Local Writer Publishes Book Featuring Lemont Illustrator

LEMONT, IL — Lemont resident Adam Zmarzlinski recently published his first book, with illustrations from another Lemont resident, Lindsey Jachec. "The Auburn Prince" was published in March, and is a fairy tale fantasy novel.

Zmarzlinski told Patch the novel is about a girl, Clementine Aurelius, whose parents go missing, and she's forced to live with her abusive aunt. Clementine sees a white canary fly through the house one night and follows it inside a fireplace shaped like a wolf's maw, and gets to discover the truth about her parents.

"While in this fantasy world of Mundialis, where everything is colorless and in a state of decay, she meets a plethora of colorful characters, both good and evil," Zmarzlinski said.

Zmarzlinski said the novel is a coming-of-age story where the themes of Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations" play a central role.

"Marcus Aurelius was a 2nd century Roman emperor and stoic philosopher, who during his reign saw war, famine, destruction, yet kept a cool head through it all, and who, unfortunately, was succeeded by his son Commodus, who was a much lesser and egotistical person than his father," Zmarzlinski said. "That's what I want to show in this book: that the actions (or the lack thereof) of a parent have a significant effect on the child, and often, the little things, for example, teaching a child to garden, are the ones that grow into something extraordinary."

In "The Auburn Prince," Clementine's father gives her a copy of "Meditation" and that book and the act of giving are always present, not only to the reader but also to Clementine, Zmarzlinski said.

The book also includes illustrations from Jachec, who is a commissioner at the Lemont Center for the Arts. Jachec said she used watercolors when illustrating the novel for their "fluid and whimsical feel."

"We had high hopes for more artwork in the book, including some in color, but in the end, five main paintings made it among the chapters as well as my infinity symbol and the fox head and tail that are the cover art," Jachec told Patch. She said there were over 100 draft images that didn't make it into the book, but could be available for sale at a later date.

Zmarzlinski, who is currently finishing his PhD in cultural studies, said he's been writing since the early 2000s.

"Fairytales teach creative thinking, imaginations, duality of intentions and above all else provide a place to see evil in contained space before we experience it in the real world," Zmarzlinski said. "'The Auburn Prince,' in my humble opinion, is an attempt to show evil as it is through the veil of a fairy tale."

Zmarzlinski said he hopes to publish more books after he finishes his PhD.

"The way I see it, writing isn't just something you start. It's really a great deal of tinkering and organizing, before you jump head first into the chaos that is your mind," Zmarzlinski said. "And once there, you pull a story out of that chaos, but to do so requires a great deal of self-discipline, will and determination."