She's a Published Author, and Just 13

It was about a year ago when 13-year old Sharon T. Lin had this memorable dream about alternate universes. She had become engrossed in reading about quantum physics in Scientific American, and its intriguing possibilities infiltrated her sleeping mind.

"My dream was about 'Beings of the mind' -- that they actually existed in this alternate dimension. That some people might actually be inhabited by 'a Being.' Or 'enlightened by Beings,' said Lin.

Hidden (Beings) is the story of a girl who is not only human, but part Being, living an everyday life. "She doesn't realize she is being watched, that Beings want to figure out a way to mix the two world together, so they can come directly into the human world." Read an excerpt on Amazon.com.

This might be her first published novel, but it's not her first attempt to write a book. "I've always been writing, since I've been little," said the seventh grader. She said she is a huge fan of writer Orson Scott Card ("Ender's Game) and Rick Riordan (The Percy Jackson series.)

In her acknowledgements, she thanks her elementary school English teachers, social studies teachers and friends. Currently she is a student in Mrs. Barbara Williamson's English class at the William R. Satz School. 

The book came about after she participated in something called National Novel Writing Month, which challenged writers to pound out a novel in just a month. If a writer succeeds, they get a free code that lets them publish a book and get five free proof copies to hand out. Lin gave them to relatives to look over for errors.

She felt encouraged to go ahead and put the novel online. Now, whenever someone orders the book from Amazon.com, she will receive a small royalty. Paperback versions of the book are printed to order.

When she is not scribbling down stories, Lin is combing the Hazlet library stacks for inspiration, playing flute in the band, crocheting stuffed animals or whacking a ball on the tennis courts.

As for her future aspirations, she thinks she might enjoy law just as much as storytelling. "I'm thinking about copyright or patent law," she said. "I love the idea of innovations and inventions, and I'd love to meet the people who make them."