The Library was able to provide students with an amazing privilege to experience the speech of award winning author, Mike Mullon.

Mullen, known for his series Ashfall, has won multiple awards, including making the 2013-2014 Gateway list and earning his place as a nominee for a Reader’s Choice Award in nine states.

When my creative writing teacher allowed our class to attend the event I was unbelievably ecstatic. I had heard that Mullin was an amazing speaker…I was not let down in the slightest.

Mullin is not only able to captivate audiences through his strong tone and intriguing subjects but also involves the audience, including everyone so there is no choice but to listen.

I was entertained the whole time and never felt my mind wander. I learned that Mullin is not only an award winning author, but also a black belt in Songahm Taekwondo. He demonstrated this amazing ability by displaying to viewers his uniform and belt, and allowing students to attempt hitting a “yellow level” board. He had his viewers out of their seats when he chopped a cinder block in half with his bare hand.

Mullin also informed us of his book by explaining the background of a “super volcano,” the natural disaster that takes place in his apocalyptic novel. He opened my mind to possibilities by providing stunning facts and statistics that I never had even heard.

Did you know that there is actually a massive volcano under much of Yellowstone? The hole made by its eruption 640,000 years ago is visible in some places as a ring of cliffs and measures roughly 34 by 45 miles.

He then stunned the audience into an eruption of clapping hands after reciting a gripping excerpt from his book, going as far as acting it out to set the mood and paint an image in viewers’ heads.

Overall the experience was incredible. I look forward to reading more of Mullin’s books and it makes me very grateful that our school was able to provide us with a guest speaker of his skill. I hope to see more speakers that grip my attention like Mullin in the future.