Dragon’s Heart: Ashby teen First Novel

ASHBY — Fourteen-year-old Amanda Kenney has dreamed of being an author from an early age, and three years ago she embarked on reaching that dream when she began writing her first book.

Earlier this month the book, titled "Dragon’s Heart," was released through Tate Publishing & Enterprises.

In the book, Princess Rina V. of Occorom has been promised in marriage to a prince, but it’s a less than perfect match for the princess.

She runs away, hoping to find refuge in the mountains with dragons. She makes new friends, but when she is kidnapped by ogres and rescue efforts fail, she discovers that her past is not what she thought it was.

Ultimately, she must decide which path to follow and what part of her she can bear to lose.

The Ashby teen began writing the book when she was 11, but didn’t complete it until last year, when she and her dad, Tom Kenney, who is also her agent, began shopping around for publishers.

"I always loved reading books and I always had stories in my head. This one finally got finished," said Amanda, who lists her favorite books as "The Chronicles of Narnia" and the "Lord of the Rings."

She said the hardest part of writing the book was taking time off during the writing process and then starting up again. She said the editing process was exciting.

"It was fun to see your own mistakes and make it into something better. It was kind of fun changing it around," she said. "It was kind of hard because I had to keep reading it, so by the time I was done, I was sick of it.

"Writing was the most difficult, particularly getting myself to finish it," she said. "I had kind of forgotten the story a little bit."

She and her father submitted the finished product to the publishing company and received word about a month later that Tate had officially accepted the book.

"They made their own marks on it (noting) spelling and grammar errors. I had a part that I took out completely because I decided it didn’t make sense," she said. "They advised me to take it out and put something else in."

Amanda, who is home-schooled and just completed her freshman year, is planning to start her second book this summer.

Tate Publishing is a fee-based publishing group, according to Tom Kenney. The family paid a certain sum of money, and they will get that back when the book sells 5,000 copies.

"They require you put up a certain amount of money to make sure you are serious about the process," Tom Kenney said. "Tate was committing a lot of money and they wanted to make sure we were on board. They have done everything they said they would do when they said they would do it."

Tom Kenney said the money is worth the investment to help his daughter make her dream come true.

"Dragon’s Heart" is available in bookstores, through the publisher at www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore, or by visiting barnesandnoble.com or amazon.com. [Source: bostonherald.com]