While some students arrive at college not knowing what direction their professional careers might take, England freshman Chaselyn Roderick has a clear vision of what hers will look like. Roderick discusses how she became a published author before graduating from high school and her vision for the future of her novels.
Roderick invites readers into his world of post-apocalyptic chaos, where monsters rub shoulders with humans and World War III is a reality. The 18-year-old writer has published three books: ‘Activated’, ‘99% Down’ and ‘1% Falling’.Roderick’s love for writing began much earlier in his life, before it was first published.
“When I was in fourth grade, I wrote a story for a little kid called ‘Gnome in a New House,'” Roderick said. “I saw this book that I had written, and I was like, ‘Wow, I want to do this forever.’ He is still at my house.
Roderick said she doesn’t let much get in the way of achieving her dreams and tries to stay optimistic when life gets tough. It turns out an unfortunate injury brought her to where she is today.
“When I was 13, I broke a bone in my spine,” Roderick said. “It left me out of it all, and I had nothing to do but revisit an old story. At 16, it became my first published novel, ‘Activated.’ obviously couldn’t ask for a better turnout because it ended up being something awesome.
Victoria Roderick, Chaselyn’s mother, has been supportive since the early stages of her writing career. She juggles the role of her daughter’s manager and editor as well as teaching at a charter school.
“In fourth grade, I never heard her say anything else that she wanted to be,” Victoria said. “It has always been writing. I can’t imagine she would ever do that; it makes her so happy. She lights up when she talks about it.
Without interruption, his writing process usually takes about a year from inception to publication. However, Chaselyn’s aspirations don’t stop there, as her dream is to see her designs come to life on the big screen.
“My goal is a movie,” Chaselyn said. “My favorite idea is to see how people see my characters and the world I’ve created. Hopefully I can use connections to direct it to a movie.
Chaselyn made many connections in Dallas when she was younger, even making an appearance on the hit TV show “Barney,” but after that experience, she realized her main focus was writing.
“She’s the most determined and driven teenager I’ve ever met,” Victoria said. “Curiously, I never doubted that she could do it. I think one day we’ll see her books in movies, and that’s what I hope for her.
By publishing his novel,“99% less”Chaselyn faced backlash on Facebook due to the use of a vaccine in the novel and speculation about her relationship to COVID-19.
“They say my novel discourages the vaccine and I’m trying to mess up the election process,” Chaselyn said. “It’s not based on COVID[-19], it’s not vaccine-based, it never was. It’s a fictional book about a fictional drug that makes monsters.
Chaselyn was intrigued by Texas A&M due to her father’s love of school, as well as the flexibility of her study plan that allows her to focus on science fiction and fantasy studies through her English lesson.
“I decided to come to A&M because it was my dad’s favorite college,” Chaselyn said. “I think he would be very proud of me. He’d say, “You’re doing really well, pork chop,” because that’s what he called me. I put that nickname in ‘Enabled’ as a tip of the hat to him.
All of Chaselynn’s novels can be found at Amazonand she website details more information about upcoming releases. She is currently considering a spin-off series or writing her first fantasy novel. For other “BookTok” enthusiasts, Roderick encourages readers to check out his TikTok account @chaselynroderick.
“She writes about a fantasy world that she loves,” Victoria said. “She’s amazing, and I hope people read all of her books no matter what.”
