A Blizzard of Books

I don't need to close my eyes to remember the storm before my twelfth Christmas. I can still see, even now, the crush of snowflakes against the windshield, blinding in their white ferocity, and feel the slow creep of our car as a sudden blizzard ground all traffic to a crawl. My parents took the first exit off the highway and pulled into the parking lot of a Barnes and Nobles store. And the rest, as they say, is history . . .

We dawdled in the store for almost an hour as we waited for the storm to die down, perusing seemingly endless aisles and displays of scrumptious stories. My parents ended up buying The Green Sky trilogy by Zilpha Keatley Snyder and The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander as Christmas gifts for my sisters and I. These two writers exploded my imagination with their tales filled with heroes who stumbled and failed and were scared but still tried. Still cared, even when it broke their heart. They taught me how to be a better human in my world. And for that, I am forever grateful. 

I hope someday I can write a story with beating ink as strong as Taran Wanderer and Eilonwy's stubborn resolve, and as kind as Raamo's heart.