Artist Spotlight with Felix Hillhouse
An interview series designed to highlight the creativity, drive, and skill of the amazing students at Denver Writes, “Artist Spotlight” poses questions about writing and the writing life to authors age 8-15 and includes an excerpt from the author’s poem, story, play, comic, or essay—created in our studio at Back Space.
Felix Hillhouse
Felix is a seven-year-old writer who attended the workshop, “The Art of Flash Fiction.” During the workshop, he authored the flash story “Cotton Candy.”
DW: What was the inspiration behind your story “Cotton Candy”?
FH: Birds!
DW: How did Denver Writes help you write this story?
FH: The volunteers gave me advice.
DW: What do you love about writing?
FH: I can write whatever I want!
DW: Which books or authors are you reading right now?
FH: I like books by the author Ron Roy.
DW: What are your future writing goals?
FH: Publishing a book about Minecraft—Ender Dragon, Wither, and Hidro!
Cotton Candy
by Felix Hillhouse
I was watching birds and one came up to me and pooped on me. So on the beach, I had bird poop on me. I changed into my swimming suit. My mom washed the poop off my clothes and I went swimming with my friend Flechter. We swam and swam until we saw bird poop in the water and then a weird bird actually talked and it said, “Let me be your pet,” and we said, “Ok.”
The bird soared through the air and went home with our moms and our new birds. The birds grew as big as are home, so they stayed in the backyard, and we went to the park with them and to the school. But one day they left us—so they just wanted us so they would not die and they didn’t. We were sad that they used us, but they said, “Sorry,” and continued to say they wanted to be our pet. “But we won’t use you this time,” and they didn’t.
So they rode them, and by them I mean us, and we loved them and took care of them and snuggled them everyday. We took them on rides everyday and every night. They were also great friends. We never went away from each other. On airplane rides we rode them.
And then my sister got a giant bird too, and she snuggled it and loved it so much and kissed and hugged it. But the bird was in love with Lowell’s bird and they married and had a baby bird that was really cute. Its name was Cookies and Cream and it stayed with us then. My and Fletcher’s birds married some girl birds, but it took a little while to marry, and we kept the babies.
Fletcher named his bird, Dark Pit, and I called my bird, Pit, and the babies never fled away because we loved them.
