By Julia Kramer · Staff Writer
Grove City College junior Anastasia Brown celebrated the publication of her first novel, “The House on Breaker’s Ridge,” at its public reading, which students and faculty attended March 18.
As a project she began in eighth grade, the novel was originally written for her family’s enjoyment, with its protagonists, the Trelawney children, inspired by her own siblings. However, after winning a young authors contest, Brown was offered a publishing deal by Booklogix, a non-traditional publishing and print services company supporting independent authors.
“It was a very whirlwind surprise, you know, out of the ordinary,” Brown said.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the editing and publishing process took much longer than Brown anticipated, with the novel remaining largely untouched until her first year of college. While not ideal, Brown found that the delay allowed her to relive the unique familial closeness of her youth, while providing her with fresh eyes to see the weaknesses of a plot she had not looked at since ninth grade.
So, with the publishing company’s approval, Brown rewrote much of the book and majorly altered the climax. Like most authors, however, Brown struggled to know when to stop editing.
“We’re finite human beings, we are never going to make something perfect that lives up to all our hopes and aspirations, and so just being comfortable with our own limitations, I think, was an important thing for me to realize,” Brown said. “At some point, it is just right to put it out in the world.”
“The House on Breaker’s Ridge” is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Strand Books and others. Written for kids ages 8 to 13, the novel follows the Trelawneys’ children who come to live in an “old ancestral mansion” full of secrets. Although categorized as a mystery novel, Brown wanted more than hidden passages to catch the readers’ attention.
“The main theme of the book is about a family.” Brown said, “It was the driving force that got me putting a story on a page.
“The fun thing about a family is everybody is so different. And the thing that keeps us together is that we’re a family.”
Junior English major Molly Miller appreciated this theme at the book reading event, saying, “It was so sweet and beautiful to hear how the characters in the book were based on her own family and friends. … I am eager to read the rest of the book as soon as my copy arrives in the mail room.”
Hosted by the Hearth, the reading of Anastasia’s novel had four narrators who took the audience through the first two chapters.
“It was one of the best-attended Hearth events so far. … And (it was) a lovely example of how students encourage students in life-giving activities,” Dr. Joshua Mayo, chair of the Department of English, said. “As a department, we are very proud of Anastasia.”
The event closed with a question-and-answer session where audience members asked Brown about her inspirations and writing technique, as well as for encouragement for those wondering how to approach novel writing and publication themselves.
These days, Anastasia is enjoying the challenge of writing short stories, and while no new novels are in the works, the possibility is certainly not written off.
“I think we are in the best moment in time. … There’s plenty of resources, plenty of different routes to get things out to the world,” Brown said before cautioning audience members to keep their writing enjoyable. Speaking about her own experience, she shared that “It was a blessing, but it just began with doing the project for the joy of it, that was probably what got me continuing to do what I love today.”
