ReachOutReads

Tomorrow night at 8pm EST, 5pm PST I’ll be Skyping an hour-long show for ReachOut.com. ReachOut website is run by the Inspire USA Foundation, a California-based not for profit whose mission is to help millions of young people live happier lives. Their site is filled with facts about typical teen problems ranging from anxiety and depression to family problems and suicide, real stories about young people who have had these problems, an active blog, a list of ways and sites for get help from, and the ReachOutReads program which hooks up authors with young people to answer questions about their work and lives. If computers were around in Cid Wymann’s (protagonist from Open Wounds) times he would have benefitted from a website like this. Perhaps he wouldn’t have been as lonely.

I’m really happy to have the chance to be a part of the hour-long program tomorrow night. Author, Bethany Hegedus, also editor from Hunger Mountain (an online magazine I’m writing an essay on the creative writing process for the coming issue in May – more on that to come) will be moderating. I’ll be set up in front of my computer, camera aimed at my mug, headset on, and family banished to their rooms (it’s around my son’s bedtime anyway so fair play to him – he’ll be reading) including the two dogs.

I wonder what listeners will ask? It’s strange because my book isn’t out yet and although Bethany has read my book, the young people will not have. I’ll have to go over my pitch synopsis. And remind myself why I started this whole crazy journey 33 years ago by putting pen to paper – yes it was in a time before computers were used by all. There’s something just… right about that.