Tag: young author

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Introduction: The Fire Trials Series

Some of you may have already heard about this, and some of you may have not. Since I’ve been talking about this WIP for some time, I think it’s time for me to do a formal introduction. Everyone, meet The Fire Trials trilogy.

Series Blurb (temporary)

A City….
Firefuge was built by our ruler, Lucivius, to save us from the fires that ravaged the land decades ago. With tall, stone walls and technology Lucivius invented to keep our air pure, Firefuge is impenetrable. It has become a refuge for those of us the fires left living. In here, you are safe.
 
A Competition…
A competition known as the Fire Trials is held every decade, and youths ages sixteen through twenty-five are required to participate. The Trials root out the weakly and less intelligent beings and make sure future generations will be strong, smart, and healthy. At first, it was a way to reclaim land for our city, but eventually, it became a battle for life, fame, and wealth. Every Trials, teenagers and young adults fight to be the only one standing. To do that, you must triumph over nature, your peers, and the fires. If you are the only one, you don’t have anyone to split the prize with.
 
The Outcasts…
The Regents are the outcasts—not because of anything they did, but rather because their parents were traitors. Orphaned as children and adopted by the orphanage, the Regents train alongside everyone else in preparation for the Trials. They face unjust prejudices. As a result, Regents are at a disadvantage when it comes to…well, everything.
 
I am Eire Regent. This year, I am sixteen and the youngest participant in the Trials.

Genre: Sci-fi, fantasy, dystopian

As you can probably tell, this is going to be a trilogy. I plan to release all three books around the same time in three or four years. It could be sooner, though. Since some of the contents in this series are gory and violent (for a good purpose), I’m aiming this toward a slightly more mature audience. I’m thinking right above middle grade or below YA.

Age range: 12—16

I hope you guys liked this blog post. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact me. I will be releasing updates on my WIPS in the future, so stay tuned by subscribing to my email list at the bottom of this page. Happy reading, everyone!

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A Walkthrough of My Old Books

Get ready, because I’m about to roast my books. Since I am a naturally frank person (especially toward myself), expect this to be brutal. Savage reviews and ratings. From me. On my own books. Let’s get started!

Lyle's Revenge

This is the first book I ever wrote with the intention of publishing. If you read it, you can probably tell. Historical errors, cringey plot, and unoriginal names attest to this fact. Strangely enough, it is also the only starred book of mine on Amazon, with two five-star ratings. Don’t ask me why, since I have seriously contemplated deleting this from existence.

Rating: 0 stars (Wait, can I not give 0 stars? I’ll change it to 1.)

The Kingdoms Series (2 Book Set)


Both of these books began with school assignments to write short stories. There were very short, but I expanded them into slightly longer (but still short) stories. These would do good as picture books, I think, but I’m not a good artist.

As for what I think of these: I don’t see much  spiritual value in either book, but God can use anything he wants for his glory.

Rating: 3 stars

The Enchanted Garden

When I was saved, I wanted to write something that would glorify God. This allegorical tale is what came to mind. Heavily inspired by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, I wrote this short story before I began self-publishing. Overall, I like the idea, but I think execution could have been better. As of now, it appeals to younger children.

Rating: 3.5 stars

The Gospel in Poems

Again, this is something I wrote right after I was saved. It consists of a few poems and is so short, I couldn’t publish it without adding in pictures. I like the variety of types of poems, but there are too few for this to be a book. Maybe I’ll make a blog post with all the poems in the future.

Rating: 3 stars

Haiku

Is it weird that I don’t especially like haiku but decided to write a book of them? This came from a LA assignment to write a haiku. Probably because I knew certain relatives would enjoy it, I turned the assignment into an entire (short) book of poems describing objects in nature, seasons, and animals.

Rating: 3 stars

Ninjas of the Mountains

Sigh. Another book that came from a school assignment? The original short story was a mystery, but since I don’t do that genre, I turned it into this. I think this book shows how much my writing improved compared to my previous books. Still, I could’ve worked on plot, and the characters’ names are original but not authentic.

I’m going to give it three stars for content. I think I did my research fairly well for this, and the plot is interesting. Because my writing improved so much for this book, I will add on another half star, giving it a grand total of 3.5 stars.

Rating: 3.5 stars

I hope you guys liked this blog post. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact me. I will be releasing updates on my WIPS in the future, so stay tuned by subscribing to my email list at the bottom of this page. Happy reading, everyone!

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Becoming a Self-Published Author

The Origins

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved writing. When I was younger, I always had a notebook that I would fill with stories. Once one was used up, I’d send it to a family member and move on to the next.

My stories were usually based off of a picture I saw, a book I’d read, or a thought I’d had. To make them come to life even more, I would embellish them with drawings or stickers. My tales, characters, and settings varied drastically by notebook, but no matter where a story had originated from, it was always imaginative. Think straight out of a dream. Here are two short examples.

Panda Playground

Once, a family member gifted me a sheet of puffy panda stickers, so I wrote a story about a panda. It was in a Hello Kitty notebook. I think she may have been involved in the story as a result, but I can’t quite remember. However, I do vividly recall a page where I drew a panda playground and stuck panda stickers all over it.

Cat and Fish Bone

Another time, a family member gave me a blue notebook with a cat and fish skeleton on each page. Most people would think the cat ate the fish and make a story out of that, but I was maybe eight years old. That wasn’t even on my agenda. Instead, my brilliant mind decided the cat should get married to the fish skeleton (which I called Fish Bone), and they would have abnormal children. I think all their girl children were cats, and all the boys were fish skeletons.

Writing Evolution

Growing up, I was an avid collector of pencils and pens. Every Friday, I was allowed to choose a prize for finishing a week of school. Pencils were my go-to for a while. I used them for everything. Eventually, I discovered that I preferred pens, and the pencils became a decoration for my desk. I think most of my early writing years were spent using notebooks and pens.

When I was around twelve years old, I decided that I wanted to become an author when I was older. With that intention in mind, I created a writing binder. The binder was pink (not sure why—I don’t like pink) and filled with college-ruled papers. Every day, I would open up the binder, take out a few sheets, and either edit or add to a story. My writing started off as crazy figments of imagination, but over time, it evolved into more put-together, realistic plots. Most of the stories I’ve published have their beginnings in that binder.

Technology

Technology was a game changer. My family had a Kindle we shared and almost never used. When I was allowed to use a writing app on it, I discovered how much easier things could be. It was love at first use. I began transferring all my pre-existing books from my binder onto the Kindle, and from there, I edited. It was amazing how easily I could erase and add words without having to rewrite an entire page by hand. A new world of endless opportunities had just opened up for me. Writing had never been easier.

Self-Publishing

That’s when I seriously began thinking about publishing my books. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but my mom helped me set up an email, bank account, and KDP (Amazon self-publishing) account anyway. My dad found me a website host. From there, I designed my website and released six books. My parents graciously allowed me to figure out things on my own, and I am very thankful for that. I learn best through trial and error, and these years were so helpful for me. Even though I regret what came out of that time, God used it to teach me so much I wouldn’t have learned otherwise.

My biggest mistake was probably releasing semi-edited stories with plots I now cringe to think about. My mom warned me to edit more first, but I didn’t listen, and sales dropped from a couple a week to nothing. I’ve seriously contemplated taking half of my books down. However, I don’t want to forget where I’ve come from and how much I’ve grown since becoming an author, and I think others should get to see that as well.

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Manifesto

Glorify God in everything

As a Christian, I believe my aim in life is to bring glory to my creator. God has given me the gift of writing. He’s given it to me for a purpose, so I am going to use it for him. Even if I am just writing for myself (say, a journal), I want my words to praise my heavenly father.

Encourage and entertain

I want to bring joy to others. I want them to read what I write and feel encouraged and uplifted afterwards. My gift is not just for me; it is for others. Whether it encourages or entertains people, all that matters to me is that other people benefit from what I am able to give. God calls us (as his church) to help, uplift, and love one another, and I hope my writing can do that for other people.

Draw others to God

There are people out there who don’t believe what I believe, and that’s fine. However, I will do my best to share the truth through my writing.  I will use it to entrance and entice other people, hopefully leading them to see the bigger picture and the deeper meanings hidden inside. God is in control of everything. I will write what I believe he wants me to write, and he can use it how he wills. One thing I want to make sure I never do is turn people off from the gospel by being judgmental or unloving. Jesus gave me the ultimate gift of love, and that’s something I want to share with others—not hate.

Make a lasting impact

Life on earth is temporary. I will only live for a certain amount of time. I want my works to live on even when I’m gone, continuing to fulfill the purpose I’ve intended them to. I want people to remember not me, but what I stood for and whom I believed in. My life is a testimony of God’s love and faithfulness. I want people to remember that, and I want them to turn to God because of it.

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