Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be invited to a virtual chat with some students from Croatia as part of a month of book celebrations there.
It was such a treat to chat to a really lovely group of young people and our wide-reaching conversation covered their thoughts on how to save the planet; how to get started with writing a book; how a book gets made; how the coronavirus pandemic has affected them; and their hopes and dreams for the future; among many other things. Their English was beyond amazing and I felt humbled that they were talking so confidently and proficiently in a second language when I am nowhere near able to do the same.
The time absolutely flew by and it felt like catching up with old friends, even though we've never met. My only regret was that I'd forgotten to eat lunch beforehand, so after an hour and a half of gorgeous book chat I think they could probably hear my tummy rumbling from across the continent! Luckily, I was distracted by trying to answer two questions that always stump me... Who is my favourite author and what is my favourite book? I always end up cheating and giving lists, because truly, I can't ever pick a favourite in either category and it changes depending on my mood, or the season, or which way the wind is blowing that day, or all of the above and a thousand other things! I did mention that 'The Little Prince' by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was very special to me because of its link with my mum and upon hearing this, one lovely girl leapt up and ran to get her pop-up version. It was the perfect combination of a beautiful story and breathtaking paper engineering and I am now determined to track down an English version to add to my wishlist.
I'm so grateful to everyone at the Croatian publishing house, the library and the school for bringing such joy to my Thursday and I very much hope I'll be able to chat to them again – perhaps when the next book comes out?
Thanks so much for reading and see you soon,
Loll x
P.S. I may or may not have spent a large portion of today dreaming about having a holiday in Croatia at some point in the future and then planning out a detailed itinerary that allows us to stop off in Zagreb and say hello in real life!