Malcolm senior publishes book

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A current Malcolm High senior wrote and published a book as a way for her to deal with negative issues in the world and achieve a life long dream.

Pink Moon Rising: Pieces of Jane, written by Halsten Skold Hutchings, is a young adult book with elements of mystery and romance and is about the journey of a young woman who goes through the foster care system, motherhood and human trafficking. It’s also about new beginnings and includes Jane’s Indigenous heritage.

“I picked these topics because I am grappling with the negative things in the world,” Hutchings said. “Writing was my way of dealing with them. I wanted to bring attention to the issue of human trafficking especially.”

Although Hutchings hasn’t been through these experiences, she said she researched these topics and thinks some of Jane’s desires and goals are universal.

Hutchings said the title of the book, Pink Moon Rising, references the symbolism of the pink moon, or change and new beginnings, and Pieces of Jane refers to the fact that this book is about fragments of her life.

“She is complex and it is hard to encompass everything in one book,” she said.

After doing a lot of research on the process, Hutchings said she decided to get her book self-published through Ingramspark. She said she wanted the option of having books in independent bookstores as well as larger ones.

“Self-publishing is different from traditional publishing since the writer is responsible for editing, designing, and promoting, and marketing the book,” she said. “With traditional publishing, the publisher helps to manage this for you. I also learned a lot about pricing and distributing books.”

Hutchings said she’s always had a passion for writing and wanted to take it to the next level, which included publishing a book.

“Publishing a book was a dream that I have had for a very long time,” she said.

When it came to writing the book, Hutchings described the process as full of ups and downs.

“The book changed a lot as I wrote. I would get frustrated when I had writer’s block,” she said. “I took writing classes online and connected with people who helped give me encouragement during those times. I also had ‘write-ins’ with some of these people.”

For the future, Hutchings said she is getting ideas for future books and is currently exploring her options.

“So many book ideas (and) too little time,” she said. “Maybe I will write more about Jane.”

After writing and publishing her own, Hutchings said she would recommend others to write a book if they’re interested.

“Writing a book takes a lot of patience and perseverance,” she said. “It can pay off.

Finishing the book and sharing it were highlights of my life. Completing, ‘Pink Moon Rising: Pieces of Jane’ was hard work, but it was very rewarding at the end. It helped to have a lot of support.”

Anyone interested in purchasing Hutchings’ book can find it online at Barnes and Noble or at the SouthPointe Pavilions mall in Lincoln.

“I am working on getting it into independent bookstores,” she said.