Author Book reading at local schools...

 I count it a blessing to be able to share some of my experiences, as a local writer, with students in local schools.

It wasn't so long ago that I was a student at a local school dreaming about what I would like to become. I remember thinking something along the lines of being an Art Director (because I enjoyed art) or something in the Creative arts industry.

These pics were taken at Sutton Park school that I recently visited to read my first two books "Sina and the Tuna" and "Mt Vaea and the tears of Apa'ula". I read to the Samoan bilingual unit with Juniors and Seniors and it was such a privilege to share these stories with them - many hadn't heard of the stories before. I also was able to ask two senior students to read the Samoan version and that was neat to share in also. This was neat to see on their schools website as I don't usually take photos of my visits.

I must say that it was a bit daunting in not feeling as confident in speaking Samoan (in not being a native speaker) but it was fun to be able to discuss and converse in both languages.

Some of the interesting questions that I was asked was:

Q. Are the stories true?
A. Those were the beliefs of people so many years ago and much like how we view Cinderella and other fairy tales today.

Q. How long did it take to draw/paint the pictures in the books?
A. Each book took less than two months to paint and produce as I set myself a timeline and then worked towards meeting the deadlines.

I also encouraged the children that this is something to consider as I remember only having one author visit my high school and that was Albert Wendt (who later was one of my lecturers at Auckland Uni).

This would definitely a dream come true for me in being able to share these stories with the next generation and also to continue to write or retell stories that remind us of our uniqueness. A true blessing...