Sophomore finishes manuscript for 2nd novel in series

While most 13-year-olds were worried about their eighth-grade homework, sophomore
Audra Kriauciunas was writing a novel.  

Now, she’s at it again.

Kriauciunas’ first book, “Crown of Dreams,” is about shy teenager Riley Halterfield who is pushed to enter beauty pageants by her two best friends.

She finds herself in the spotlight, a place she fears, and all eyes are on her as she prepares to strut her stuff.

During the competition, Riley is separated from her friends and is surprised to find a source of comfort in a new friend, Rachel, who is determined to win before cancer claims her life.

The book follows the relationship of the fellow competitors.  

“I was in eighth grade when I wrote ‘Crown of Dreams,’ so much of my writing took place during class time when I finished my assignments early ,” Kriauciunas said. “So, it took around a year to complete the draft.”

Once the story was finished, Kriauciunas spent her freshman year of high school editing it in preparation to send it to the publishers.

During her sophomore year of high school, she submitted the book to Tate Publishing and Enterprises, LLC, a company that specializes in working with first-time authors.

The book was published by the time she was 16.

The second book in the series, “Song of Hope,” picks up where “Crown of Dreams” left off.

Riley is entered in a singing competition she has dreamed of winning her whole life. She must discover what it means to live with hope and happiness amid tragedy.

This book introduces two new characters: Ellie and her attractive brother, Sean.

“‘Song of Hope’ took me two summers to write, and I wrote it when I was a freshman in college and finished the manuscript and editing the summer before I started my sophomore year of college,” Kriauciunas said.

Kriauciunas said her books aren’t based on real-life events, but she does use real-life experiences to develop the story and draws inspiration from books of the same genre.

“My sophomore year of college, I found out my father had colon cancer,” she said. “Though he is doing well, I was able to develop Riley’s character more with my own experiences of knowing someone I loved with cancer.”

Though her first book is now published, Kriauciunas said she is still far from being famous.

“As it turns out, there is a lot more to publishing a book than just writing it, submitting it to the publisher and then being done with the process,” she said. “That is just the beginning of the process. Writing a book means you also have to market it, which is something that I don’t have a lot of knowledge or talent in.”

Her second book is not yet published, but “Crown of Dreams” can be purchased online at tatepublishing.com. It is not yet in stores.

Kriauciunas said she won’t let that get in the way of her dreams.

“Seeing a book with my name on it has been a dream of mine since I was really young,” she said. “I was an avid reader and loved walking into book stores and seeing all the books on display, hoping one day a book with my name would be among them, and even though ‘Crown of Dreams’ has not yet made it onto the shelves of bookstores, I know it is only a matter of time.”