 Hello, my name is JT Williams and this is my book, A Story of Stories or Why I Write. There once was a child, a curious girl, who loved reading stories. Her books were her world. The library she'd visit with dad once a week and there in those quiet rooms knew tales she would seek. And when she had chosen a new book to read, she'd carry it home, a prize, precious indeed. And comfortably into a corner she'd sink to ponder its pages, to listen, to think. Like wings the words soared as they bore her away, to fantastical places each night, each bright day. In her mind she would travel to worlds near and far, her route was the ocean, her ship was a star. Of forests and rivers and magic she read, the tales of the living, the myths of the dead. Of giants and children and witches and queens, of creatures with voices of magic unseen. But as she grew older, the stories she craved were those of her own world, her home life, her days. She yearned now to learn of the person she'd be, the challenges waiting, the future she'd see. But the stories she wished for, the ones with her in, had not yet been written, had not yet been seen. So where would she find them, these tales of her life, of her friends and her family, her joys and her strife? It was she who must tell them, it was she who must write the books that she needed, her words must take flight. She thought and she wondered, she dreamed and she penned the tale of her childhood from beginning to end. Now others could read it, this book all her own she had shared with the world. And by skimming this stone, by sharing her story for others to read, she had made a connection, she had planted a seed. A book is a journey, a learning, a spell, a space to get lost in, a deep place to dwell, a comfort, a challenge, a mystery, a thrill, a long conversation, a climb up a hill. To read is a wonder, a magic our own, a way of communing when we are alone. Each book can transform us, each story we know, breathes life into us and helps us to grow. So visit your library, take time out to choose the stories you wish for, the books where you'll lose yourself in the pages and perhaps find yourself too. Who knows just which book will be perfect for you and if you can't find it then maybe it's time to create your own story or poem or rhyme or lyric or folktale or drama or song whatever you write. There's no right or wrong. So what will your book be? What words will you choose? What pictures will grace it? What tools will you use? You might write with a friend or you may work alone but have fun as you now make a book of your own. Thank you.