Junior student publishes novel

GC&SU student Scarlett Allen had her first book published just over a year ago, and she is only a junior.

Her novel, “A Fairy Tale,” was published by Publish America and is available on their website, www.publish

america.com. She wrote the book while enrolled in school, and it took about a year to complete.

“I’m really happy and excited about it,” Allen said. “I expected to be a writer at least part time, but I didn’t expect to have a book published while I was still in college.”

She has been writing for about 10 years and got her beginning when she was struck by a car in 1994.

“I had a serious brain injury, so I couldn’t do PE or anything like that,” she said. “I just kind of found writing, and it was an outlet.”

Allen was not expected to make it through college because of her brain injuries, but she did just that and more.

“A Fairy Tale” involves princes and princesses, pirates and cannibals; it is a play on words with two kingdoms: Perfection and Egocentric. The royal party has to leave their homes to complete a test where they have to prove themselves. The book is allegorical and is symbolic of life’s journey.

“It just kind of came to me one night,” Allen said, describing how she came up with the idea. “I was just thinking about different feelings like revenge and pride, and different things people feel and emotions.”

She said she thought it would make a nice story if someone personified those mental abilities.

Allen said that her friends and family were surprised when they found out about her getting published because she didn’t tell them.

“I think it’s amazing, and I’m really happy for her,” said Summer Cook, a GC&SU sophomore and friend of Allen’s.

Other members of the campus community think it is quite an accomplishment as well.

“To be published as an undergrad is quite remarkable, and quite wonderful,” said Renee Dodd, formal archival associate of the GC&SU library. “I wrote my first novel as a senior in college, but soon realized that its flaws outnumbered its merits and that it was best categorized as a learning experience. I would consider myself lucky to have started my career at such a young age.”

According to Martin Lammon, English professor and editor of Arts & Letters, most students who are published at GC&SU are published in literary journals such as the Mid-American Review and Ploughshares.

Allen’s advice for aspiring writers is to start while young, and not to use youth as an excuse.

“I was hit by a car. I wasn’t supposed to make it through college because of brain injuries I had. I worked hard and got into college. I made it through with good grades, and I’ve been able to write a book and have it published at the same time,” Allen said. “I don’t think what I’ve done is really so extraordinary. I think everyone can do it. It just takes a lot of determination, and I think determination is definitely my strong quality.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 3 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry