Had Margaret Beeler penned the itinerary of a family trip in 2011, it’s fair to wonder whether she would be a published author in 2021.
“I was really bored on vacation. So, my mom bought me a notebook and said to write,” Beeler, a 2018 Marquette Catholic High School graduate, recalls with a chuckle.
It was there that a then-11-year old, so over a powwow to Sanibel Island, Florida, laid the cornerstone for what would become a debut novel. The college-ruled notebook, gifted in response to the age-old question of “Are we there yet?”, contains a decade-long writing odyssey filled with twists and turns, pit stops, but, ultimately, a finish line. At age 16, Beeler reopened the notebook, transcribed it into digital format, and continued to fill the pages until this past March when she officially completed Sacred.
Inspired by pastoral summers spent at Camp Lawrence in Valparaiso, Sacred transports readers from Earth into a fantasy world where characters endure trials and tribulations while discovering their purpose.
While Beeler admits the protagonist represents a stark contrast of herself, Sacred embodies influential components of her life from age 11 to the present. Aside from Camp Lawrence, she speaks fondly of her middle-school days at Notre Dame Catholic School, the institution at which she enrolled during Page 1. Beeler also credits those within the walls of Marquette Catholic High School.
“Mrs. (Susan) Edmonds was a big help. The support from her and the rest of the English department was really important,” Beeler stated.
Like any first-time author, Beeler quickly learned that filling 200-plus pages is akin to writing the proverbial foreword. Amended versions go back-and-forth between author and copy editor like capsules at a bank drive-thru. The author must select the work’s cover art after consideration of various concepts and renditions. (The cover of Sacred is adapted from an outline of a picture taken of Beeler.) Months - sometimes years - pass between the final period and publication.
With Sacred now available on Amazon, book-signing engagements scheduled, and an upstart publishing company called “Half Sun Press”, Beeler keeps too busy for boredom. A marketing major entering her senior year at Marquette University, Beeler is already putting her education to work.
“It (Half Sun Press) is a lot of work from managing the balance sheet to handling all the marketing, but I truly love both writing and the publishing process,” she said.
With no intentions of being a one-hit-wonder, Beeler continues to write as feverishly as she did 10 summers ago in the Sunshine State.
“I’m currently working on a short story. I have two ongoing series - one which takes place in the world in which Sacred takes place. My goal is to be a full-time author,” she remarked.
Readers can have Beeler sign their copy of Sacred at a book signing held at Bellyflop in Long Beach on Saturday, July 31st from 10 am until noon. She remains active online as well on Instagram (margaretcbeeler) and Facebook (Margaret C. Beeler). Readers can receive a free copy of her short story, “The Heart of the Kella,” by subscribing to her site, margaretcbeeler.com.
