When you have an interview, they normally ask, where do you see yourself in 5 years time. If I was asked that when I graduated university, I would have said in a classroom but after today, I now can proudly say “I wish to be speaking in front of 90 children and adults about my books.” Today’s event was full of fun, tips and stories.
The CBCA Literacy Lunch was an event I attended back in 2019 when I had the opportunity to listen to authors while I was with the class and met a few fabulous authors, including the amazing Alison Tait, the delightful Di Ellis and the notable Nat Amore. Today, I had the opportunity to help out in the first one that was face-to-face for a few years. And the line-up of authors was extraordinary. We had Nat, Di and Alison return, as well as the sensational Sue Whiting, the debut authors of Dani Vee, Tania Woznicki and Dr Danielle Camer.
Each one told a story about themselves and their books and why they wrote them or how they came up with the idea.
So what does this mean for me, it was a massive learning opportunity, I saw how authors interact with their readers, how they engage the audience. I also heard how the process was, the motivation and the passion. This also gives me hope that I COULD be in front of those readers, the audience and talk about my book.
Because watching the students listen as the authors, talked about cicadas, ducks, sloths, boys and girls that solve mysteries, achieve their dreams. I am only starting my journey, like some of these people. It has been only a few months for me, some who attended today have been doing if for years.
They are still having fun, they are still telling stories and they are still entertaining the readers. Today’s event was a great success, we had students interact with the authors, ask questions, try to guess somethign they brought that had a story. So what do I hope to do in 5 years’s time. I hope that I will be in a room filled with children talking about my books. I hope to share about my journey. One can hope, right?