Story of How Published
I want to share how I became an author to inspire others and show the perseverance it takes to write a book. I advise you to trust God s guidance every step of the way, which I hope encourages faith and resilience in my audience.
When I was twelve years old, I loved watching superhero shows like Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. I also love warrior stories like Hercules, Xena, Robin Hood, and King Arthur. I also love Christian stories, including Bible stories, and saint stories like St. George. I desired to write a story about heroes saving the world, protecting innocent people, and being faithful to God.
In the 2000s, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings inspired me to write my story as a Christian allegory. I always want to write about God and Christianity, aiming to share faith through my stories. However, I do not want to alienate non-Christians. Narnia and The Lord of the Rings gave me the idea that I can use fantasy as a Christian allegory to reach a broader audience while respecting different backgrounds and cultures.
I moved to Florida in 2004. From the end of 2004 to 2009, I did not care about my story. At the end of 2009, I wanted to write a story, and creating stories was a hobby of mine. I tried to remember my story. I forgot most of my storylines because I did not write them down. I felt no anger then; I thought of my story during my middle school and high school years. However, since I am currently enrolled in college, my story needs to be more mature.
>In 2009, I finally began writing my story. I decided it would be a superhero story, filled with hope and purpose, with characters having superpowers like the X-Men. My story still has a Christian allegory, aiming to inspire others to trust God’s plan for their lives. My story’s setting will be in two worlds, one magical, the other normal, like Naria and Harry Potter. In 2013, two major things happened that changed my story—first, the movie Taken. The story is about a woman kidnapped in France and almost sold into slavery. I am Egyptian. My country focuses on tourism and has a safe environment for tourists. I dislike Hollywood making Egypt look bad, so I do not want to do that to another country or group. My goal for my story was not to offend anyone or negatively portray any country.
This time, I loved anime and watched Naruto, One Piece, and other shows. Several anime featured a single fantasy setting. My story will be better in a fantasy world. The first reason was to prevent cultural offense. It improved my story because I do not have to focus on world history or culture. The second major thing that happened changed my story. I was watching a YouTube sermon by a Protestant pastor. I am sorry; I do not know his name. He was insulting Hollywood and a list of different movies. He started talking about how superhero movies are like pagan gods in the ancient world. A person can make a fire with their hands or change the weather. Only God can do that. I felt God convinced me; He wants me to fix my book, so I removed the idea that people can do magic or have superhero powers. I want God to bless my story and be happy with it.
In 2016, Trump won the presidency. (This is not a political story: I am not pro-or anti-Trump. ) I work in Refugee and Immigration; Trump talked negatively about Immigration. My contract ended in March 2017, two months after Trump became president. I did not want to work in Immigration anymore, even before Trump. To me, it was a job, not a career; I did not see the future in it.
Before I left the immigration job, I noticed my book was almost finished, and that I had even started writing another one. My story should be a series. I used to write different storylines to develop the story better. At this time, my grandfather died, and my grandmother moved in with us. I planned to finish my book and take care of my grandmother. I also want to open a marketing venture or a physical store, both of which I have experience with. I did not know where to start. I do not want to go back to college with no plan.
In 2017, I finished my book. I want to find an editor and beta readers. I did not know where to start. I watched a Facebook post about a young man discussing the friendship between J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, and C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia. I never thought that they knew each other. It was interesting to listen to the story. He said that J.R.R. Tolkien helped C.S. Lewis return to God and Christianity. They had two other friends who were authors and their co-workers in Oxford. Those four men used to meet at a restaurant and critique each other s work. This gives me an idea of finding a writers' group. I researched and found that my local library had a writers' group.
I went and asked one of them to edit my book, and he did. He read the first five chapters and hated my book because I introduced fifteen characters. I agree with him; this was a bad idea. I thought about what to do. I remembered watching an anime called Soul Eater. Soul Eater featured seven main characters divided into three groups. The first three episodes gave me an idea. Each episode introduces one group on its own. My idea was to start with only five main characters, making them heroes. This was the purpose of Children of Demon Killers. I finished the novel after three months. I tried to publish it; I failed. At this time, I found a job, so I focused on my new responsibilities.
From 2018 to 2024, I changed my story and wrote different storylines. I also hired a beta reader and an editor to provide feedback on my book. My main focus was on my career and finishing my master’s degree.
In 2024, when I was alone, I always thought about my story, so I was considering adding another character, but I stopped and started praying. I asked God what His will is. Suppose He does not want my story to be published. I prayed to God and told him, “If He does not want me to publish my book, He can remove the story from my heart and brain if God wants me to publish it. I asked Him to help me. I do not know where to start. I remembered the Parable of the Three Servants (Matthew 25:14-30), in which a landlord gave talents to his three servants. The first one received five talents and returned with ten. The second one received two talents, and he came back with four. The last man received one, buried it, and the landlord rebuked him.
I prayed to God: if you help me, I cannot promise to double it, but I promise to work hard. I repeated this prayer every time I remembered my story.
After a couple of months, I received a phone call from a publishing company asking if I had a finished novel. I told them yes, and we began the exciting journey of publishing my work.