The lost boys: Ten-year-old St Thomas resident writes book
Published:Friday | December 27, 2019 | 12:07 AMVanessa James/Gleaner Writer
“ Children have never good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them”
– James Baldwin
The above quote can be applied to for new author Ashley Saunders, who at 10 years old has written her first book, after being inspired by her godmother, Monique Mitchell, affectionately called ‘Moya’, who is also an author.
According to Annesha Brown, Saunders’ mother, one day they were at home in St Thomas and Saunders declared that she was going to write a book, just like her godmother.
“They were on the bed one night and she (Ashley) said, ‘Moya’, you know I am going to write a book like you’, and Moya said, ‘OK’, but we weren’t paying her any mind, really,” said Brown.
Little did they know that little Saunders was serious about her plans, and soon set about writing her book. She said she went online and researched ways to write a book, and how to get it published, before attempting the story.
“I liked writing the book. I wanted to write it because my aunt Monique wrote a book and I wanted to know how it would feel if I wrote one, so I started writing,” Saunders said.
According to Saunders’ mother, after approximately three nights, the book was completed.
“About three to four nights later, Ashley came back and she said, ‘me finish’, and Moya asked her, ‘finish doing what?’ And Ashley respond, ‘me finish the book’,” relayed Brown. “So Moya took the computer from Ashley and then she called me and say, ‘Annesha look on this, Ashley wrote a book,’ and I didn’t believe, thinking that she just write a little story. So when I saw it now, I was surprised that she did.”
Impressed, Saunders’ godmother decided to contact the publishing house that handled her book and told Brown that she would only need to pay US$250 to edit the book and have it illustrated.
“The book is about some boys that went into a forest and they got lost in there,” Saunders said. “It is about the type of friends that you keep, like the good friends and the bad friends; and how bad friends can get you lost.”
Saunders told The Gleaner that she is excited that the book is published, a wish that has become a reality as The Lost Boys by Ashley Saunders is currently available on Amazon at a sale price of $1,500 between December 25 and January 15.
As a lover of social studies and English language, Saunders hopes to become an attorney-at-law when she gets older, and wants to keep writing.