Author Talks

So today was both weird and amazing. It was weird because I returned to my old elementary school. It has been years since I'd been in that building. I was there as an author scheduled to give a talk to their grade seven students, and it felt a little bit strange to be walking through those halls with a student escorting me to the library. Truth behold, I remembered where it was, and I didn't need the help! But it was amazing to be able to be there in the capacity of a guest speaker. The Leo Baeck Day School was the first place where I was given the first inkling that I could actually write, and write well. It was my English teachers that encouraged me to keep writing, and to keep telling stories, and to have a couple of them sit in and listen to me speak to their students was almost surreal. Over the course of the day, I gave two talks, one at their southern campus, and one at their northern one. It felt very apt that I gave the talks to the grade seven students. While it is true that the main reason that I wrote Sitnalta was for my brother, what I haven't mentioned was that I turned it in as a creative writing assignments for my grade seven English teacher! (I got an A+, and he asked if he could keep a copy of the story!) When I told the students that, they were shocked. It just goes to show you that you should be a pack rat like me! You never know when an old school assignment will come in handy, for either inspiration, or just for a laugh or two.

I did two readings for them and then I ended up speaking to them about was how I typically go from an idea, or a moment of inspiration, to completing a novel. Then I talked a bit about how the publisher takes that novel through the editing stages, cover art, and finally publication. I showed them the maps I've drawn of both Colonodona and its neighbouring kingdoms, Hadariah, my notebooks of character biographies, chapter notes, and ideas, as well as samples of cover art so they could see how things change from one draft to another. From there, we had a question period, and I loved being able to have a lively discussion with them all. 

The day left me feeling filled with energy and I left grinning. So many of them seem like voracious readers, and hearing that I started writing the character of Sitnalta at their age seemed to intrigue them. Already, they were telling me that they were writing as well. I told them not to wait twenty years before finishing what they started. Keep writing. Write everyday if you can. I hope they take my advice.

Talking to the students at the south campus.

Discussing why using spell check and grammar check doesn't really count as editing your manuscript.

Showing one of the books I used for research. (Apparently I forgot how a book works...)

Posing with some of my students. They were a fantastic audience! Thanks Leo Baeck!