A Perfect, Gentle Knight

Kit Pearson writes:

When I was a child living in Vancouver, my two best friends and I often played games. One was being Knights of the Round Table. I was Sir Lancelot! We would make wooden swords and ride around on stick horses. I was totally involved in our games, which turned out to be a good apprenticeship for writing, because that\'s what you do when you write: you pretend to be someone else! However, when I was twelve my family moved to Edmonton and I became very lonely without my friends. Playing games turned into an unhealthy escape from reality, just as it is for Sebastian in the book, although I was able to cope better then he did. I secretly pretended I was other people long after I was too old for games, and I didn\'t really stop until I went back to Vancouver to boarding school when I was fifteen.

I usually write four or five or even six drafts of my novels until they are the best I can do. Then my editor helps me do one more draft. A Perfect Gentle Knight took me longer than usual to write because I was interrupted by major events in my life. It is the only book I have written that is directly based on my own childhood.

Young readers often ask me for advice on becoming writers. My first piece of advice is this: read! The more you read, the more natural writing will be for you. Secondly, you should only write what you are passionate about. Thirdly, learn proper grammar and spelling as soon as you can. And fourthly, it\'s often helpful to keep a journal to practice writing in, one in which you feel free to write when and what you want.

E-mail me! I enjoy answering questions and hearing about my readers and what they think about my books. I get lots of mail, however, so be patient: I may not be able to answer your message immediately. Unfortunately I do not have the time to read and comment on your writing.

Other Books by Kit Pearson:
Whispers of War
Awake and Dreaming
The Guests of War Trilogy

Contact Kit Pearson at:
Email:comments@kitpearson.com
Website:www.kitpearson.com