When I was very young, my father began to read the Redwall series to me. Chapter by chapter, night by night, we worked our way through them, delighting in the stories and the brave characters. When I was older, I began to read them for myself, and the magic of the stories was still as strong as ever. I still buy the newest addition to the series every year, and have a full shelf dedicated to them in my personal library.
Brian Jacques was one of my earliest heroes, the type of brilliant author who made me a reader, who made me want to write too. One of the best days of my young life was the day that my parents let me skip school (!) to go see him at a book signing near Washington, DC. Listening to him laugh and talk and spin yarns was a revelation, and shyly telling him how much I loved his work while he signed my copy of The Legend of Luke was enough to make my heart race.
I asked him how I could be a better writer, too, and he smiled and told me to remember to always “paint a picture with my words.”
I’m so sad that there won’t be a new Redwall to add to my collection any more, but so grateful that I got to meet him and got to read so many of his wonderful tales.
