Whippany Park Senior Publishes First Novel

Whippany Park student Erin Keating can officially add “author” to her resume. The high school senior recently published her first work, a novel titled Summer, available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble websites.

About high school friends and high school drama, the book began to take shape when Erin was finishing up seventh grade. “I was originally inspired by my life and my friends, but as I worked on it, the story evolved,” Keating explains.

She finished the novel at the end of her freshman year, then at first didn’t do anything with it. “But I wanted to get a head start on my future,” says Keating, who plans to major in English when she heads to college next fall. Instead of letting her work sit idly on her computer, Keating opted to self-publish using iUniverse.

The process, while rewarding, wasn’t always easy. “The hardest part,” according to Keating, “was maintaining my focus. I’m always juggling ideas for other projects.” Eventually, however, she saw this project through to the end, and the finished product is one young adult readers will be sure to love.

Keating plans to keep publishing as she builds experience for her future career, and she advises other young writers to work hard, as well.

“Even if you’re not sure, go for it,” Keating says to future novelists. “Keep at it.”