Senior Amanda Menichello Publishes First Book

Senior Amanda Menichello Publishes First Book
RedOnline
March 16, 2016

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After three years of commitment FHS senior Amanda Menichello recently published the first of her three books in her trilogy titled: The Twisted Trilogy. To read more about Amanda and the process she went through to create her book you can read below.

The book is called “A Lapse in Time”. The book will be available on the market at the end of March. Although it is not yet available on the market, Amanda has had a total of 47 pre-paid orders already.

 

What is the book about?

Eero Resem is a boy who has known nothing but tragedy his entire life. War and self-conflict have lurked at his feet since the day he was born, constantly eating away at not only his happiness but his very humanity. When he is forcefully taken from his home and told he has no choice but to fight for his existence, Eero has a very limited amount of time to find out just what both he, and his newly found friends are capable of before it’s too late, and time catches up with them. Thrown into a world where nothing is what it seems, he will have to outsmart not only mortals and supernaturals, who thirst for his blood but fate itself, if he ever wants a chance to save not only himself but the entire world from decimation…

 

What made you want to begin writing this book?

Mr. Johnson inspired me through his love of history. He was such a wonderful and enthusiastic teacher, and his teaching method drew me into three time periods in particular: Early America, the Middle Ages, and the Roman Imperial Ages. A Lapse in Time is heavily based on history, with a fictional twist to it, and his method of explaining these time periods built the foundation of the story. He inspired me and set the spark for my love of history, but aside from his teaching, he was not involved in the process at all–he never even knew about it. I’ve always written books, and with the take he gave me on history, I was able to mold a completely new story; in fact, my trilogy is actually a combination of several ideas I’ve had throughout my life. I’ve always loved writing and have wanted to be an author for as long as I can remember; him teaching gave me my first real idea that I felt like could turn into something amazing.

 

What are some struggles that came with writing this book?

It was in fact only supposed to be one at first, but as you go further, you want to add more things and develop the characters more, hence making the book longer and giving it much more potential–in the end, it was split into three. The editing and grammar were, in fact, a huge issue because I don’t have money for an editor, so through my best friend, an author, and myself it was cleaned up. One of the BIGGEST was also keeping the facts straight, especially since the book is based on historical facts in some areas. You HAVE to make sure you’ve got it right.

 

How does it feel to have a book published as a senior in high school?

Amazing. I am ready for people to criticize me and I know there will be a lot of competition that comes along with this process.

 

Through the process of writing your book what are some quotes that helped you?

“I have a voice that needs to be heard.”

“You cannot let what others say stop you from following your dreams.”

 

How do you plan to earn money from your book sales?

My method of buying and selling to start out is “gorilla marketing.” I buy the books at a cheaper price because I am the author, and sell it cheaper to those local. However, like I said, these books have not been actually sold yet, hence I have not made money at the moment. The book is available for $20 because it is so large; selling it myself, I make $10 per copy, on Amazon, I will make $4, and on CreateSpace, I will receive an $8 royalty.

Amanda’s journey will continue on with her plans to write two more books titled “The Dark Materials” as book two and “In Eden’s Shadow”, book three.