DUNEDIN — The questions came fast for author Liliana Dimitrova.
“What inspired you?”
“Did you use AI?”
“Your book is so good. I could picture it in my head.”
As Liliana sat for an interview with Luciana “Lucy” Statile and read from her book, the event had the feel of a press conference.
In reality, a group of third graders in Ms. Geronimo’s class at Garrison-Jones Elementary School was interviewing the 9-year-old author. Liliana calmly fielded their questions about her book, “The Hidden Tiny Village of the Brave Fireflies.”
“I love to talk,” she said with a warm smile.
The book tells the story of a group of fireflies on a daring mission after a thief steals the light bulbs for their annual celebration. The story highlights friendship, courage and resilience.
Liliana also illustrated the book, and with help from family friend Elizabeth Nenov, she created an animated YouTube video to accompany her presentation.
She said her teachers taught her how to write and gave her ideas for what kind of book to create. When she told her parents about the project, she turned to her mother and asked, “Mom, what was your reaction?”
“We loved it,” said her mother, Valentina.
Liliana recalled tracing letters with yellow dots during a craft project and thinking the bright color reminded her of fireflies. After jotting down a few “big ideas,” she took a break until more came to her. She finished the story about five months later, then decided to add her own illustrations.
“I have like these different folders in my head, and I put my ideas in them,” she said. “I’m not very good at art, but I decided to try something new and see how it would turn out.
“Yes, I liked how it turned out. I love how I wrote the book. The illustrations were not the best, I can give you that, but I did like how they turned out in the book.”
The fireflies are the good guys. The ladybugs are the villains.
“You need good characters because they have to win, but they also have to overcome their fears and go through many challenges,” she said.
Asked whether she used artificial intelligence, Liliana replied, “Uh, no.”
She has also discovered what many authors know: writing “makes me relaxed and calm, but I feel anxious to write more.”
She already has an idea for her next book — about a young girl’s adventures visiting her grandparents in Ireland.
Her first book is available on Amazon.