Christine Gillies always knew her daughter Mieka DiLouie had an imaginative mind.
“Mieka has, from the time that she was very little, been a creative soul. ”
What Gillies didn’t know was that her daughter’s creativity would result in Mieka publishing her first book at only 10 years old.
“I have to admit that when I did read it, I thought, ‘Did you write this? Who wrote this?'”
“Just because it was so creative, and she’s very expressive and there was so much detail in there that I hadn’t anticipated,” laughed Gillies.
Inspired by another young local author, Mieka began writing her book “She Tamed a Dragon” nearly a year ago. It follows the adventures of 14-year-old Alex who discovers she has the power to summon a dragon which she must learn to tame in order to keep it from destroying the earth.
“I didn’t plan it out like J.K. Rowling did. I just wrote and I wrote (what) I thought would be good and I added detail afterward. I edited it with my Oma and my father and it was really just so fun,” beamed Mieka, a grade five student.
Mieka recently held a book signing at Owl’s Nest Books, where her book is being sold. She plans on donating a portion from the sales of “She Tamed a Dragon” to Inn from the Cold, an organization in Calgary that assists and offers shelter for homeless families.
“Half of the money is going to Inn from the Cold because I want to be able to help children less fortunate than I.
“I’ve always wanted to inspire people and I’ve always wanted to help the less fortunate. I’ve always wanted to impact the world someway and so now I’m doing it,” Mieka adds.
Gillies says sales of her daughter’s book are going well. Many from their southwest Calgary community have purchased a copy, while some have even thrown in a few extra bucks for Inn from the Cold.
“I’m just incredibly proud, of course. I mean, my little girl is growing up, and she’s inspiring me and so many other people just by letting her heart shine.
“It’s just who she is,” said Gillies holding back tears as she explained what it has meant to her to see Mieka go through the process of writing her book and making the decision to share the profits from her first publishing endeavor.
Mieka meantime, is already thinking ahead to her next book and is toying with the idea of writing a trilogy. But until she puts pen to paper, the grade five, soon to be grade six, student is enjoying seeing her imagination come to life in print.
“It’s been a really, really awesome experience. Like really.”
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