BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — Lee-Scott Academy Freshman Ella Grace Garner recently published her book “Emery Baron,” which she started at the age of 10.
“I started writing it when I was 10 years old in my English class because I loved reading, and I had a dream about it one night, so I just decided to write it,” she said. “I wrote it in the notes app on my school iPad, and then eventually made it into an entire book. I’ve always loved reading and writing. I’ve always written stories since I was really little. So this was, like, a dream come true to publish a book. It’s been amazing so far.”
When she began writing “Emery Baron,” Ella Grace said she was inspired by much of what she was reading at the time.
“The main books I was reading around that time would be things like Divergent or The Hunger Games,” she said. “I also have always loved history and historical fiction, and I think both of those genres definitely played a huge role in what ‘Emery Baron’ became.”
With starting her book at such a young age, Ella Grace said she grew up with her character Emery Baron.
“I was 10 when I started writing her character specifically, and I’ve grown up with her, honestly. I’m really attached to her,” she said. “So everything bad that happens to her makes me really sad, because I’m so attached to her. I think I find parts of myself in her because I was so young when I wrote her. I find parts of myself in all the characters I write, but she’s such a strong character, and I love her character so much.”
Since publishing her book, Ella Grace said she has felt supported by her school and community.
“Every classmate of mine that found out has either bought the book or just congratulated me on it, and two weeks ago, most of them didn’t even know I wrote a book,” she said. “So it’s really crazy. Most of my entire school has congratulated me, a bunch of my old teachers, my principal and they posted me on their page. It’s been absolutely crazy, and my loving mother over here has posted it everywhere. It’s been really wonderful.”
Along with a supportive community, Ella Grace said her parents’ support played a large role in her navigating the editing and publishing process.
“My parents definitely have supported me a lot, because I was a really wild 10-year-old who decided that she wanted to write a book,” she said. “They’ve supported me through all of it, telling me I could do it. And eventually I got here, and they helped me publish it and fix everything. It’s been amazing. They’ve been so supportive.”
Ella Grace’s mom, Kayla Garner, said she enjoyed watching her daughter navigate the writing and publishing process.
“It has been a really good experience,” she said. “She first started writing it when she was younger. We always encouraged her that if she wanted to do it, we would find a way to publish it, no matter what. So it has been a journey, but it has been really good to see it actually come to fruition, get completed and how her writing has matured over time.”
Since watching Ella Grace navigate publishing “Emery Baron,” Kayla said she wants to encourage other young people to follow their dreams.
“Even if it’s something scary, they just need to do it,” she said. “There are people out there to support you. This community has been great. I have not realized how many people I’ve never met before have been so supportive and have offered words of encouragement. Social media has been great. I’ve gotten hundreds and hundreds of comments of just congratulations and how inspiring it is for someone her age to accomplish something like this.”
Growing up, Ella Grace said that she always enjoyed spending her free time reading and writing, so “Emery Baron” was a natural evolution of those skills.
“I love writing,” she said. “I love seeing different worlds and how they all come together, sad stories and happy stories. I’ve always loved reading. So writing just kind of came with that. I loved being able to create my own story and figuring out how stuff would go. I was always a big daydreamer when I was super little, so I guess that kind of just always came out in my writing.”
As she continues to go through school, Ella Grace said that she hopes to make writing her future career.
“I would love to be an author,” she said. “That has been my dream for many, many years now. I would love to do that as an adult. I’m going to keep writing and keep publishing books through my high school career, and I would love to do that as an adult for the rest of my life.”
Ella Grace said she wants to encourage young students who have a dream to pursue it.
“You might be really young, but you can do it,” she said. “ I did it, and I didn’t think I could either, but they can do it. It’s terrifying to do this at such a young age and be afraid that people are going to judge you, but it’s so worth it to be able to share what you love. It’s so worth it. And I encourage young people that would want to do something big, do it.”
Auburn Oil Co. Booksellers is hosting a pop-up for locals to meet Ella Grace and purchase her book “Emery Baron” on Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m.
