John Claude Bemis, a Hillsborough author and this year’s Piedmont Laureate, spoke to OHS students in the auditorium on April 17 in sessions from 8:45 am to 2:00 pm. Bemis has written four fantasy books for children. He wanted to answer students’ questions about writing and help them “decide what they want to do” in life.
Bemis began the presentation by speaking about his upbringing. He was raised in Pamlico County, which he described as being more Southern than Orange County. He “devoured” books during his childhood. He did not know that he wanted to become a writer in college, and he majored in art history and education.
He became a teacher after graduation and taught in North Carolina schools for 13 years. As an adult, he continued to read and write in his free time. Three books in particular- The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, The Giver by Lois Lowry, and Holes by Louis Sachar- inspired him to write.
Bemis began writing a novel about American legends set in the 1890s. He named the novel The Nine Pound Hammer and sent it to publishers. Random House accepted the novel and published it in 2009. Since the novel was published, Bemis has also written and published three other books. The Wolf Tree and The White City are the final two books in “The Clockwork Dark” trilogy. The Prince Who Fell from the Sky is a separate book about a post-apocalyptic world where animals reign over Earth and tell stories about the people who used to live there. A human child lands on Earth in a spaceship and is taken in by the animals.
Bemis, who taught at Cameron Park Elementary School for eight years, said that he misses teaching. “I love teaching and I miss the
classroom.” Speaking to children at workshops is similar to teaching “because I get to do so many school visits. It’s fun.” He does not know if he’ll have time to teach again in the future. “I would love to. It’s hard to know. Being a writer is such a full-time job.” Teaching helped him become a writer. “I got to spend every day with kids that read books. [I like] to talk about books with young people [because it] helps me to know what they like [and] what captivates their imagination.”
He said that his schedule is more open now that he is a writer. “I’m in control of my schedule. I get to work at home... I get to do what I really love. I love teaching but I [also] love getting to create stories.” He said that he always dreaded Monday mornings when he was a teacher. He is now excited for Monday mornings because he gets to write again. He takes weekends off. “I don’t work on the weekends.”
Bemis runs workshops for young writers. “I sometimes will teach workshops on coming up with ideas and the important elements in stories. [I’m] really interested in helping people to become more creative [and] use their imaginations in new ways.” He also gave advice for thinking of story ideas. “Find things that you can do that no one else can. What is an idea that no one else can think of that you could think of?”
Aspiring young writers should “read a lot of books and spend time writing... Have fun and just write. Even writing for ten minutes [will help improve your writing because] every minute you put into it is making you a better writer.”
Bemis is currently writing another novel about an “alternate history world where alchemy has made the Venetian Empire powerful.” The people in this world have wooden robots as soldiers. Pinocchio is one of these soldiers and he starts coming to life.
Bemis is the 2013 Piedmont Laureate. Laureates are selected by the Raleigh, Durham County, Wake County, Orange County, and Alamance County arts councils. People chosen by the program “represent the literary community” in the Triangle.
Bemis’ website is http://www.johnclaudebemis.com/. He describes his books in more detail and lists his upcoming appearances.
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