West Island teenager selling comic at Salon du livre a 'dream come true'

Kendra Hughes said she didn't have a lot of friends when she was younger and turned her attention to drawing instead. Now other kids seek her out to improve their skills and she's bringing her first comic book, Agents of C.L.A.W.E., to Le Salon du livre Thursday.

"It feels like I'm flying," the 14-year-old told CBC Montreal's Daybreak.

Her comic features three cats trying to save the world from another cat that comes back from the dead to rule the living.

The bilingual comic started out as a school project but it quickly snowballed.

Her French teacher told the class to create a five-page comic, but Hughes couldn't help making one that was 27 pages long.

The big reveal of seeing her first printed copy came at her Marvel-themed 14th birthday party.

"Everyone started crying," she said.

Soon, she was jumping up and down yelling, "I'm published!"

Being a published author had been her dream since she was in Grade 4, even, "my calling, my destiny," she said.

There was an added bonus to her success: as her skills grew, so did her popularity.

"As I got into the higher grades, [kids in] the lower grades thought I was cool and were like, 'Can you teach me to draw? I want to be like you,'" she said.

Hughes's first foray into publishing follows three felines working as secret agents. She calls the story a comedy-adventure.

The book will be available online and at Place Bonaventure Thursday morning where the Lindsay Place High School student will be selling it in person.

After going to Le Salon du Livre every year, Hughes said signing her work for other book lovers is a "dream come true."

With files from CBC Montreal's Daybreak