New Project Energy

That Glow of Something New

I had the lovely opportunity to speak at the Second Annual Fredericksburg Book Festival on January 17th, which was an amazing experience. And it led to an epiphany and a new project!

First for the festival…

I can’t tell you how great the FBS team was. They made me feel like a real celebrity the whole weekend, gave me a stupendous swag bag, and put me up at the Herb Garden for the weekend.

The part that became really meaningful for me was the pre-festival school visit they set up at Harper Elementary, where I spoke to their 4th-grade class. This visit was what got me thinking.

Let me start by saying how cool Harper is. All grades in Harper ISD are on one campus. Separate buildings, but a very well-managed space. And the staff is fantastic, professional, kind, and welcoming.

I only had 45 minutes at the end of the day on Friday, but the students were attentive and engaged. And boy did we have fun. I give a talk about storytelling, and at the end, I give out a worksheet. One of the 4th graders took one of the sheets and was so excited that she said she was going to go home and write a story that afternoon. As an author, I love hearing that.

Apparently, this girl also convinced her mom to come to my talk at the festival the next day and bought my book as well. I can tell you that kind of enthusiasm is what makes me want to do this. Its the kind of thing that keeps me at the daily grind when my feet hurt standing behind a table during events.

And that was the epiphany.

My presentation could be more. I could do more with it than the surface level of a 45-minute school talk. I know that storytelling is such an important skill. The ability to express oneself, creatively or otherwise, is critical in all aspects of life. I could entertain kids, feed their minds, and give them some useful tools packaged around something I am passionate about.

I smell a project!

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