Central Student Publishes First Book

A senior from Central High School just published her first book after spending many years developing the story while also staying on top of school work and club responsibilities.

Julianna Myers, 17, of Roaring Spring, is the author of the book "Metal Heart" which was officially published on Dec. 19, 2023.

The original story started when she was in fifth grade and was inspired by a game she played with her friends called "space aliens."

At first, the story was about humans versus aliens, but over the years the aliens changed into cyborgs.

"I came up with the title of the book first, and created the storyline based on that," Myers said.

She started writing the book in her freshman year of high school.

"It was a very long four-year process and many late nights," Myers said.

This was all done while still focusing on completing school work, being editor-in-chief of the Yearbook Club, and many other school activities.

She said writing gave her an outlet to take out all of her emotions and relieve the stress of daily life.

Myers designed the cover on a sketch pad.

"I took an outline of a heart and added more to it over the years," she said.

Myers said the setting of the book is in the future in a dystopian cyberpunk type of world.

Writing the story was just as suspenseful for her as it will be for someone who reads the book for the first time, she said.

"The writing process itself - I didn't know what was going to happen next or how it was going to end," Myers said.

She is not sure how she came up with everything, but just thought it was a good idea.

Nyella Terry and Zeke Micheals are the two main characters in the book who are in their early 20s.

Nyella wants to become an aeronautical mechanic and Zeke is still discovering what he wants to do, Myers said.

One of her favorite parts of writing the book was being able to develop all of the characters and seeing how they evolved.

"At first I liked Nyella, but as the story progressed I liked Zeke more," she said.

Myers said the book is written in first person point-of-view, which allows the reader to feel as though they are experiencing everything along with the characters.

Her mother Jessica Myers said she is very proud of her daughter.

While she has not read the book yet, she looks forward to getting into the story.

"I don't know anything about the plot, because I wanted to be surprised when I first read it," Jessica Myers said.

Myers said the story is about 220 pages, 20 chapters, and includes a prologue and an epilogue.

It is currently a stand alone book. While she has no plans for a sequel, there is possibility if she is able to figure out how to continue the story.

Myers said the age range of the book is 12-18, but thought someone older could enjoy it.

Her younger sister was there for the whole process, and her young brother also loved the book so much he told all of his friends about it.

A lot of Myers friends have read the book or are going to purchase it soon.

There was quite a process to putting her book on Amazon, but the end result was worth it. The book will also be available at Barnes and Noble.

On Friday, Jan. 5, Myers said about 15 copies of the book were sold so far.