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Jarod Liebenberg and The Train to Sleepy Hollow
Did you ever think that an assignment you completed for a third-year class could be on an Amazon bestseller list years later? When Jarod Liebenberg wrote a children鈥檚 story for Dr. Nicky Didicher鈥檚 ENGL 387 Studies in Children鈥檚 Literature course, that thought didn鈥檛 cross his mind either, but that鈥檚 exactly what happened.
After taking various English classes at SFU, Liebenberg took a chance and signed up for a children鈥檚 literature course.
鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 read anything like it before,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 thought it would be a really cool opportunity to access these texts and access a part of my life that I鈥檇 forgotten.鈥�
Some of the stories that Liebenberg enjoyed the most came from German folklore because they highlighted just how dark a child鈥檚 reality can be. However, at the same time, the stories emphasized that a child could break through the darkness if given the proper tools to do so.
Inspired by these stories and his own personal experiences, Liebenberg knew what approach he wanted to take to the ENGL 387 assignment.
鈥淭he creative project was to create a work of children鈥檚 fiction and write an essay,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 settled on a dark fantasy, kind of a horror, because I had never tried creative writing at that level before.鈥�
After the course ended, Liebenberg refined the story further, eventually creating a storybook with five short stories and his own illustrations called, .
Liebenberg鈥檚 stories focus on how trauma is communicated through dreams. Each story deals with a different kind of trauma in a different setting.
鈥淭he first one is [about] bullying and suicide,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he next one [deals with] abuse, abandonment, and death. Each story is very personal to me, so I wanted to portray some of these struggles, not as direct threats to the reader, but more as what I might have perceived them as when I was younger.鈥�
As a child, Liebenberg had difficulty processing experiences like these, as he mainly encountered the very upbeat media message, 鈥渆verything鈥檚 going to be okay鈥�. Rather than reinforcing such a message in his book, he wrote the kind of stories he would have liked to have read as a child鈥攏arratives that describe how to overcome hardships.
Liebenberg says that the stories are appropriate for children aged 8 and up. Before self-publishing The Train to Sleepy Hollow, he showed his stories to his young cousins and they enjoyed them, even though they had not experienced all the struggles described in every tale. The stories have also received a positive reaction online.
鈥淚 published independently, and I got number 1 on the bestseller list for children鈥檚 horror for two weeks, which was really special for me, even though I don鈥檛 know how Amazon鈥檚 algorithm works,鈥� says Liebenberg.
In approximately two months, he plans to publish what he calls the 鈥渟piritual successor鈥� to The Train to Sleepy Hollow. This yet-to-be-titled book is intended for children aged 11 and up.
鈥淚nstead of dealing with external factors like forces that would act upon you鈥攖hat would cause you trauma鈥攊t鈥檚 more about the struggles you would face internally,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd I wanted to try and show more adult themes while still being accessible to younger readers.鈥�
Liebenberg would love to write full-time, but he also would like to pursue a career in law. Since graduating from SFU, he has worked as a copywriter and editor. He advises aspiring writers to put the ideas they are most passionate about where others can see them.
鈥淚f you have a good idea, you should try and produce it because there鈥檚 always going to be someone that that idea touches,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd as long as people can see that they鈥檙e not alone with whatever feeling they鈥檙e having, that鈥檚 always a very important thing.鈥�