I will visit your school for free!
I know school library budgets are tight these days. So instead of charging a fee for an author visit, I prefer to take the opportunity to generate book sales. In this way, schools save money and students are encouraged to read. Plus, they get books at a steep discount!
Two weeks before my scheduled visit, I send the school a packet that includes information regarding what I need for my presentation and a generous supply of order forms for my books. (The order form can also be obtained from this website by clicking here.) The order forms go home with the students, the students pre-order the books (their teachers collect the money), and I deliver the books when I arrive. Book I of my science fiction trilogy, The Talisman of Elam (hardcover) retails for $19.95. Book II, The Hand of Osiris (paperback) and Book III, The Treasure of Hathor, retail for $14.95 each. I sell all of them to students for $10 each. The books are appropriate for 4th through 8th grade readers (and higher), and as read-alongs for 3rd grade.
I recognize that each school has unique requirements. To accommodate this, I offer a flexible presentation schedule, from a single presentation (to all or part of the student body) to as many as four presentations per school day. Each presentation is 50-60 minutes in length, the actual length dictated by school scheduling requirements. The presentations are adjusted according to the grade level of the audience.
What can a school expect from one of my visits?
My presentations are designed to:
• inspire reading and writing,
• encourage students to trust their voice,
• encourage free use of the imagination, and
• foster a sense of wonder and excitement, not only for the universe as we know it but also for what we don’t know about it and can only imagine.
For grades 3-4 (and sometimes 3-6 in smaller schools), I talk about imagination, voice, and the process of writing. This presentation has a great deal of student involvement. Volunteers act out a scene from The Talisman of Elam.
For grades 5-8, I have two presentations with PowerPoint slides:
The Power of Story focuses on the magic of language and the power of stories. Telling stories is a natural human activity that goes back as far as language — and, in fact, the need to tell stories may be one of the reasons we have language in the first place. I tell students that, like them, I was just a regular kid (well, maybe I was a little on the nerdy side!) whose love of reading led him to explore writing. After all, if other people could make up great stories, then why not me? I talk about how I first got the idea for the science fiction trilogy I’m currently writing, and how I go about developing and revising each novel. (This presentation has some audience participation.)
Magical Mystery Tour focuses more on the convoluted path I took to becoming a writer, and how everything I’ve done in my life informs my writing. In this presentation, we take a trip to Antarctica, complete with photos and video. My considerable time there was instrumental in bringing me to a point where I could write novels, in part because of the memoir I wrote about my experiences. I also talk about my writing process but more briefly than in The Power of Story.
To schedule a visit, email me at [email protected] or call 603-742-4333. I look forward to hearing from you!