A published author at 17: Electra says 'You can do it'

Thanks to her participation in an school club last year, a 17-year-old Lockerby Composite School graduate has just published her first novel.

Last November, students at the school took part in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, which challenges participants to write a minimum of 50,000 words from Nov. 1 until the deadline at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30.

Lockerby students even spent a full school day working on their writing project.

“That was so much fun,” said the young author, who's requested to be identified only by her pen name, Electra Bowes.

“I've always loved writing. The thing is, I've never actually finished a book before. I've always gotten bored with the story or lacked the motivation to finish.

"One of the reasons I did this was because it really made me strive to finish. I had all this extra support with my friends and the teachers.”

While it only took Bowes a month to write the novel, she said the editing process took many more months.

The result is "Bitter Silence," a self-published novel about a dystopian world where psychics are slaves. The protagonist is a teenage girl who's a psychic, and considering an escape from the only life she's known.

The book is geared to young adults, “but adults will love it as well,” said Bowes, who eventually plans to turn it into a trilogy.

“Most of my readers have been adults, and they've all loved it. I've had rave reviews. Everyone's demanding book two.”

Bowes, who will be studying psychology and English at Laurentian University in the fall, said she decided to go by a pen name because she loves the idea of anonymity.

“I think it adds just a little bit of extra sparkle,” she said.

She said she's “ecstatic” to have published a book, and encourages other teens to give it a try.

“Any young writers out there, I say you can do it,” Bowes said, adding that one of her classmates also finished a novel. “That's the main hurdle to get over. Can you do it? You can, and your writing can be amazing.”

"Bitter Silence," published through Create Space, retails for $10, and is available online at Amazon, or locally at Bay Used Books, Let's Scrabbalatte Board Game Cafe and Old Rock.

Learn more about the book by visiting the Facebook page.