The English Department held a reading event for author Neo Edmund on Friday, November 20th, 2020.
The event was hosted by creative writing professor Jeffrey Epley.
He explained that Long Beach City College invites a poet or author to show their work every year to show students and the community the value of a published writer’s expertise and insight.
Edmund is a former LBCC student and began his career in the entertainment industry as a stunt and suit actor in many TV shows like “The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,” “The Walking Dead,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and others.
The former Viking proceeded to pursue his passion in writing and became a screenwriter and a novelist.
An excerpt from his novel entitled “A Tale of Red Riding” was read during the event.
Novel writing student in his first semester of creating writing, Nick Garnham Wright, said of the event, “I’m loving it… I’ve always wanted to write novels. I have attended a few other readings in the past (at other venues). I liked getting to listen to Neo’s book itself. It was super engaging and I have interest in writing stories that are more like franchise-level fantasy type stories. So getting to listen to someone who has established themselves was really insightful. Above all else, I enjoyed how transparent and forthcoming he was. It felt like a really honest reading.”
“Though the one thing he could improve on is that he was very apologetic, and I think that’s part of why he came across as so open and honest and sincere. But I also felt there were times where he would answer a question so beautiful but then say that he went off on a tangent,” he continued.
“I’d be curious to read more of his ‘Red Riding’ series or some of the comics he mentioned. I would definitely look into them,” Wright said.
The first chapter of the book “A Tale of Red Riding: Rise of the Alpha Huntress” was a chapter Edmund worked on while at LBCC.
Edmund said, “That was the chapter that I originally workshopped in the novel class probably 10 years ago.”
The event finished after completing a Q&A with the students about his books, his process of becoming a writer, and how the industry works.
During the reading, Edmund stated that “My creative process when I’m just starting out with a new idea, I kind of like using index cards and writing new ideas down. I’m very much about free writing and seeing whatever comes from it. And find out if it’s a good idea or not.”
“The blank page in front of you can be so intimidating,” Edmund said during the Q&A portion of the event.
“Trying to make a living as a writer is about as hard as any other artist trying to make a living,” he said.
Regarding future events with the English Department, there will be an Open Mic called The Power of the Pen on December 4 at 6:00 p.m.
For more information on future events visit the English Department website: https://www.lbcc.edu/department-english