TEMPLE, Texas — Sixth graders across Temple Independent School District had the opportunity to hear from a published author during a tour of TISD middle schools on Tuesday (October 20).
Brad Christy, who has published several young adult books under the name B.P. Christy, visited each of the three middle schools during his tour. Christy is a military veteran who wrote a series of Halloween stories for his family and friends during his time in the U.S. Army. His family enjoyed the annual stories so much that they encouraged him to publish them. He followed through, and now, Christy, who is also a high school and college teacher, has published three books, with a fourth due to be published soon. Christy shared some of his experiences of becoming a professional writer with the students. He also shared one of his stories, from that first collection of Halloween stories. Christy then helped the group come up with ideas to write their own Halloween stories through an activity during his presentation. He says he hopes the students understand that writing can be an outlet for them and another way of expressing themselves.
“I want the students to understand that writing can be a way for them to bond with their friends and family,” Christy said. “Writing scary stories can also be a way to get some frustration out in a healthy way and can be cathartic and help them get things out of their system.”
Christy’s campus visits were arranged by Sherry Burnett, coordinator of library services for Temple ISD, and head librarian at Temple High School. She also hopes the students enjoyed the opportunity to meet a professional writer in person and that they can see that those possibilities exist for all students.
“I find it fascinating because we sometimes put writers on pedestals, and then you meet one and see that they are normal people just like us,” Burnett said. “It helps you realize that the inspiration can come from so many different areas. Hopefully, they understand that they can also aspire to do that and become writers if they want to pursue that.”