Author to share, discuss new novel

By Matt Koper/ne news editor

An author will share excerpts from her debut novel with TCC students, faculty and staff.

Laura McBride, author of We Are Called to Rise, will discuss her book 7-8:30 p.m. on April 8 and 9:30-10:30 a.m. April 9 in the Larry Darlage Center Corner (NSTU 1615A) on NE Campus.

McBride said the inspiration for her novel came from her love of reading and writing.

We Are Called To Rise, Laura McBride
We Are Called To Rise, Laura McBride

“I started with the idea that I wanted to write a novel that would appeal to someone like me,” she said. “My favorite novels are the ones where I fall into the story and I think about the characters. And I slow down at the end because I don’t wanna let go of them and I don’t want to let go of their lives.”

McBride, who teaches at the College of Southern Nevada, a community college in Las Vegas, said a local news story also sparked her interest while planning her novel.

“On the morning I said, ‘I’m going to commit today,’ I picked that little bit of a story that I wasn’t going to use at all,” she said. “That story was something that happened five or six years before in Las Vegas that involved the interaction between a poor family and the police.”

McBride said even though that story sparked her interest, she used it only as “a springboard” in trying to create her own idea.

“And I didn’t research that story ever,” she said. “I actually wanted to be away from it. I used what I remembered about it. I’ve never forgotten it. Once I decided to take it, I thought ‘Wow, this is really going to capture a lot of these ideas that I have about Las Vegas and the kind of town it is.’”

McBride said she is looking forward to presenting at a community college.

“I’m really excited about TCC because I teach at a community college,” she said. “I’m a community college person, and TCC is. I’ve gone lots of places. I’ve spoken to lots of different kinds of groups, but TCC is the first time I get to go to a community college.”

Following the presentation will be a Q&A session, and McBride will sign books.