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Correction: An earlier version of this article said it was an editor's pick on Amazon. That was incorrect and has been fixed.ST. GEORGE — For a self-published author and college student, translating the world of dragons, magic and heroes into his first fantasy novel was a step toward his goal to one day be a best-selling author.
Aaron Hall, 23, of St. George, independently published “Foreordained” in 2014 and is now writing a sequel. Hall is also studying film and public relations at Utah Valley University and has goals to write more stories and become a seminary teacher for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The story of “Foreordained” is about a young boy in a fantastical kingdom who is destined to replace the tyrannical king as the true ruler, Hall said.
Inspired by a seminary video, Hall started writing his novel at the age of 15 and finished the first draft during his senior year of high school. After his mission for the LDS Church in Boston, Hall drastically revised his story and after failing to find a publisher within his “poor college student” budget, published it online on amazon.com.
“I discovered my love for writing at a young age while writing sequels to video game stories and creative writing assignments in elementary school,” Hall said. “That was the point I realized that, hey, storytelling is something I’m good at and something I really like.”
Writing a full-length novel was the next step after receiving positive feedback on his stories from his teachers and friends, Hall said.
“I based the main character (in ‘Foreordained’) on parts of my life,” Hall said. “He’s my more my self-doubting self and my unsure self that had to grow and become a more confident person in order to accomplish the things that he had to do."
Hall became his own publisher and marketing manager for his novel.
“Not too many people know about ‘Foreordained’ because I was self-published, but the good thing is that I get to keep all the rights to the story,” Hall said.
Hall said he hasn’t sold too many copies yet, but for those that have read it, “Foreordained” has received positive reviews.
Garrett Roos
“I get a sale every once in a while that I get a few bucks from,” Hall said. “I think everyone that has read it has gotten something out of it and was touched by the story in some way. That’s satisfying to me.”
Hall said the message he was trying to portray with his book was for people to have some faith that everything will work out in the end if they are doing the right thing.
Hall continues to write and hopes the sequel to “Foreordained” will be published by the end of summer 2016.
The sequel takes place several years after the events of “Foreordained” and features the main character as a king leading the kingdom to war against a neighboring kingdom.
Hall said aspiring writers that may be interested in publishing a novel should make goals and plans to get it done.
“Most writers start writing a few chapters into their novels, then they run out of ideas and let it gather dust,” Hall said. “I fell into this trap that a lot of writers fall into as well. Just sit down and write, if only for an hour each day, and you can get your novel pumped out.”
Spencer Ricks is a KSL.com news writing intern and student at Dixie State University from Snoqualmie, Washington. Contact him at newsintern@deseretdigital.com.
