The most responsible of high school students have summer jobs that require applications and time commitments. Very few can claim to have an adult job. Junior Mary Kate Brox, however, can truthfully say that she has written a 200 page novel and a published poem. Her story, based around a fairy named Rose Bud, takes place in a different world, though it takes inspiration from real life.
“It’s a fantasy novel,” Brox said. “It’s based around the idea of growing up. The first chapter follows Rose Bud’s day-to-day life, but in the second chapter everything changes. She encounters an enemy and her friends join the military.”
The story, Rose Bud of Tarnina, centers around the adventures of Rose Bud and her various friends.
“I based a lot of my characters around my own friends, sometimes by accident,” Brox said. “A lot of the good characters have bad motivations.”
Her novel has been in the works for years.
“I began contemplating writing it when I was 10, and I actually started in eighth grade,” Brox said.
She wasn’t the only one invested in her story.
“I had a teacher who offered me an individual creative writing class,” Brox said. “I sat in the back of a seventh grade class typing to my heart’s content. It gave me the time I needed to [start writing].”.
Her motivation for beginning her novel was very personal, and provided a strong impetus to continue on.
“My grandma always told me stories,” Brox said. “After she passed away, I made my own stories.”
In addition to a book, Brox has written several poems. They typically involve nature in one way or another.
“Whenever I come up with a poem, it is usually an extended metaphor that embodies human strife,” Brox said.
One poem, “Not Without Purpose,” has been published in the George Mason Anthology “Fall into the Story.”
“I was biking, struggling with school on a cold autumn day, and my lungs were burning with cold air,” Brox said. “[The idea] hit me when I saw a leaf falling to the ground. I turned around and biked home immediately to write it down so it wouldn’t drift away.”
Now that she has a poem published, Brox is planning on publishing her novel.
“I have a membership on Lulu.com,” Brox said. “It’s free self-publishing website. I was planning on continuing the series.”
Having taken Creative Writing for two years in addition to her other achievements, Brox has advice for aspiring authors.
“Everyone has their own story to write, fiction or fantasy,” Brox said. “They have something they want to express. If you have something profound you want to say, don’t let others change it.”