Central Missouri teen self publishes first book of trilogy

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A Rock Bridge High School junior has penned and published his first novel and has plans to add two more to make it a trilogy in coming years.

Chris Ghan, 16, has been writing the 200-plus page book, "Champions of Honor," for about two years. It follows the struggle between human warriors and an empire of lizard-like villains.

The book took about two years to write.

"I'm thinking about ideas for stories constantly," Chris said. "The overall concept just came to me: humans against reptilian creatures. The fantasy villains are intelligent, at a higher technological level."

Chris said peers and family members encouraged him to self-publish the book after they read the first draft.

"I got positive feedback," he said. "My mom likes it, and she doesn't like fantasy. Then again, she's my mom."

Chris sold and autographed $10 copies of his book at school and at a local bookstore.

Chris' friend, junior Catie Vornholt, 17, also got to share some of the fame.

She drew the front cover art, which features a battle scene between the hero and the villain.

She said Chris approached her with the idea, and she agreed to spend roughly two weeks sketching the scene in exchange for a free copy.

"I thought it would be fun and maybe a way for my art to get into the world," Catie said. "It's amazing seeing my art on the cover. And I'm so happy for him."

Chris was excited about seeing his words in print, too.

"It was a cool feeling," he said. "I carried a copy with me everywhere I went for the first few days."

Chris isn't looking to get rich off the book. In fact, he plans to donate some of the proceeds to charity. Afterward, Chris said, he might have enough profit to buy a few more books by his favorite authors.

But he's also keeping his fingers crossed that the novel might fall into the right hands. "I would love for a publishing person to get their hands on it," he said.

Now working on the second book in the trilogy, Chris hopes to someday pen fantasy novels for a living.

"It's been a great experience to write a book and see it in real book form and sell it," he said. "It's really cool to see my name on the front cover of a professional-looking book. So even if no one ever picks it up, it's something I can look back on and be proud of."