The first-time published author, with a pen name of Midnight Falls, was also recognized at the Board of Education meeting and participated in the school’s poetry slam later in the evening. Her independently published paperback is available on Amazon and is 99 pages long, categorized in Greek & Roman Myth & Legend and Literature & Fiction, and is geared towards children ages 10-17 years.
“Charlotte is exactly the kind of young person who reminds us why the library exists. To watch a freshman in high school walk through our doors with a book she wrote – a real, finished book – and share it with her community was genuinely one of the highlights of my time as director. We are so proud to have Escape on our shelves, and we cannot wait to see what she does next,” said Erie Public Library Director Becky Duncan.
Stropes started writing in 5th grade but didn’t necessarily want to be an author, saying she originally wanted to be a teacher of Greek Mythology – so she used her knowledge to combine these two passions of hers. Her debut book is about Aris, “who thought everything was starting to settle down; that is, until one message written in the stars above from the Gods changed everything. Will she be able to navigate the knew situation or will he get to her first?”
Andrea McConnell, RTI Reading Teacher, said she’s been on this publication journey with Stropes after getting asked to assist in editing the book. After she was done with her edits, Mrs. McConnell then gave Stropes the publishing company information. She excitedly added that Stropes is already writing her next novel.
Stropes shared that her source of inspiration is “reading other people’s books, stories, or fanfictions. I also took a lot of inspiration from different shows or movies. The biggest thing that made me get into writing my books though was I have always liked to roleplay and I was always good at making plots or stories for it so I realized one day that I could turn some of those ideas into books and that’s how I got here.”
Congrats on the accomplishment and best of luck on your future endeavors!
Author Charlotte Stropes read a few pages and signed her book on Monday, April 27th at the Erie Public Library.
