Saskatoon girl publishes first novel at age 15

She’s only 15 years old, but a Saskatoon teen is already leaving her mark in the literary world.

AJ Milnthorp started writing her first novel ‘A Blanket of Stars’ when she was 13, earning her the title of self-published author at 15.

She said it feels “surreal” to have accomplished her dream of publishing a book at such a young age.

Milnthorp said her novel tells the story of a girl named Emberly who is struggling with life at home. After the death of Emberly’s mother, she and her siblings are left navigating life in a foster home and eventually make an escape to a forest.

The character, Milnthorp said, is partially based on a version of herself when it comes to physical appearance, age, and personality.

“She is a little more up front with how she says things,” Milnthorp said, adding that other characters from the book were inspired and influenced by people around her. Emberly’s sister, she said, is very much based on her own sibling.

Her passion for the pen and paper goes back to Grade 7, when she would write on her computer after completing class work.

“I started writing a novel that didn’t go very far, but that was my first introduction to writing,” she said. “I started getting more ideas until I came to this one.”

Part of the inspiration for the novel, Milnthorp said, came from the landscape she saw during  a drive home from her grandparents’ house.

“I went home and I started writing, and I just never stopped,” she said.

The novel only took her six months to write, but she said the most time-consuming part was editing.

“I truly didn’t know what I was doing to begin with,” she said, adding that the process involved a lot of research and self-editing until she found an editor to work with.

The young author said she has plenty of ideas which she keeps in notebooks that come with her wherever she goes. She said she’s hoping to find some time this summer to delve into her ideas when she’s not juggling school and basketball.

“I just want to keep writing in my life for as long as I possibly can,” she said.

Currently, she said she is working on getting her book onto the shelves of local stores, but for now it’s available on Amazon.