Ema Rawcliffe is presenting her debut book, The K Diary in São Francisco, this week
Ema Rawcliffe, an up-and-coming local author, will be presenting her first book at the São José Convent in Lagoa on Thursday (June 27) at 6pm.
O Diário de K em São Francisco (The K Diary in São Francisco) is the debut work of the 17-year-old author, born to a British father and a Portuguese mother.
Ema, a student at Lagoa’s ESPAMOL secondary school, started writing four years ago while trying to avoid the heat during her summer holidays.
“I was bored, so I picked up my phone and started writing, and I haven’t stopped since,” Ema tells us.
Written in Portuguese, the book tells the story of 16-year-old Korra (K) Dillers, who moves to her mother’s hometown of San Francisco after her parents’ divorce.
“Moving to a new house is never easy, let alone to a new city, and then there’s the fact that K has asthma, a chronic respiratory disease,” reads the book’s synopsis.
“Alone in this new city, K befriends an unusual girl with blue hair named Marney and her group of friends who call themselves the CSC. With these new friends by her side, K finds herself living unexpected adventures with the CSC. But what will happen when chaos breaks out? Will K be able to adapt to this strange place she now calls home? Especially because K’s friends have more secrets than K herself…,” it adds.
Ema wrote the book in around three months, using the moments when inspiration would hit her. “Though sometimes the ideas come in the most, let’s say, inopportune moments, like in the middle of maths class,” the teenage writer says.
Her book was partly inspired by ‘When Marney Was There’, a 2014 animated film made by award-winning Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli, although Ema says the inspiration for her stories comes in all shapes and forms.
“I can literally write a story simply by looking at a bird perched on a tree,” she tells us.
Ema does love reading though, with J.K Rowling among her favourite authors. “I’m obsessed with the Harry Potter saga.” L.M. Montgomery, Rosie Banks and Enid Blyton are also among Ema’s favourite writers. “I also love the Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry”.
The opportunity to have her book published came after her mother entered her book into a competition. “It didn’t win, but the publisher contacted us with a proposal to publish the book. My parents asked me if I wanted to do it, and I said yes!”
Seeing the book’s illustrations was Ema’s favourite part of the process, as it allowed her to see “Korra and the characters come to life.”
The book is already for sale and can be purchased at Bertrand, Wook, Cordel d’Prata (the publisher) and soon at Fnac. Ema has plans for a sequel, but, in the meantime, has other books written which she hopes can be published in the future as well.
With the launch of her first book, Ema also aspires to inspire other young writers. As she puts it, resilience goes a long way towards making your dreams come true.
“Keep going and never give up, no matter what people say. It’s easy for people to say you can’t write this or you can’t do that, but if you give up and listen to the negative voices, you will never know what amazing worlds you can write about, and what other people you can inspire. So, keep fighting for your dreams and who knows if one day it won’t be your turn to have your book published.”
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michael.bruxo@portugalresident.com
