I recently spent an afternoon with Mrs. Halberg's junior English class. These guys were explosively inspirational. The class had been reading stories from The Eight Fingered Criminal's Son and they were kind enough to give me a round of applause when I walked through the door. Doesn't get much better than that. I started with a tried and true reading of "Dave Cruz," after which I was served up with a request for "Daphne Morales and the Silver Corvette." We talked about writing memoirs, the writing process, sensory details, motivation and inspiration. Something clicked as I stood before this collection of bright young minds. I somehow connected with their curiosity, energy, creativity, and maybe even their ability to dream.
I'd been stuck on the last chapter of my new book for a few months, but things have improved since I hung out with this crew. Thanks to a heaping helping of Halberg mojo, that last chapter is back on track and I can actually visualize a finished book.
