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Teen author meets her fans

Mountain View principal Carolyn Wallace had author and former student Amanda Butcher autograph a copy of her book, "Lark and the Magic Pencil" during "Author Night" at Mountain View Elementary on Jan. 11. Reminder Publications photo by Courtney Llewellyn
By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



EAST LONGMEADOW It took Amanda Butcher two years to write her first novel, the fantasy tale of "Lark and the Magic Pencil." It took one 45-minute question and answer session at her old elementary school to inspire more than 20 young writers to try to do the same.

The East Longmeadow High School freshman returned to Mountain View Elementary the evening of Jan. 11 for a special "Author's Night," where she answered questions from young readers, parents and school faculty alike, read an excerpt from her first book's sequel and autographed copies of "Lark and the Magic Pencil" for her fans.

Approximately 70 children and parents came out for the event, filling the semi-circle of seats and the mats placed on the floor of the Mountain View cafeteria.

Principal Carolyn Wallace introduced Butcher to the audience, telling them "it was nice to meet somebody new...but also somebody old."

Butcher said hello to the audience before they began asking her questions and the questions never stopped. The first question did receive a few laughs though: "Why is the book so long?"

When asked what inspired her to be a writer, Butcher replied, "I never really aspired to be an author ... but I love being an author. My mom helped me achieve this dream."

The title of the book was discussed as well. At the end of seventh grade, Butcher's English teacher assigned an essay to her class that had to begin with the phrase "I don't believe in a magic pencil, but..." This prompt led Butcher to write an essay that covered the front and back of six pages of paper. It took her two years to write the first draft of her novel in a 180-page notebook and only six months after it was finished to get it published by AuthorHouse.

She added that she plans on making the Magic Pencil story into at least a trilogy of books, if not five books in total.

Superintendent Edward Costa asked Butcher to give the assembled group three pointers on how to write a book. She said, "You need a lot of time, friends and family to inspire you and base your characters on people you know."

She told the audience she edited her story "like a thousand times" and did not have the story mapped out at all she "just picked up a 'magic pencil' and wrote."

Other inquiries included asking what she wanted to be before she became an author (a lawyer or a teacher), how she came up with the names for her characters (she didn't want to use normal names), what other genres she may write (mystery) and how her friends felt when they discovered they were the basis for some of her characters (they think it's cool and almost all her friends have started writing books now as well).

"It was really exciting seeing all the kids holding copies of my book," Butcher told Reminder Publications, "especially when I found out how much they liked it."

When the question and answer session had ended, Butcher's audience eagerly demanded she read from her finished notebook-version of "Xenon's Revenge," the sequel to "Lark and the Magic Pencil."

Girls made fairies and boys made swords while Butcher autographed copies of her novel for adoring fans.

"When the kids asked me to sign the book, they would say that they 'can't wait to finish reading it' or that they were 'so excited to meet an actual author' or that they 'loved the book,'" Butcher said.

Andreia Singh, a third grader at Mountain View, said she loved "Lark and the Magic Pencil" because it is the book that first interested her in fantasy. "I never thought I'd be into it," she said. "Now I'm writing a book of my own. I already have one character ready." Singh plans on re-reading Butcher's book and is excited for the sequel.

Nathan and Kayla Rosenkranz, also students at Mountain View, waited in line for Butcher to autograph their copies. "My friends read it and gave it good reviews," Nathan said.

Third grader Madelyn Hayes said she was also excited to read the book.

School Committee member William Fonseca said he is proud of what Butcher has accomplished. The School Committee presented the young author with a citation at its Jan. 7 meeting. "This shows hard work pays off," Fonseca said.

Wallace was excited to see a large turnout. "It means our kids are clearly interested in reading," she said.

Butcher's mother, Lisa, said she didn't know what to expect, however. "I'm in tears," she said. "It's so great. I can't explain how proud I am of her."

The freshman author said she is about one-third of the way through the typing/editing of her second novel and hopes to submit a draft to her publishers within the next year.

Butcher added she is hoping to do another event at the East Longmeadow Public Library, and Kiddlywinks, one of the stores that sells "Lark and the Magic Pencil," mentioned they are trying to organize an event sometime in March.

The book is also available for purchase online at www.amazon.com, www.authorhouse.com, www.bn.com and www.borders.com.