LEXINGTON, Neb.—A game that Corey Reutlinger played in elementary school inspired the book he would write as a 15-year-old.
Reutlinger, now 17, of Lexington used his breaks while he was a lifeguard in 2005 to finally write down a story he had been mulling over in his head for a long time.
He said some of the ideas for “Virtual Knights” came from his elementary school days and followed a story line he and others played on the school playground.
Reutlinger said he wrote five to 10 pages a day during his spare time and finished the book manuscript in October that year. His work was handwritten in a notebook until Christmas vacation allowed time to type it.
He found a self-publishing company to work with in May 2006. During summer 2006, Reutlinger again used his 30-minute breaks at his life-guarding job to edit his book a few pages at a time.
In August 2006, he submitted the work only to have it rejected. The publisher returned the book with an evaluation of things that needed to be improved.
“It was probably the one time that criticism struck me,” he said.
However, Lexington High School English teacher Vicki Richman told him not to be disheartened and reminded him he was in her high-level English class because of his writing skills.
Reutlinger enlisted Richman, Jennifer Henry, an English teacher at LHS, and Gaylene Fries, a retired English teacher, as he went through another round of editing.
“I’m really thankful that they (helped with editing), because it was hard to get it all edited and improve it,” Reutlinger said.
He said there were three to four more edits before the book was ready for publication.
Reutlinger also designed the book cover because he wanted something simple and symbolic. “Everything is my decision,” he said of the process. “They don’t do anything unless it’s with my permission.”
Reutlinger said he chose J.S. Thomas as a pen name because he used himself as a character in the book. He said he didn’t want to confuse readers with seeing the author’s name in the book.
“Virtual Knights” was published in February and has sold 500 copies so far. It is available from online retailers Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. He said it is distributed on demand through the publisher and not stocked. Kitabee Books in Lexington has a few copies available.
Reutlinger said he has received positive feedback from people who have read the book, but he hasn’t done much to market it. He recently placed an advertisement in a New York book review publication. He also placed copies in the libraries at Lexington Middle School and Lexington High School and wrote an accelerated reader test.
The book is considered a 5.9 reading level and worth 12 AR points, consistent with Reutlinger’s goal to target 9- to 12-year-olds.
Most booksellers promote it as young adult science fiction-fantasy. He described “Virtual Knights” as action-packed and adventurous, and the religious undertones reflect his own view of Christianity. “I think a lot on theology and try to interpret things in the Bible,” he said.
Reutlinger said writing a book took a lot of persistence and makes term papers for school seem easy.
Although he doesn’t plan to make a career of writing, another book is in the works. His goal is to write a series of six books, and he aims to have his second book written before Christmas to allow time for editing.
He typically writes on weekends for two to five hours at a time. But he also is a typical teen who watches television and spends time outdoors.
Although he hasn’t decided where he is going to college next year, he plans to major in mathematics and to purse a career in math and physics.
Reutlinger said there are times when he thinks with awe, “I still can’t believe I’m an author.”
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Information from: Kearney Hub,
