Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019
Teen wants to be a paperback writer
By Tom Stankard
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
St. Henry High School senior Rachel Werling is excited her first novel, "Time," has been picked to be published by Page Publishing.
ST. HENRY - A 16-year-old St. Henry High School student has turned a conversation she had with a friend into her first novel, which is on its way to be published.
"My friend asked me one day 'wouldn't it be weird if you knew the date you were going to die?' " Rachel Werling said.
The question stuck with her, and she pondered it some more.
"What if you had a watch that just counts down and once it hits zero, you die?" She wondered.
Thoughts like this inspired her book, "Time," that takes place in her version of life in 2900, when the government controls certain aspects of life.
"Each person, at certain ages, is given accessories that count down until you meet your best friend, your soulmate, your enemy and when your death is," Werling said.
In the book, everything went like clockwork until main character Cassadrea's watch stopped working with just one second left on her life.
"Her best friend and her soulmate try to figure out what happened and why she defied all the odds," she said.
The young author has been fond of reading and putting her ideas onto paper since she was 9 years old.
With help from her teachers, she got better the more she wrote.
"I've had really encouraging teachers who told me I'm a good writer and not to let it go to waste," she said.
Werling progressed from writing bad horror stories, to murder mysteries and eventually into this fantasy novel, she said.
As much as she loves to write, Werling said music is her first love, and she plans to major in music education after graduating from high school.
"Music has been my life since I was really little. I started voice lessons when I was 5, playing piano when I was 6, and I play the cello as well," she said.
Werling said she put the same emotion into writing "Time" as she does into singing.
Transitioning from writing short stories to a full-length novel was not easy, she said.
"It was a big move, and it took a lot of time to get used to it. With this, you have to make sure everything flows."
To help her piece it together, she made a storyboard filled with notes and string. If she got writer's block, Werling said she read it from the beginning and told herself "if I got this far, I'm not giving up."
It took three years to write "Time," but she said the effort was worth it. Once her manuscript was complete, Werling began researching publishing companies and reached out to Page Publishing of New York.
The company reviewed her manuscript and told Werling it would like to publish "Time," she said, smiling. The book is being edited with the author working with company representatives to polish the details and discuss possible changes to the story.
"They leave everything up to me," she said. "If it's not true to my characters, then I say 'no.' "
Werling hopes her book will be published by this time next year. "Time" is the first of five books she is working on that follow Cassadrea's life, she said. The sequels will be called "Escape," "Truth," "Fight" and "Sacrifice."
