Deborah LeBlanc: Author Interview - Pt. 2 by Angie Ledbetter

It’s not often one comes across people in the writing world who love to share what they know with others and are generous about doing so. Author Deborah LeBlanc is one of those rare birds and Rose & Thorn tracked her down between flights long enough to have a chat.

LeBlanc is an award-winning author from Lafayette, Louisiana; owner of several businesses; a licensed death scene investigator; popular conference speaker; first female president of the Horror Writers Association (a post once held by Stephen King); president of the Writers’ Guild of Acadiana; and active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers Inc., and the National Association of Women Writers. In addition, she is the creator of the LeBlanc Literary Challenge and author of Family Inheritance, Grave Intent, A House Divided, and Morbid Curiosity. Her next book, Water Witch, will be released in 2008.

Part II – The LeBlanc Literacy Challenge

R&T: In a nutshell, what is your Literacy Challenge?

LeBlanc: The idea for the Literacy Challenge came not long after I finished touring for my first book. During the tour, I had the opportunity to visit numerous bookstores around the country and chat with some of their customers. Unfortunately, it didn’t take me long to realize many patrons visited the bookstores because of the adjoining coffee shop. Yes, a few individuals would browse through the bookshelves, maybe flip through a magazine or two, but many of them left empty handed. Whenever I asked one of these coffee-only browsers, “Who’s your favorite author?” or “What do you enjoy reading?” the most common response was, “Oh, I don’t read much anymore.” Even worse, if the individual was under the age of twenty-five, the response was usually, “I don’t like to read.”

To say I was disheartened by this seemingly endless tide of ‘non-readers’ would be a gross understatement. So I decided to do something about it.

I had an artist create scenes from two of my books, then put those scenes on the challenge website: www.theleblancchallenge.com. Each scene contains ‘clickables’, and each ‘clickable’ drops down a list of multiple choice questions. The person who scores the highest in the challenge wins $5000 in cash, plus an additional $1000 for the public school or library of his/her choice. Now, the winner has the right to spend the $5000 any way he or she chooses, but to further encourage literacy, I added a kicker. For anyone interested in putting the money aside for a college education (either for themselves or a child), I will personally contact their chosen university about a matching funds program. In essence, a matching funds program can turn that $5000 into $10,000.

The second place winner of the Challenge wins a new desktop computer, and third through tenth place winners get bookstore gift certificates with values up to $175.

Although the Challenge has become an annual event, I plan on making a significant change to it in 2008. I do motivational presentations at public high schools around the country at no cost to the school. In 2008, we’ll have corporate sponsors who will be purchasing books needed for the challenge for every student I’ll be presenting to in high schools around the country.

R&T: This sounds like a wonderful program. Why are you so passionate about this project?

LeBlanc: Extreme concern makes me passionate about this project. I fear for our young adults and their future.

Most people my age have been reading all their lives. We didn’t grow up with the distraction of video games and televisions with a thousand channel choices. Today, I believe some folks with very young children are starting to realize the importance of reading, and they’re trying to steer their kids in the right direction by reading to them each night. However, we’re forgetting (or ignoring) a large group of people, namely those between the ages of 14 and 27. Most of them don’t read unless they’re forced to in school. If something isn’t done to change that course, we’re looking at a whole generation teetering on the brink of illiteracy. Reading exercises the mind and strengthens creativity and imagination. Without that exercise, a person’s mind will atrophy and become dependent on someone or something else to do the job it was meant to do.

These young adults are supposed to be our future leaders, but if they’re unable to read, how will they lead? How will they create or imagine new ways to solve our nation’s challenges or even work through basic life challenges? And will their inability or unwillingness to read carry on to their children and their children’s children?

R&T: Where can we find more information on the LLC, and are you scoping out sponsors?

LeBlanc: Currently, you can find more information on the Challenge at www.theleblancchallenge.com. I’ll soon have a video available on my website (www.deborahleblanc.com) that will visually explain why I think this literacy issue is so important. Yes, we’re always looking for sponsors. Right now we have commitments from corporate sponsors like Chase Bank and Safeway. Their generous contributions will put the books needed to take the literacy challenge in high school students’ hands.

R&T: In your opinion, what has led to our country's increased illiteracy problems?

LeBlanc: We’ve become a microwave society. All of the technological advancements made in the last ten to fifteen years were supposed to lessen our workload, make our lives easier, like the microwave. Press a button, and in two minutes it’s done—whatever ‘it’ is. Instead, we’ve created the expectation for immediate gratification. Whatever we want, we want NOW. (By the way, don’t you find it odd that with all these do-it-faster-easier gadgets, more people are dying from stress and stress related illnesses than ever before?)

In that same immediate gratification vein come things like video games, cell phones with text messaging, emails, instant messengers, Ipods, portable DVD players—notice the trend? Everything is available to us instantly, already formatted, be it visually or audibly. Reading an actual book requires work. You have to open the book, turn the pages, read the words, and allow them to create images in your mind. That’s too much work according to some folks. They’d prefer to sit in front of the television, pop in a DVD, and allow whatever is playing to be dumped into their brains. Strangely enough, people claim they don’t have time to read anymore. There’s that time issue again—didn’t we create gadgets that were supposed to take care of that problem?

R&T: What can the average person do to help? Why should we care?

LeBlanc: Everyone can make a difference in two ways. The first is to challenge themselves to read EVERY day, even if it’s only one page in a book that interests them. The second is to make sure that challenge includes your kids. If you have small children, read to them every night. If you’ve missed that chance and your kids are older, create some kind of system that will reward your teen for reading. Find out what really interests them (the operative word here is them, not you), then take them to the bookstore and help them find a book that revolves around that interest.

R&T: Do you have an appearance schedule for the Challenge?

LeBlanc: The list of high schools I’ll be visiting this year and in 2008 will be listed on the website very soon.

R&T: How can people sign up for more information? Do you have a newsletter available?

LeBlanc: For regular updates on the challenge and any other projects we’re working on, all you have to do is go to www.deborahleblanc.com, click the “Subscribe to newsletter” button, and the newsletter will show up in your email inbox about once a month.

*

In Part I of this interview, Deborah LeBlanc discusses her books, work habits, and balancing career and family. For even more on the author, read Angie Ledbetter's earlier interview of Deborah LeBlanc in the Spring 2005 issue of The Rose & Thorn.

Angie Ledbetter is a Rose & Thorn newsletter and prose editor. She is a Regional Representative for the National Assn. of Women Writers in Louisiana and writes as often as time allows.

This interview may not be reproduced electronically or in
print without the express permission of the interviewer.