In April of 2024, Stephen Kozan hosted a competition for the upcoming authors. He is a well-known author who founded a publishing company named ReadyAimWrite Kids to help young authors have an opportunity to publish their work.
The competition consisted of writing, either on paper or on the computer, a pitch for a story, and instead of one winner, we got two! Natalia Norek, mostly known as Mike and Patterson Graeme Kelley.
Now that their books are about to be published, I interviewed them about their experience.
Congratulations on winning the competition! What was your initial reaction when you found out you won?
Mike: Thank you :)! Honestly, I screamed super loud (in my head) when I found out. I was in such awe that I thought it was a dream I managed to have won.
You know, those sort of vivid dreams that feel so real that when you wake up you thought it had already happened.
Can you give us a brief summary of your book? What is it about?
Mike: Who’d think being tired of seeing dead people would make me end up here?
That’s what twenty-one-year-old Wheatley Bibliothek assumed when she was knee-deep inside a top-secret cult. Hearing strangers fixate on an old folk tale and her deceased Dad in the mix. She wasn’t even expecting to spend her spring break like this at all! Oh what the hell, who would even imagine this sort of outcome to wanting to go out for spring break?
Wheatley wasn’t anything special but just a college student who just happened to be able to see the dead. All she knew was that her Dad had made a worthy sacrifice to guard her safety. However, it feels like her own Dad forgot to leave a small detail of this; the fact she’s a heavy target to a new looming danger that was lurking in the background.
The worst part? She didn’t even realize the gravity of this danger until she met Alex Blight. That’s when she truly learned the truth.
Something that supposedly can’t be swallowed by her own Mom and Uncle.
Can you tell us about the journey of writing your book? How did the idea come to you?
Mike: You know when you find that right song out in the wild that you start putting it in every playlist you have? That’s how writing this book felt.
Moreover, it was just a rollercoaster (Preferably the Incredible Hulk, ifykyk) that I had seemingly thought I had a hang of before having another huge idea slam me dead like a fly.
The idea relatively was more of a, “Hey I haven’t really gone so deep into this set of genres before,” and left with a, “Oh lord have mercy.” I knew the characters I had to begin with weren’t fleshed out enough so I really was working with skeletons. But, I noticed that this was the most perfect outcome.
My AP art project initially started the development of this book which is kind of ironic. Of course, the college art course allowed my brain in Junior year to hit the climax of inspiration. Allowing my brain to progress even further, my drawings were my backbone. Alex, furthermore, comes from another story and had a relatively good enough background that it almost made sense to include them.
I really loved drawing Wheatley learning more about what her mom had hidden from her and I found myself pleased with the semi-resolution she had at the end.
But as any creative token of liberty I get gifted by my sheer will, I was not satisfied with leaving this story open like that. Sort of how people felt with Ethan Winters before Resident Evil Village came out.
What was the most challenging part of writing the book while juggling school and other responsibilities?
Mike: When I finished the whole outline for my book, it was summer and it meant that the annual family trip to Europe commenced. It meant that I was writing the draft of this book on a 7-hour flight to Poland. At first, I didn’t mind.
As someone who cannot sleep on a plane ride that’s more than 3 hours long– I thought it was the perfect place to open up my computer and begin writing. Wrong in the greatest sense. Not to add that I was going to Italy that year, so struggling without a stable internet connection was truly a struggle.
But regardless of the issues, I already had the mental image of the book and knew I needed to get my ideas written fast before I would forget them.
How has your writing style evolved since you first started writing?
Mike: Originally my writing was only used as a way to recap specific moments in my Minecraft world. I found it fun and initially, with the vastness of 2020 and COVID I had all the time to expand more.
Then, of course, I started to write roleplays and shared them with friends. They liked it and begged for more, and it resulted in my expansion of lore— more on characters.
Drawing them out when I couldn’t tell if my words were descriptive enough to explain what was happening. They sort of paired with each other as I grew better in both fields.
Who are some of your biggest influences or favorite authors, and how have they shaped your writing?
Mike: These questions always make me stop and think about what book I have read that influenced me the most. All I could think about was certain James Patterson branded books; however, the names didn’t return to me.
I do remember, though, Maximum Ride. Now that book had some sort of impact. Great Gatsby was also peak, but I enjoyed the style of how the book went with sharing the story. I never really used it as an influence but my way of going, “I need to be that level someday.”
What do you hope readers will take away from your book?
Mike: Do not feel underwhelmed with where you stand right now. You don’t need to do something extraordinary to prove what you are necessarily, but you should slowly expand your horizons. (Also don’t join cults)
How did you feel when you first saw your book getting published? What has the experience been like so far?
Mike: May I say that I jumped, giggled, and shared it with everyone I knew as I tried to remind myself that this will be physical and no longer just… well
“How many words is this?”
“Uh, like maybe 100k?”
The experience has also been pretty easy. Just getting into the groove of writing with a deadline was pretty interesting. Also a bit fun since it meant I couldn’t spend much time loafing and doing nothing.
What advice would you give to other young writers who are trying to get their work out there?
Mike: Do not feel like what you’ve written is pathetic. Every writer feels like what they have made is dumb and shouldn’t be seen out into the world. You just need to slowly open yourself up.
Try out competitions and see what works the best. Even see what genre you know down to the bone– that typically helps since you’d just need to be distinct from the others. (This is equally as hard since sometimes you can see what you had as an idea and find out it’s a super popular character of a franchise you didn’t even know existed.)
You should also allow your friends to feel tortured like a show would when they decide to do something horrible to their favorite character. It gets the best reaction. 😉
Are there any themes or messages in your book that you’re particularly passionate about?
Mike: Well I think the message is what I had said earlier, stating mostly how you shouldn’t force yourself to fit into a picture just yet. But I do feel that my expression of characters gives them a sense of realism to an absurd amount.
Though, haha, I think Hillary will say I enjoy the idea of dark and grim topics. Those being how depression could be affected and whatnot. But to the readers, this book is happier than my other works. If – a sort of Resident Evil 4 vibe – is considered happy.
What’s next for you? Do you have any other writing projects in the works, or future plans as an author?
Mike: Well, fun fact, this book is technically in my eyes the third in a series I have. Indeed you are hearing that right! The third book in a series is getting published before the first! That is pretty weird to think about, but movies do it all the time so it’s not much different.
I am thinking, though, about potentially releasing a work that explains more in-depth the horrors that are considerably the ‘root of issues’ inside this book.
However, that means I’ll need to rewrite it for…some post-clarity and plot relevance that might make more sense since I cannot be there as the lighthouse for all those who read my work.
This year’s competition was on Monday, February 3rd during the 7th period, you need to contact Mrs. Canon to be able to participate. Steven Kozan talked about his books, publishing company, and the competition. Later this week he’ll choose his next winner!!
If you want to buy the book to support the authors please go to the library. Here are the prices:
Campus Exorcist by Mike Norek: $20
Tidal by Patterson Graeme Kelley: $15
