For the second time in less than a month, Im heading out to the great town of Whitby, Ontario to talk about writing, books and meet some great young readers.
A few weeks ago, I posted about my appearance at the Words in Whitby Celebration of Authors and had a great time. Whitby is a great place, with an ideal mix of rural and urban and I really enjoyed my visit there.
Now, thanks to C.E. Broughton School, Im off to Whitby one more time. The librarians and teachers at C.E.Broughton have invited me to their Authors Night, happening tomorrow evening. Students, parents and teachers will be coming out to learn a bit about how comics are made and what it is that I do all day exactly. Im very excited and grateful to the fine teachers at C.E. Broughton for inviting me into their school.
Author appearances and school visits are a new thing for me and I really like them. Being a writer means sitting around in front of your computer all day with only the a few plants and squirrels for company. For a natural hermit like me, its a great way to make a living. But its easy to feel isolated.
Visiting schools, libraries and author festivals is a great way for me to connect with the kids I write for. Every time I come back from an appearance or visit, I feel charged up and ready to write some more. Its great when the students see your books and their faces light up with excitement or, in the case of Max Finder, recognition.
My favourite part of each of my talks is the Q&A session. The kids are free to ask any questions (within limits, of course!) The questions are always great, but sometimes there are real winners, like Have you ever got mad and yelled at your editor? These questions usually require quick thinking on my part and some witty (at least to me) remark that deflects the question – perfect training for politics, I should think.
Thanks again to C.E. Broughton for the invitation. Im looking forward to meeting the students, talking comics and dodging those tricky questions.
