An Interview with Riley Boerger, the author of Twelve Spoons, the winning entry in the Enhanced DNA Publishing "Encourage a Young Writer Day" contest!
Every year, National Encourage a Young Writer Day, is celebrated on April 14th. At Enhanced DNA Publishing, we wanted to do just that – encourage young writers.
We had twenty-two young writers enter the Enhanced DNA Encourage a Young Writer Day contest. Each of them demonstrated their vivid imagination, ability to tell a story or engage the reader in their life (whether the story was non-fiction or fiction) As a result, the judges had a difficult time narrowing the entries to the 4 top finalists and ultimately, the winner. The winner of the contest was offered a contract to get their story expanded into a book and published for FREE! Riley Boerger was the winner; has now completed writing her book, it has been published and it is available on Amazon!
Denola Burton, Founder/CEO of Enhanced DNA Publishing recently had the opportunity to interview Riley.
Denola: Riley, can you tell us a little about yourself?
Riley: I’m a 15-year old from a small town in Washington state and a 10th grader in High School. I want to be a neurosurgeon and even though I have a chronic condition, it doesn't stop me from reaching my goals. I truly believe that my age does not stop me from reaching the stars and that is why I am so excited to achieve this goal before I get my high school diploma!
Denola: What was your original motivation for entering the "Encourage a Young Writer Day" contest?
Riley: When I turned in my original essay as an assignment, my English teacher Mrs. Lambert told me that my story was so good that it needed to be a book . So when I found this competition I thought why not, it didn't cost anything and if it does become something great! And when I learned that I did win, I could not believe it!
Denola: The title of your book, Twelve Spoons, is pretty intriguing. Can you tell us what was the inspiration for and meaning of the title?
Riley: When I started getting worse, my physical therapist told me about the spoon theory, something that is explained better in the book, and it was very symbolic for me.
Denola: What does it mean to you to have your story told and actually published?
Riley: I never thought that sending in my a short essay about living with a chronic illness would have ever become a published book available now. And I think it is so heartwarming the responses I’ve been getting from my announcement, people telling me that they will be sending this to their families so their families better understand what it’s like for them to live with a chronic illness makes the sleepless nights trying to finish a chapter completely worth it. I always said that the reason I wanted to write this book was to have at least one person be able to read it and have a better understanding of an under viewed/represented part of this world deals with every day.
Denola: How would you describe this entire publishing process?
Riley: Painless! With your guidance I was able to publish a book at the age of 15. I had so much fun, and I loved getting to write about experiences I had never thought about.
Denola: What is next for Riley? Do you see more books in your future?
Riley: Just high school, I'm going to live a normal life for a little bit. But maybe when I'm older I'll write a sequel to twelve spoons.
We would like to congratulate Riley for this accomplishment and wish her well in all her future endeavors. It has been a pleasure working with her through the entire author coaching and publication process.
If you would like to support Riley and purchase a copy of her book, you can order an autographed copy on our website or you can order directly from Amazon.
Denola M. Burton is the Founder and CEO of Enhanced DNA: Develop Nurture Achieve, LLC and Enhanced DNA Publishing. ThroughEnhanced DNA, Denola develops and nurtures individuals and organizations to achieve their Leadership, Communication and Performance goals and objectives. Denola is also an author and publisher and through Enhanced DNA Publishing, assists new and newer authors in publishing their books according to the standards of the Independent Book Publisher's Association (IBPA). Denola retired from Eli Lilly and Company after 27 years where the majority of her career was focused on Employee Relations/Human Resources. Interested in becoming an author? Check out Denola' s new book, Enhancing Your Author DNA: Step-by-Step Publishing Guide.
You can connect with Denola on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIN and Twitter at Enhanced DNA or send a message to DenolaBurton@EnhancedDNA1.com.
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