Random House to Publish Local Author's Debut

Random House is publishing Wesley Chapel resident Amy Christine Parker’s debut novel this summer, an arrangement that included an advance ample enough to allow her to work full-time on a sequel and future books. 

Not bad for a self-described “late bloomer” who wrote sporadically in high school and zilch in college. The married mother of two lists schoolteacher, doll-maker, waitress and stay-at-home mom as previous jobs.

“Gated,” a young adult book that follows a teen whose grown up in an apocalyptic cult, will be released on or before Aug. 27. Pre-orders are being accepted now.

Reading was the constant for Parker; writing was not. But when she started telling bedtime stories to her children, now nearly 7 and 11 years old, dots started to connect. Four years ago, Parker started writing a book.

“For two years I worked on a novel that went nowhere,” Parker said, noting she improved her skills by joining a writer’s group at Barnes & Noble in Wesley Chapel and then starting one of her own.

The idea for “Gated” eventually struck — “almost fully formed since the beginning." The tale was finished in seven months, picked up by an agent a month later and then sold at auction to Random House, which Parker said was not the only publisher to come knocking.

It’s easy to imagine what Parker felt when she was first able to hold an advance copy of the 300-plus page contemporary thriller.

“It was a teary moment,” she said.

Doomsday Preppin’

“Gated” follows Lyla, a member of an apocalyptic cult. The leader of the group, Pioneer, predicts that the end of the world will come in three months, calling for his flock to seal themselves off in a silo.

“But the sheriff comes to investigate,” Parker said. “Lyla meets the (sheriff’s) son and begins to question her community and whether Pioneer really has her best interests at heart.”

And, no, Parker can't tell you whether Lyla chooses life inside or outside the community.

“I can just tell you things unfold quickly," she said.

Inspiration for “Gated” came from real-life stories such as the Waco siege involving David Koresh, the Heaven’s Gate group, the followers of Charles Manson and the Jonestown Massacre. The subjects of TV shows such as “Doomsday Preppers,” with their elaborate and expensive bunkers, are puzzling, Parker said.

“It seems like a crazy thing to be that invested when all these dates (for predicted end times) come and go,” she said.

Although “Gated” is billed as a young adult novel, Parker believes others might enjoy it, too.

“I’d like to think what I do rides the line between young adult and adult,” she said.

More Information:

• Amazon's pre-order page
• Barnes & Noble's pre-order page
• Amy Christine Parker's website