Books

I began writing Illusions of the Desert at the start of quarantine, when I was 14 years old. Like many, I felt confined within the walls of my home, doing school remotely. I didn’t feel like I had the freedoms I once had due to the beginning of the pandemic. I had a lot of free time, that would otherwise be occupied with school and sports. I knew I wanted to start a project, but I didn’t know what. One day, I opened up a blank Google Doc, and the story poured out of me. I had no plan or plot agenda, I wrote completely freely. The story unfolded gradually, ideas forming in my mind the moment I typed them out. For months I spent hours every day adding to the plot and developing the characters. I knew I was finished with the rough manuscript once I was satisfied with the ending. During the months after, my Mom, Grandpa, and Aunty all went through the story and gave me suggestions and feedback. Once the manuscript had been refined and perfected in the eyes of my peers, I took it upon myself to edit word by word, line by line. I did this many times while also attending ninth grade entirely online. Once the time came to start thinking about publishing, I was honestly overwhelmed. There were so many options and choices, I didn’t even know where to start. After months of research, I published the ebook through Amazon. The cover photo was taken by my Mom, and was edited and formatted by me. Despite the barriers that I had to overcome, I stuck with the project because I believed in my story’s potential. The creative process for all writers is different, and I hope you enjoyed reading about mine.