Madison Bowen and Brianna Rodriguez Publish their First Novel as High School Students
Seniors Madison Bowen and Brianna Rodriguez pose with their newly published book titled 32.
After two years of nightly writing, editing, and waiting, seniors Madison Bowen and Brianna Rodriguez are now published authors.
The girls started writing in November of their sophomore year. Through Google Docs, the girls switched off doing the actual writing but always convened about their ideas prior to writing the chapter. “There were a lot of FaceTimes and Starbucks meetings,” said Rodriguez.
As avid readers, the two girls always shared books they read with each other. “We are always reading the same thing!” said Bowen. They had just finished a series together when they decided to write their own novel.
If someone would have told me I was going to be a published author five years ago, I would have never believed it
— Madison Bowen
The concept for their book originated from a dream Rodriguez had at a sleepover after deciding to write together. They took the general idea of her dream and shaped it into the storyline of 32, their book. The girls literally turned their dreams into reality when it was finally published on October 29.
Essentially, the book is about a girl named Devyn Jacobs that is receiving the death penalty. She dies in the first chapter, but the rest of the book consists of her life leading up to her death as her life flashes before her eyes.
“We actually finished writing the book two Junes ago, but the editing and publishing processes took a really long time,” said Bowen. Many of their friends helped them edit the book, and a publisher even reached out to the girls offering to edit the first 50 pages.
The cover of the book was digitally illustrated by one of Bowen’s good friends, Anam Faruqi. It consists of a feminine eye with the iris replaced by a clock dripping blood from the corner. “The eye does not make sense at the beginning of the book, but it becomes symbolic at the end,” said Rodriguez.
32 was finally published through a self-publishing service on Amazon and can be purchased through the site. So far, it can only be bought as a hard copy, but the girls are working on getting it available on Kindle.
Although the process was long and strenuous at times, the girls both have pride in what they have accomplished. “If someone would have told me I was going to be a published author five years ago, I would have never believed it,” said Bowen.
Unfortunately, no sequel is expected, but the girls are open to writing another novel in the future.
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