Brooklynn Scott points out her recently published book to Los Alamos Public Schools Supt. Kurt Steinhaus at the Los Alamos High School media center. Photo Courtesy LAPS
LAHS NEWS
Los Alamos High School senior Brooklynn Scott recently published her first book, The Elevator of Quanemi, under her pen name Brooklynn Rose.
In the fictional land of Quanemi, people look up and see the ocean rather than the sky. One day an eccentric inventor builds an elevator that punctures through the water into the deep unknown.
Scott developed the idea for the book during her freshman year of high school, but didn’t commit to writing it out until the start of her sophomore year. “It started out as just a warm up exercise before I worked on other writing projects,” Scott explained. “I think because I started with the mindset that the story was for my eyes only, I allowed myself to be more creative and soon it became too good for me to just ignore as a warm up project.”
Scott spent over two years writing the book, going through seven drafts. Once she was satisfied with the final product, she decided to pursue the self-publishing route. “The self-publishing process is much quicker compared to going through a traditional publishing house which was appealing to me because I wanted to meet my goal to publish before I graduated high school,” she said.
According to Scott, Amazon offers a free self-publishing service that only requires an upload in a specific format. Amazon encourages authors to submit cover art as well, so Scott hired her friend Kari Mason, a junior at LAHS, to create the cover art for the book.
However, while getting your book out there and printed is much easier, an author is not guaranteed any readers because marketing falls entirely on the author. “That’s where the challenge comes in,” she noted. “Ratings will ultimately decide if a self-published book can get off the ground.”
Scott has always loved to tell stories. “When I was five or six, I wrote my first story down,” Scott said. “It was about my imaginary friend, Bucky, the saber-toothed tiger.” Since that first story, Scott has written many other stories, from train hopping in the Great Depression to a circus convict searching for hidden islands. “A world without stories is unfathomable to me,” she said.
Last month, she talked about her experience writing her fantasy novel during an Author Talk for the [un] Book Club. Over 30 high school students were in attendance, along with several English teachers. She also participated in a book signing event. Several copies are also available for checkout from the Topper Library.
As a senior, she is making plans for life after high school. Scott says she is applying to Brigham Young University in Provo and plans to major in Media Arts and minor in Creative Writing. “Whatever I do I want to work with stories,” Scott said. “I will write books, screenplays, maybe even direct documentaries.”
In the meantime, she is already brainstorming ideas for her next novel. “I will have to decide which one I am going to focus on next.”
To order a copy of Scott’s book, go to Amazon.com.