Speaking to students always a blast

Going into a school and talking with students about my writing and publishing is one of my favourite adventures. You never know who will be listening (or not), who will ask questions (or completely ignore you) and who will actually be paying such close attention that they later come up to you with compliments and many more questions relating to their own writing future!
I spoke to an Entrepreneurship 30 class today at O'Neill High School in Regina SK and was pleased with their attention and their questions afterward - about my business, my writing, the cost of publishing a book, and the timeframe in creating and growing our business to the point it is at right now. A young lady came up to me afterwards and talked about her goals of becoming a writer. Those one-on-one chats are always special and make me feel proud to do what I do and share the little bits of knowledge that I have.

At St. Augustine School in Humboldt SK last week, I was greeted by enthusiastic, polite students who seemed to enjoy the stories of my writing and our many DriverWorks Ink books. While we ran out of time for the Grades 5-8 students to chat with me afterwards, the younger students (Grades 1-4) in my first presentation asked at least 30 questions and made me grin all the way home with their inquisitive honest queries:

How long is your longest book? (That I wrote? Longest in the number of words? Never Leave Your Wingman is about 90,000 words.)

How long did it take you to write the longest book? (I wrote for two months straight - from start to finish because I had a tight deadline. I write more quickly than some writers I've met.)

What's your favourite book? (Of the ones I wrote or published? They're all kind of like my babies and it's hard to choose a favourite one, so I won't.)

How do you get the words so small? (Ah... the type size in the finished book ... It can be adjusted with different computer programs.)

Is the lady who has cancer - she's dead, right? (Nope. Not at all. Dionne Warner, subject of Never Leave Your Wingman, is on vacation right now, enjoying her week off of chemo with some friends  - she's doing very well!)

Are the cats still alive? (Yes, the cats in Letters to Jennifer are still alive and well, ordering around their Live-In Person - author Sharon Gray.)

Do you ever take a vacation? (Hmmm... do I look that tired? Or did I baffle them by listing all the books and projects we've worked on lately?... We just had a short vacation, but maybe I need another one.)

How long have you been writing? (Since I was a little girl... but I've been getting paid to write for the last 30 years. Cool, huh?)