I had the great pleasure of being the guest author at Altamont High School in Altamont, Illinois this week. It was such fun and I was so impressed with the classy, polite students. I had two class sessions with different groups of students, a “drop in” lunch session where I hung out in the library and students came in to ask questions, and an evening public reading in the town’s gorgeous Living Museum.All of this was orchestrated by the wonderful Mrs. Terri Simpson. Those kids are lucky to have her! She’s one of those amazing people who is the backbone of a school community (and you can tell after watching her interact with the kids for just a few seconds).
A big bonus was being hosted by my Uncle Jim and Aunt Linda, and picking up my grandmother and spending a couple of days with her. At the public event, I even pulled my Nana up on stage to draw the raffle tickets for the book give-aways. She was a good sport about it!
The students treated me like a rock star. I hope they know THEY are the stars—with their insightful, thoughtful questions and their dreams that will lead them to great places. There are some up-and-coming writers there that we will be hearing from in the years to come.
Big love and thanks to everyone in Altamont. You’ve got a pretty wonderful principal, too (not that I’m biased or anything). :-)
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