Young author published and proud

Most authors are a little older than 16 when they publish their first book - Apparently, no one told Annell Hodges that.

Hodges, a Conifer High School sophomore, had her first book published last month. “The Angel’s Tattoo” is a 316-page fantasy story published by Tate Publishing & Enterprises.

Annell will sign her book at noon May 1 at Borders bookstore at Colorado Mills.

Annell’s story is part fantasy, part tribute to her friend Jason Cain Rye. Jason died while in second grade, but not before the two put their pint-size heads together and came up with a giant idea for a story. The pair created the world of the “Anchanted,” a race of people who live among us but have special powers to shape-shift and morph into other beings.

Her sophisticated story is filled with angst, tension and mythic symbolism.

The main character, 14-year-old Jason, struggles to find his way in the world, separated by his heritage as an Anchanted, and he struggles with friendship, self-knowledge, separation and, most of all, loyalty. Jason’s story is of self-acceptance of his unique abilities and his fight against manipulation by those who would harm him.

Annell admits her story had one challenge: the Jason she knew as an inspiration for the main character was 8 years old when he died.

“It took imagination to know what he would act like being older,” Annell said.

The book, which Annell began writing in second grade, is geared toward middle-school-age kids, but she isn’t picky about who reads it.

“Anybody could read it. That would be great, actually,” Annell said.

‘Training, mastery and victory’
Around her neck, Annell wears a necklace with three words: “Training, mastery, victory.”

“With training comes mastery, and with mastery comes victory,” she said.

She doesn’t know where she heard the saying, but she made a necklace to keep the three words close to her heart.
“Victory is getting through life, smiling and doing a good job,” Annell said.

She believes she’s done just that with her book and feels there’s a message inside her story.

“Second to loyalty is friendship,” she said. “Be good to your friends. They are the only people you’ve got who will protect you and be there for you when you need them. You’re stronger than you think, and nothing in life is guaranteed.”

Advice from a young author
Annell has advice for those young and old who have a book inside them.

Annell walks the writer’s walk easily and confidently, and she cautions against being too hard on ideas and their evolution. Have lots of patience, Annell said. “Stick with it and believe it’s a good idea.”

She knows people who have come up with promising story ideas and have edited themselves into discouragement.

Annell knew what she needed from her characters but admits her writer’s block usually occurred during warm weather. On the flip side, she admits that sometimes her mind went faster than her fingers on the keyboard.

“It’s easier to think of things in school when I’m not paying attention in class,” she said with a laugh. Looking around a room, she daydreams and builds a ladder of her story progression in sequential steps.

Annell, who wants to be a drama/comedy scriptwriter after she graduates, is taking an Advanced Placement world history class and said it’s been great fuel for her character-driven imagination.

“I just try to be perceptive,” Annell said. “The more you are perceptive about the world around you, the more you understand why people do what they do and why what happens, happens.”

She’s trying to get the next book out of her head and onto a computer screen but admits it’s taking time. So she’s trying to take her own advice: “Don’t over-edit yourself and don’t underestimate yourself.”

From the High Timber Times, April 14, 2010