“Fourteen-year-old Pennie Roberts, a resident of the now bombed out City Seven, has a clear mission: keeping her siblings and herself safe. But after three years of surviving in the rubble of what used to be her home, Pennie’s brother is wrenched out of her grasp. When her whole word is ripped apart, she is forced to undertake a journey across the country with the company of her sister and a stranger to save her little brother before it is too late. However, her path might be tougher than she thought, as she encounters life-threatening situations that could make her mission impossible. Will she get to her brother on time, or will she lose everything?” This is the exclusive premise of Elizabeth Blackden’s debut as a writer. This rising star is a tenth grader at RHS, and she is ready to establish her legacy in the world.

What started as a messy idea in the middle of an April night has evolved with time into what will be soon published as City Seven.

Blackden, who now goes by El Zara Joy, says her first book, a dystopian novel, will be published hopefully by the end of December. After two years of continuous work, she will be able to self-publish her novel through Amazon’s affordable platform of Kindle Direct Publishing.

She has drawn this strong inspiration and motivation to achieve her goals from role models like her mother, who is also a writer, and authors met through community outreach events such as the Teen Writers Group at her local library.

Her Pre-IB English 2 teacher Pat Bliss said the school can be very excited to support this local talent in this adventure of pursuing her dreams.

"We are sure we will hear more news from El and her projects in the future," Bliss said

WRITING IS HER PASSION--El Zara Joy tries to write whenever she finds time. Her time constraints during the school year slow down the process, but she seizes every available moment on holiday breaks