Tara Hodgson promotes new book in Strathmore

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tara Hodgson, a teacher turned author residing in Alberta, visited Strathmore as the first stop on her tour promoting her new self-published novel. 

At Least I’m Trying is penned as a young adult fiction thriller about sex trafficking in Vancouver, and is her second work on the subject of tumultuous coming-of-age experiences. 

“It’s my second book, and I call it ‘Snapchat gone wrong,’ and it is basically a contemporary thriller. It’s got those vibes, basically warning about if you meet strangers on the internet, what the effects of that could be,” said Hodgson. “I have been a teacher for 18 years, so that inspired my writing journey because I noticed so many things were changing with teens and wanted to talk about it.”

She explained she still teaches full-time, and writing is currently a passion on the side which she works into her schedule whenever she is able. 

“I had a lot to say, and I did not know how else to say it. I felt really helpless on what I was witnessing and this story came to me and I just couldn’t bottle it in,” she said. 

Hodgson said much of her writing spotlights the influence and effects of technology and social media on young peoples’ mental health. This being from cyber bullying, the spreading of intimate photos, influence on how they should look, and everything in between.

At Least I’m Trying centres more along how easy it is to be preyed upon through social media and communication apps. 

“I think my favourite thing is that I have heard from parents who it really resonated with and just that it has opened up some conversations which is what was my main goal,” said Hodgson. “I want to spark those difficult conversations that not everybody is having. I think there is a lot of non-fiction books out there that deal with this content, but there is not a lot of fiction. I thought it was a really great tool.”

Following her signing in Strathmore, Hodgson went to bookstores throughout Calgary, March 22-23 to round out her tour. 

This is the first time she has spread to do signings outside of her home city of Edmonton.

From start to finish, At Least I’m Trying took just over a year to write and self-publish. Hodgson added this was marginally slower than her first book, as she did not have the entire story mapped prior to beginning the writing process. 

She joked that one of the challenges with creating contemporary young adult fiction was how to seamlessly incorporate the modern slang into her writing without it coming across as forced or cringy to her beta readers. 

Going forward, Hodgson has plans in the tank for at least two more books which are currently filed as completed manuscripts. 

At Least I’m Trying and Chasing Through Time are available both online, as well as wherever books are sold.