Nicole Thompson is 16 and and Lia Sadako is 15. And together the two Vancouverites launched their own publishing business last year and published three books.
I just like to write, said Thompson, who attends Kitsilano secondary school and lives in Point Grey.
The pair met through a Meetup group for National Novel Writing Month in November 2010 after which Thompson penned her first book Remember My Name. Its the story of a self-satisfied teenaged girl struggling to write a book in the midst of her extremely dramatic life that takes a an even more dramatic turn.
Thompson and Sadako joined forces in 2011 and co-wrote A Very Mini-Spartan Story, which riffs on Mini Sparta, an online teen writing communities they belong to. A Very Mini-Spartan Story tells the tale of a group of teen writers who believe theyre in a chat room but discover theyre in another dimension. It combines Thompsons penchant for upbeat young adult fiction with Sadakos penchant for science fiction.
The pair wrote the novel from January until the end of April, and then edited it for two months while Sadako spent a month writing two movie scripts.
Two weeks before they published their co-creation, the collaborators decided they needed a website to promote their books.
Sadako found Googles free Canada Get Your Business Online program and swiftly set up The Duchess Books.
Sadako convinced Thompson they should offer free editing, formatting, cover design and publishing services through their website. Doing so mirrored the helpful spirit theyd found online. I dont know if were experts, but it always helps to have a second opinion, Thompson said.
Theyve helped up to 15 writers, mostly teenagers, since last June, said Thompson. Sadako, who lives in Marpole, declined an interview.
They published Thompsons novel Unlikely Places last fall and Sadakos steampunk anthology Six Ways to Sunday is due out by Halloween. Theyve published their books using CreateSpace self-publishing and free distribution on Amazon. Thompson says one or two stores have ordered a handful of books.
The funny thing is, writing and publishing arent even their primary passions. Thompson sings, plays the violin and hockey and counts musical theatre and computer programming as her greatest passions. Sadako favours acting, design, drawing and photography.
Maybe I want to keep writing but I actually want to work at Google when Im older, Thompson said.
crossi@vancourier.com
Twitter: @Cheryl_Rossi
