“Legacy is a gift. This thought-provoking tale helps us see that our choices in the face of fear define our legacy and inspires us to be noble. The principles in this book are applicable to life and business and gets my recommendation as a must-read. “
Mary B. Lucas, author of Lunchmeat and Life Lessons, international keynote speaker
Legacy
by Michael Pietrack
Newly Released!
A hero comes in many shapes and sizes,
but true, you wear the best of their disguises.
Yet still, your name has given it away.
An able bee is standing here today.
WATCH THE BACKSTORY
About the book:
A mysterious illness plagues the Queen at Primdale Hive. Her cure resides deep within a treacherous forest, where few meadow-bees have ever dared to go. She organizes a race to find the fastest bee in the hive, but the unexpected victor, Abelbee, is a mere adolescent. Should the future of the hive be placed on such an inexperienced bee? When Abel bravely accepts the challenge, he is thrust into a quest to save his civilization. The weight of the world is on Abel’s shoulders, as perils of the forest breathe upon his back. Join Abel on his journey as he learns the meaning of courage, the importance of love, and what it means to be noble.
About the book:
A mysterious illness plagues the Queen at Primdale Hive. Her cure resides deep within a treacherous forest, where few meadow-bees have ever dared to go. She organizes a race to find the fastest bee in the hive, but the unexpected victor, Abelbee, is a mere adolescent. Should the future of the hive be placed on such an inexperienced bee? When Abel bravely accepts the challenge, he is thrust into a quest to save his civilization. The weight of the world is on Abel’s shoulders, as perils of the forest breathe upon his back. Join Abel on his journey as he learns the meaning of courage, the importance of love, and what it means to be noble.
“Legacy” is a unique work in a genre of its own. It is a masterpiece in the old sense of that term: something sophisticated that is capable of being appreciated by the average person—child and adult alike—and is a much-needed antidote to the moral vacuum of modern culture.
Andrew Benson Brown Author of Legends of Liberty, Journalist, and Editor
Michael Pietrack’s extraordinary work blends two genres, cross-pollinating them into a masterpiece that is sweet in every sense of the word. This amazing narrative of the imagination is what the world needs right now and will be read with joy for years afterward.
James Sale Best-selling UK author and feature writer for The Epoch Times
FROM THE BOOK
Author’s Note
Many believe to destiny we’re bound…
that laureled heroes and the queens we’ve crowned
are riders on a predetermined course,
unwittingly controlled by fortune’s force.
But if a force decides what’s ‘meant to be,’
we carry no responsibility.
Why then reward the good and punish bad
when, ultimately, no real choice was had?
Whose will is being done if not our own?
Who’s then to blame for sorrows that we’ve known?
Who is this master at the puppet strings,
if there’s some maestro who’s conducting things?
But there’s another group, who would contend
there is no master script that has been penned,
but by the instant history is written,
with twisting plots inscribed by each decision.
There is no puppeteer; there are no strings. We have the freedom to decide all things. And this endowment is a gift to use that some will cherish—others will abuse.So, which do you believe to be the case? Are heroes mere selections by the fates? Or do they earn each honored accolade by will—when fears are faced and choices made? Well, as you ponder that, please let me share a story, long ago, placed in my care. I’m curious to learn—what will you see? Free will at work or fate’s direct decree?
From the Foreword:
Legacy is the new narrative poem and imaginative fable from Michael Pietrack. It is an important work for our age and time. First, as narrative it is a gripping read of heroism, triumph over adversity, and of the confrontation with evil. As fable it joins the exalted ranks of the classics. The most famous fable of the classic world is, of course, Aesop’s Fables; and the most famous of the twentieth-century is almost certainly George Orwell’s Animal Farm. It is worth mentioning this last example especially because it is a wonderful expose of the political and philosophical nonsense that we call Communism.
In other words, whilst fables may seem to be cute stories about various animals interacting, they at the same time can convey some of the profoundest insights into human nature and current realities.
So it is with Michael Pietrack’s Legacy: perhaps the most important fable of the twenty-first century so far. The beauty of it too is that you can read it to your children and they will love it as well. It is simple to follow, yet has profound depth. And, as Andrew Benson Brown, the Missouri poet and critic, commented a while back: this poem is, “a much-needed antidote to the moral vacuum of modern culture.”
Written in charming, but not mechanical, verse, Legacy tells the story of the young Abelbee – a bee – on a quest to save his hive and queen. It is a classic odyssey story: the inexperienced and untested youngster who through the quest has to mature, realise his full powers, overcome obstacles and evil, and eventually become the hero he truly is – and save the hive! In short, the journey of Abelbee is every man and woman’s journey if they are to live a full and satisfying life.
Furthermore, as should be obvious: in order to overcome these terrors and obstacles on the journey, one must begin by overcoming them in oneself. Fear is the greatest enemy to all real achievement, and it begins within.
~be noble~
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
What’s your legacy?
I never intended to write a book. It just, sort of, happened.
What I intended to do was to write a short poem for my dad. Like most children, my brothers and I expected my father to tell us a story every night as we drifted off to sleep. As children we didn’t understand that he was exhausted or that pulling a plot from thin air at the end of a long day was no small ask. But the Pietrack boys were blessed because our father, David Pietrack, was the world’s best storytellers.
One of the hundreds of stories he’d tell featured a four-winged bee, named Buzzy, who didn’t know he was fast until he was brave enough to enter a race.
As I sat down to rewrite this old story about this little bee, I started wondering more about this bee’s backstory. Why was there a race to begin with? What happened after he won? Who else was in the race?
My short poem grew and grew to the point a chapter was written. At the conclusion of the chapter, I wrote, “So, do you think that Abel has been brave? /Well, wait until you hear about the cave.” A cave? This was not in my father’s plot! How does he get there? What happens when he does? From there the story took on a life of its own.
In August of 2013, a 15,000-word ten-chapter story called Abelbee was written. And I thought the story was complete. Wow, was I wrong…
READ MORE
After sending the story to several publishers, I grew discouraged. By the end of 2013, I put the manuscript in a file folder and purposefully buried in at the bottom of a drawer. My epic poem turned out to be an epic waste of time.
In 2020, in the heart of the pandemic, I took a long car ride with my dad, who put a CD into the player. It was an early recording of the story, and we listened to it together in silence. It was like reuniting with an old friend, the kind that no matter how much time has passed, you fall right back into the friendship. As we listened to the recording, I remembered why I loved it. I remembered that it was good. Dad and I both cried at the end. We cried without trying to hide it. Dad convinced me to try to send it to a few more publishers, but I knew it needed some work. I was stuck in the house during a pandemic, I might as well make use of my time.
When I sat down to work on the manuscript again, the words poured out of me like when you open a bottle of shaken soda. Though the manuscript was buried in a drawer, it seemed my mind was subconsciously working on the book the entire time. Each morning, I would share the new lines with my dad, and we’d come up with plot ideas together. My dad, the storyteller, was in his element. I almost didn’t want the writing to stop because it was our thing together.
But in early 2021, the manuscript was done…again. Now it was a 30,000 word poem with fourteen chapters. I contacted about 20 poets from around the world asking if someone would help me find a publisher for this work. Like Abel, I found myself alone in a dark wilderness. Most people were like cynical Sovas, who didn’t want to get involved with bee-business. But then, I got some encouraging responses.
First, it was James Sale, the foremost epic poet on the earth today. His response was like Lundy welcoming me in out from the cold. Then, another response came in, this time from a novelist and lyrical poet, Dawn Sinclair. She wrote, “I’d be happy to read it.” The next day, she wrote me back, and the only word I saw in her paragraphs of feedback was ‘masterpiece’. She was so emphatic about the quality of the work, that all my discouragement turned to determination. How do you thank someone for that? Well, the only way I could was to write in characters to honor her, and that’s how Mama Dawn and Sinclair came into existence.
Both James and Dawn noted that my concept of meter was more about counting syllables than a pattern of stressed beats. The manuscript that I thought was done had to go through a painstaking meter makeover. A tedious, time consuming edit began. I felt like Abel when he said, “it was like doing the impossible again!”
Then, much like in the story, two friends appeared like shining fireflies who were willing to share their light: Joseph Sale and Andrew Benson Brown. These accomplished writers paused their work to help untangle my meter mess. I learned so much from both of them, but since Andrew is here in the US, it became easier for us to communicate frequently. Like Rykerbee, Andrew became my meter master, and I tried to be a good student.
Then in 2022, I thought the manuscript was done for the third time. And for the third time, I was wrong. I gave it to James, Dawn, and Andrew for one more read through with these instructions: “Please, read it like a friend, critique it like a foe.” They delivered on both accounts. Their critiques reminded me of when your teacher hands you back a long paper and red ink tells you to “rewrite.” Though I appreciated the critiques of these three giants, it put me right back at the editing table. Even my wife got in on the jabs: “Hey, since you’re looking in that dictionary anyway, look up the word ‘done’. I think you don’t know what it means.”
While this was all going on, I was trying to attract a very talented illustrator to work on Legacy. I stalked the poor guy and practically begged him. But he was tied up with other projects. Then my dad suggested that I call the local college and see if they had any students that would like to build a portfolio. This turned out to be great advice because it led me to Catrina Odom.
About Michael
At the core, Michael Pietrack is a teacher, writer, and actor. This combination created the perfect storm for Pietrack to write literature’s first epic fable and produce an entertaining audiobook, where he performs over 20 voices.
