Reflections from the Road: Randolph School

Friday, I raced the weather to go to Huntsville and give two talks on writing to about eighty 7th graders at Randolph School. I visited Randolph last year as well and it was fun to return. Although the then-impending weather meant the school had an early dismissal and I was in a hurry to get out of there. So after the second talk, I quickly signed copies of Nightborn, then leapt in my car and raced to beat the snow and make it home. The snow started coming down when I was minutes out of Huntsville, but I got ahead of it. It turned to rain and didn't snow again until I reached home.

Meanwhile, Saturday was a great day. My son and I went to meet two 5th grade fans from Vestavia Hills Elementary Central at Starbucks who wanted to have hot chocolate with the author. We talked about the books, and we played two games of Charioteers (from Nightborn). Fun!

Reflections from the Road: Randolph School Part 2

Today, I returned to Randolph School to teach four back-to-back one hour writing workshops. My ScripTips workshop generally runs about two hours, sometimes longer. But for the 7th grade English classes of Randolph, I condensed it into a one-hour presentation. From approximately 8am to noon, I taught this x4 for some very smart and fun kids. Thank you to Nichole Liese, the English teacher whose classroom I took over for half a day. Also thanks to students Jack and Dave who gave me a tour of Randolph. And to everyone who participated. I had a blast, and the students' questions helped me articulate some of my points in ways I've never done before. Thanks for spending the first part of your Halloween with me, Randolph!

Reflections from the Road: Randolph School of Huntsville, Alabama

Today, I spoke to 320 kids across grades 5 to 8 at the Randolph School in Huntsville, Alabama. It was a terrific time. The presentation was held in their auditorium, and we set the Thrones & Bones trading cards out on every chair before the kids entered (and while some were helping set up), so there was a lot of excitement before I ever stepped up to the podium. And that excitement carried throughout the talk. There's nothing more fun than a large room full of enthusiastic kids and me with a wireless microphone. That energy is so amazing!

I'm going back tomorrow to teach four back-to-back one-hour writing workshops to their 7th grade English classes. Can't wait!

Thank you to all the students and teachers of Randolph, especially Kelly Kessler, Middle School Library Associate, who arranged the event. Thank you also to the Barnes & Noble Booksellers at the Jones Valley Mall, who kindly arranged preorders to have copies of Frostborn on hand for the signing afterwards. (And thanks to Trish King, who snapped these pictures--because I completely forgot to take some!).