Writing about an adventurous West Coast aboriginal boy has garnered Red Deer author Judy Moody an invitation to speak at an Egyptian writers’ conference.
Moody was in California last weekend, signing copies of her latest novel for youths, Golden Eye and the Killer Cat at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. The mammoth publishing event attracted a multitude of authors from across North America, including celebrities Carol Burnett and Henry Winkler.
Moody was asked to sign one of her books for Cristina Veloso, student affairs president at the Modern Sciences and Arts University in Cairo. But she didn’t think much of it, being busy autographing 57 copies of her book in one hour at the Trafford publishing booth.
Moody later received an email from Veloso, stating her university is in the process of ordering 900 copies of Golden Eye and the Killer Cat — the second book in Moody’s series about a Salish boy with spirit powers from Vancouver Island.
Veloso told Moody she intends to make her slim volume available at her university’s department libraries. As well, Moody’s chapter book will be one of the main novels featured at the Egyptian university’s annual writing workshop, and will be distributed to all participants.
“Furthermore, the Humanities Department wishes to invite you (to) the . . . annual event . . . as a guest speaker for writing studies in March (of) next year,” Veloso wrote in her email to Moody.
The local author is thrilled at the prospect of going to Cairo to speak to fledgling writers. To speak at a university, “when I never even went to college,” is an unexpected honour, said Moody, who is waiting to hear more about Veloso’s offer.
She’s also pleased that her book is gaining international attention, saying “I want it to get into the hands of more children. I would love for it to get to other countries, like England and Australia.”
Moody isn’t sure why her novel for young readers was chosen by the Cairo university, but surmises its subject matter probably appealed to Veloso.
Golden Eye and the Killer Cat features a 12-summers-old hero, who gets into magical adventures with creatures from West Coast aboriginal legends. For instance, while Golden Eye is visiting the Qu’wutsun village, the great spirit Thunderbird is convinced to remove a giant killer whale, Qwunus, who’s been blocking the salmon river.
The boy is also stalked by a mountain lion, but uses all his wits and powers to escape, said Moody, who has likened her hero to a West Coast Harry Potter.
She believes West Coast legends offer fascinating glimpses into a rich aboriginal culture that most people don’t know much about. “I’d like the greatness of their culture to be appreciated.”
The $19.95 book is available at Chapters and Coles stores.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com