Leisl Kaberry on Writing
I was never going to be a writer… It’s the truth, I’ll tell you that now. This was despite the fact that from as early as I can recall I have been a storyteller of sorts and one of my favourite pastimes as a child was simply swinging on the swing in the backyard and telling myself a story. Sure, I liked books a lot but perhaps because I couldn’t read all that well in the very early years and didn’t have parents that loved to read to me that I took to making up my own stories.
But I was never going to be a writer, hell no.
In primary school (Elementary) I loved the opportunity to write a story. It was almost my favourite thing to do, next to acting which was my number one favourite thing to do. I crafted short stories that were more like novellas and had no end of ideas to draw from. I was even chosen by my teacher as one of four students in the school to attend a writer’s event where we had the opportunity to take the day off school, listen to a long panel of Australian authors, and then spend the day at the boat harbour where it was held. This included fish and chips on the beach and an afternoon sitting by the water writing.
We were told that if we got it finished and sent in to the organisers they would publish all the stories in a book. I didn’t finish mine… but then, I had no interest in becoming a writer.
In high school I took to writing stories during the classes I didn’t like (usually math) and would write stories about my friends in which they would delight in connecting at lunch time to read and find out what would happen to them in the next chapter.
I also remember being asked if I could tell a story to a bunch of 5-6 year old’s at easter and the first thing that came to me was… can I make up my own? And so I did.
Along with this I was always starting stories, I would write a few pages of them and then forget about it as I would move onto another story building in my head. When my younger sister was learning to type at school, to “help” her practice I devised a way to dictate her a story that she would have to type up… she would do the writing, not me heehee… because as you know I was never going to be a writer. And why you might ask? Well, I ask myself that same question now. Maybe it was that I thought it was far too hard, so much effort to actually write the story that is in my head and I have discovered this is actually true. It is a LOT of effort. I also probably didn’t think I could ever be that good and so why bother trying? A terrible way to think but nonetheless I could not be criticized for the story in my head now could I? and on top of all this there was the fact that I had plans to be an actor on the stage… for THAT was my great passion.
Cut forward to my early twenties when I was a new mum with a newborn at home. Bub was asleep one Saturday afternoon, hubby had gone out to play footy (Aussie rules football) and I had found myself in a creative mood. I first tried writing a song on my guitar but it just wasn’t working out for me.
I turned instead to my computer where a screensaver of a large green moon over a calm palm beach inspired me to come up with a new story. It started with just a scene on that beach, of an elf contemplating what he wanted to do with his life and the choices he needed to make. It turned very quickly into a chapter that included a human friend who was the only human in the entire kingdom due to that fact that he was found as a babe within ruins at the end of the Human War by the elves. He had been protected by a blue light that emanated from a rock hung above him. By the time I had finished writing that chapter I had formed the basic story to the entire trilogy of Titanian Chronicles.
The passion for storytelling had been reignited inside of me and for the first time that I could ever remember I wanted to WRITE it. I decided there and then that I would write these books no matter how long it took and I would publish them even if I was the only person who ever had a copy on their shelf. I was so in love with the story that I needed to tell it and would do whatever it took, no matter the hard work and effort. And that is precisely what I did. It took about eleven years to write and then publish the first book but after that the second was released in only a couple of years after that. Nowadays writing is my absolute passion and I’m so glad the stubborn side of me did not dig in her heels about not being a writer because I would have missed out on something really wonderful, I was meant to a writer.
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“As far as storytelling goes… I was always a writer. As far as writing goes, it took becoming a mother.”
Writing became Leisl’s passion after an inspiration to create led her to write a single chapter in which the world of Titania was born.
An Aussie born and bred, she has lived in a variety of places including the Australian outback and Montreal, Canada. She currently resides in Kitimat, Northern British Columbia with her husband and four children. She has a degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice and works for Victim Services at the local RCMP. She has a brown belt in karate, likes training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and singing karaoke with her mates.
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A foot came into her vision nearing her body. She thrust her dagger into it. A wail of pain was heard amongst the dirt and dust. This pushed the other five greasers to work harder. They drew themselves back from the dust cloud between coughs, splutters and sneezes as Kessaria crawled herself further up the hill on her hands and knees. She dared not call out to her brother for fear of giving away her position. However, it seemed one clever greaser had taken himself out of the haze in order to gain advantage. He was waiting to pounce as soon as Kessaria made her way out of the dust cloud. He grabbed her around the neck and put his sword to her throat, forcing her to drop her weapons.
‘Don’t come near me freak or I will cut her… that’s a promise.’
It has been 20 years since Alkarrien and his dark army were defeated. Matara and Padicum who were young boys during the war are now men grown each having followed the footsteps of the family they were raised in. Despite peace reigning throughout the Land of Marrapassa there is an unrest amongst certain factions who are not happy with the post mage wars environment. Poverty is on the rise and so to are pockets of renegades out to pillage, cause mischief and bring back forbidden practices such as slavery. Will a new king in the Kingdom of Avanleah be able to work with his people to bring down the depravity? Will Matara be able to remain true to his values and beliefs or will his devotion to his younger sister, Kessaria be his ultimate downfall?
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