Literary passion is crafted early in one’s life. For Sarah Jessica Curtis, it was in elementary school. Now, three self-published books later, her literary spark is burning brighter than ever.
Curtis, a freshman English creative writing student, published her latest poetry book this past June, titled Raindrops.
The book is divided into four sections: ‘Clouds,’ which features poems that are sad, dark, and cloudy, ‘Thunder and Lightning’, which is comprised of thoughtful poems, ‘Rain,’ which includes poems that are cleansing and uplifting, and ‘Sun’, which ends the book on a happy note.
Raindrops is Curtis’ third book, following the release of her first two novels, The Silent Silhouettes and its sequel A Second Silence. Not only did Curtis publish these books on her own, but she also created each cover design with the help of her brother.
Curtis’ debut novel, The Silent Silhouettes, was published in 2016 at the age of 14. The sequel was published two years later, stemming from an everlasting devotion to the literary craft. The young adult paranormal mystery began as a short story assignment for her English class in high school, before expanding it into a 216-page novel.
“My teacher gave it back and said it would make a great novel,” said Curtis.
“That was real motivation that, ‘Wow, I can actually do this. I can become an author if I wanted to.’ That little push was a lot of inspiration for me to actually do it.”
Now, in college, Curtis gains inspiration from her English professors as she advances through the realm of writing.
Susan Goulding, an Associate Professor of English and Chair of the English Department, commented on Curtis’ book, “I applaud student initiative and the example of success such work offers.”
Curtis will be conducting a book signing at Barnes & Noble at the Monmouth Mall on Nov. 24 from 12 to 2 p.m.
“Every time I do book signings there’s always a crowd of people that stop by that I’ve never met before, and they’re always so friendly and interested in the process. I like to talk to people, meet them, and see what they think about the books,” she said.
Curtis’ next endeavor will be writing and publishing a third book to continue The Silent Silhouettes series, making it a trilogy, while also working on another book of poems. Each book she publishes in the future will feature her unique writing style, no matter the genre.
“I love to put my own personality into the text,” Curtis shared. “Even though the characters aren’t who I am, they’ll still have little tendencies that I have too whether it’s how they speak or how they think. My writing style is different from others in that way because it’s my own personality.”
Inevitably, Curtis has had to face a few challenges along the way.
She said, “The biggest challenge has been trying to spread the word around it and get the books around because as a self-published author, you have to do everything yourself. It’s really hard to get it out there. I’m lucky that I am able to do signings at Barnes and Noble.”
Curtis’ three books have proved that she is a dedicated author with a great sense of navigating through the process of novel writing.
Emily Adamo, a freshman English education student, said, “I’ve known Sarah since high school and I continue to be impressed by her ability to juggle her academics and still have time for so much creativity, including her great new book of poetry. Her dedication to her writing is reflected in her work.”
Now, Curtis is turning over the next chapter of her life as she continues to write in college.
She said, “In the future I would definitely love to publish more books. It would be great to look into traditional publishing and submit books to be published by bigger companies. That is a goal of mine.”
She also gave advice for aspiring authors, “A lot of people didn’t take my books seriously because I’m young, but I try not to let that get me down and stop my dream of writing.”
“Never give up on your dreams and keep going no matter what anyone says. It’s totally possible. If I did it at 14, anyone can do it at any age,” she concluded.
PHOTO COURTESY of Sarah Jessica Curtis
