Peter Weber might be best known for chasing his dream of finding love on ABC's The Bachelor, but long before he was handing out roses, Weber dreamed of something else entirely: flying professionally. He was just 5 years old when he realized he wanted to grow up to be a pilot. Now, he's sharing that heartwarming story in his debut children's book The Adventures of Pilot Pete, out on November 23.
Presented with the idea by his publisher, Blue Balloon Books, Weber says he hoped he could tell a positive story that would inspire the next generation. "It was super fun and easy for me to make, because it's my passion," Weber says. "My first love is aviation, and this book just goes into the whole story of how that came to be."
Readers will learn all about Weber's first time seeing an airplane and how his passion for aviation grew. "The book goes through the whole story of falling in love with flying and all the work that goes into it," he explains. "I show people how I went through flight training, the struggles, the ups and downs, finally making to the top of the mountain, and achieving your dream and living out your passion."
The process of writing the book was a memorable experience for Weber. "It was so cool for me to take a trip down memory lane and relive these amazing memories," he notes.
Weber offered his illustrator real pictures to work off of. For example, one captured the moment he first visited a plane's cockpit with his dad and tried on a pilot hat. "Every person who was influential is accurately portrayed in the book," says the author. "I had this high school rocketry teacher who was a huge influence in my life and being able to tell his story and honor my mentor and my family has been really rewarding."
And if the book takes off—no pun intended—Weber's looking forward to seeing new iterations of his story, including versions translated into Spanish and other languages and an "educational and little bit mysterious" series in which Pilot Pete would travel to different countries. "Cuba is at the top of the list right now for first places to visit for an adventure," says the former reality star whose mom is Cuban. "My culture is very important to me."
Bachelor Nation will be happy to hear that Weber planted Easter eggs tied to the show throughout the book. And as he embarks on this new chapter, the pilot can't help but look back on his time on the show as an experience that he calls beautiful, but also trying. "That's a good thing," he says. "That's what helps you grow. That uncomfortability factor is not something to shy away from in my opinion."
And neither is chasing any big dream you might have, according to the pilot. Through his debut book, Weber aims to not only inspire kids who want to learn how to fly but to motivate children to follow through on any aspiration.
The author admits he was lucky to know what his dream was early on, and that isn't the case for all kids. For anyone who might feel a bit lost when it comes to pinpointing what they want to do, Weber advises, "Never settle. Life's too short to spend it doing something that you're not crazy about. Find something that creates that fire inside of you. It's so worth it, in my opinion, to hold out. If it takes a little bit longer, that's OK."
Signed copies of The Adventures of Pilot Pete are currently available for preorder. A portion of each order will support Pilots for Kids, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping hospitalized children.