By Sandra Bebbington, CSL Editorial Board
Kim Block is the author of the Children’s Book Series Adventures of a Stuttering Superhero. She lives in Burnaby, BC with her husband and two children. She has a degree in Human Relations and Family Life Education from Concordia University. She has been actively involved in the stuttering community for almost 20 years by facilitating groups and presenting workshops. She is the Past President for the BC Association of People who Stutter and was the keynote speaker for the Canadian Stuttering Association annual conference in 2017. Kim continues to present about stuttering to schools and Speech-Language Pathologists.
Books Kim has published:
Adventures of a Stuttering Superhero Adventure #1: Interrupt-itis
Why do I Stutter? A Drawing Book
Newest release: Adventures of a Stuttering Superhero Adventure #2: Melissa Meets Her Stamily
Congratulations on the success of your new book series! What made you decide to start writing stories for kids? What inspired you to write?
Kim Block: There was a little girl in the school that I work at who stutters. I had an opportunity to read in her class for a literacy event and I wanted to read a book about stuttering. There was nothing available in the library and our librarian had never come across a book about kids who stutter. Writing a book for her was what started the series. I was walking my dog that night when I decided I would write stories for her and the idea for interrupt-itis came to me during that walk. I wrote a couple of stories and gave them to her Mom. They both loved them and said I should do something with these and so started the journey of publishing.
Have you seen the impact of your writing about special needs? How do you see your books being used to promote awareness?
Kim Block: Stuttering is a topic that many people don’t talk about and many speech-language pathologist are even uncomfortable talking about it. These stories are a way to start that conversation and get people checking their own perceptions about stuttering and the communication process. When I see children who stutter lighting up when they read the stories it just warms my heart. They are so excited to read the book and find out what the story is all about. When one of the kids found out that the second book was coming out soon she was jumping up and down with excitement.
What has the reception of your first book been like? What has it lead to?
Kim Block: The reception from people who stutter has been wonderful. They get it. People’s comments are similar to how I feel about it, that we would have loved to have had a book like this when we were kids. From SLP’s and teachers, they love it! Actually convincing librarians it’s an important book has been a struggle. I have been told that they get a lot of requests from self-published authors so I guess they are resistant due to the “self-publish” title.
Your second book in your series has just come out, do you already have plans for the next one? Can you give us a sneak peek – what’s it about? How many do you anticipate writing?
Kim Block: I have planned up to book 9, but I have decided to write book #3 as more as a first chapter book and go deeper into the stories and characters. The stories from book #3 -9 are really developing the 4 characters who all meet in book #2. My characters will age. There is definitely a possibility that as the stories develop they will move from children’s books to teen books. I don’t think I’ll ever move into adult books.
What is your writing process like?
Kim Block: It usually starts with movement. I start thinking of plot ideas and different sections of the stories when I am moving. I cannot just sit in front of a blank sheet of paper. My best ideas come to me when I am either walking our dog or exercising at the gym. I then move to pen and paper writing and then once I get the rough outline I move to the computer to fill in the detail. I write in chunks. I always carry a pen and paper in my purse because something things hit me when I out, so at the gym I am sometimes writing down my ideas in the change room.
How long on average does it take you to write a book?
Kim Block: Around 2-3 weeks and then it’s just editing it. The story usually flows out pretty quickly. When I am writing a story it’s hard to think of anything else. Once it’s out of my head and on paper, then it just nit-picking. That could go on forever if I don’t tell myself, enough!
As an author, you obviously believe in the importance of reading, what do you see is the future of books and libraries?
Kim Block: Stories have always been such an important way to pass down culture, life lessons, and sharing of information. We now have so many different ways to share stories, not just through each other and books, but different technology platforms. I hope books do not transition into only online or ebook type formats. I love holding books, passing good books along to friends, and flipping pages. Especially now with fake news and well founded mistrust in online information, books feel more accountable and real. My hope is that libraries will continue be the leaders in credible information and they will still offer free access to stories and information for everyone to obtain no matter how the story is delivered to us.
What’s been your greatest challenge as an author?
Kim Block: Marketing. There is a lot of red tape to jump through. Many ways of getting my books out to people are blocked by rules on how books are distributed and who is allowed to have access to them. Writing the stories are the easiest part, trying to get libraries to purchase them or getting them into schools are very challenging. I am advocating and educating people about stuttering in order for them to understand the importance of books like these. Sometimes I just have to let things be, and take a break for a bit for me to get my energy back and keep going.
Tell us about the artist(s) you work with for these books.
Kim Block: Cheryl Cameron is the illustrator for these stories and I love her work. Her art is the perfect match for the feel of the story. She is one of these artists who lives her life through art and incorporates her creativity in everything she does. She is a really special person and a joy to work with. She also has her degree in ECE so that understanding of children I think really comes through her art. Geneviève Lamoureux is the person who translated the first book into French. She is a French-Canadian who stutters. We met at a stuttering conference in Texas and she offered to translate the book. She’s a professional translator who works in Montreal. She is a role model for children who stutter in Canada. She has such energy and persistence with her goals and volunteers so much of her time to the stuttering community. It was fantastic working with her.
What is your favorite book and why?
Kim Block: I cannot name one favourite book, I have many favourite books. I think out of everything you asked me this one is the hardest to answer. I love Jeannette Walls, Ces Sunsrise Person, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Naomi Wolf, and too many biographies on people who face adversity to even mention. The one book that changed my life forever and set me on a very different path is a book called: Stuttering A Life Bound Up in Words, by Marty Jezer. I wrote to him to tell him how much I loved his book and he quoted me on the back of his paperback.
Where can we buy your books? They are available in hard and ebook formats right? Are they available in different languages?
Kim Block: You can buy my books from Amazon.ca or from me directly at www.stutteringadventures.com. Adventure #1 is also available in French and is sold through the local non-profit organization ABC, a stuttering organization. www.abcbegaiement.com/
To reach Kim and to find out more about her books:
Website: www.stutteringadventures.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stutteringadventures/
Pinterest:www.pinterest.ca/stutteringadventures/pins/
Kim’s Interview on CBC: Burnaby author gives children who stutter relatable superhero
Kim’s interview in the Burnaby Now Newspaper: Burnaby author kept busy since launch of book on stuttering
Kim on YouTube reading an excerpt: