September 11, 2009

Meet Cayla Kluver

At 16, the young author has already written and published an award-winning novel, Legacy

By Vickie An

Cayla Kluver wrote her first book--an exciting four-page story about a bunny--when she was 2 years old. Only she doesn't really remember writing it at all. "My mom loves to tell that story!" Cayla exclaims, chuckling. "I have no recollection of it, but apparently I dictated it to my mom, she wrote it on construction paper, and I scribbled some illustrations. It's probably laying around my house somewhere."

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Even as a toddler, it seems Cayla knew deep down she would be a writer someday. Legacy, the 16-year-old author's critically acclaimed debut novel, is one book she will surely remember writing for the rest of her life. The coming-of-age fantasy, set in medieval times, tells the story of the independent-minded Princess Alera of Hytanica. Alera's father has promised his daughter's hand in marriage to the self-centered Lord Steldor. But the princess is drawn to someone else: a mysterious young man named Narian, who hails from Cokyri, Hytanica's bitter rival.

So, having written the book at age 14, how did Cayla put herself into the mindset of these characters? She says she based most of the characters on people she knows. Plus, the young author told TFK, "Alera is a teenager, so in that sense I could relate very closely to her experience."

A Long, Rocky Road

From start to finish, it took Cayla more than a year, from July 2006 to October 2007, to write and edit the book. She was 14 when she completed it. Cayla was in high school at the time, so the only free time she had to write was between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. "My mom was the one who had to drag me out of bed for school at 6:30 a.m.," she says. "It was a rough year, but it was worth it."

Aside from the late nights and lack of sleep, Cayla had bigger challenges when it came time to find a publisher. The teen says she had a hard time getting anyone in the publishing world to read it. "They didn't want to look at something a 14-year-old had written," Cayla says. "They thought a teenager wouldn't have the experiences needed to write a book with substance. It was really frustrating."

That's why Cayla and her mom took matters into their own hands. In 2008, Cayla's mother started a publishing company. They printed Legacy on their own and worked tirelessly to promote it online and in schools, libraries and bookstores. Their determination paid off. Last year, Legacy won several awards including the 2008 Reader Views Literary Award for young adult fiction. The book also received rave reviews.

The Second Big Break

Last month, Legacy became the first book to be released by Amazon Encore, a new program launched by the online shopping site Amazon.com. The goal of the program is to take worthy books that may have been overlooked the first time around and publish them again for a wider audience. Cayla was thrilled when she found out Amazon had chosen to reintroduce Legacy to readers. "You kind of dare to hope about these things, but you don't ever really expect it," she says. "I'm so thankful to anyone who has picked up the book."

More books are on the way. Cayla has finished the sequel to Legacy, called Allegiance, and is working on the final book of the trilogy, Redemption. And she already has ideas for books beyond this series, too. "I wrote in the acknowledgement in Legacy, 'You're holding my dream come true in your hands.' It's 100% true," Cayla says. "I never envisioned myself in the position where I am, and I'm so excited about the future."

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