasley added, “I have four teenagers with super-busy schedules. I don’t have plans for the next book at the moment.”