Tara Chau has been busy during lockdown, penning her first novel Rise of the Xavia.
The 15-year-old Central Coast Steiner School student has been working on the book for two years, and after being launched on August 20, it is now available on Kindle, and a hard cover version will be available through Amazon in a few weeks.
Chau said it was a friend who was also very interested in writing that inspired her to create her book.
“She really helped me write something that I would be interested in reading, and she encouraged me to keep writing in these hard times.
“It took me eight months to put together the first draft, and it took two years of editing and working with my publisher to get it finished,” Chau said.
Rise of the Xavia is an engaging teen fantasy novel that follows the story of the heroine, Dianna, who traverses two worlds, the mundane and the magical, and through all the twists and turns, the heroine must decide which world is worth fighting for.
Chau said she writes about topics she is passionate about and takes inspiration from the people around her, interesting conversations and everyday life.
Rise of the Xavia is the first book of a planned trilogy.
“I’m planning on going around to some of the local bookstores once lockdown is over to hopefully get it in stores here,” she said.
“I’m also in the process of editing the second one, and I have already started writing the third one.
“I also plan on writing more series in the future.”
When Chau is not bashing away at her keyboard and drinking gallons of tea, she enjoys reading, painting, photography, listening to music, hanging out with friends and watching movies with her family.
Rise of the Xavia is being published by Lake Macquarie based publisher, Golden Earth Publishing.
Harry Mulholland