Young wordsmith thrilled to have first book published

She remembers repeatedly reading the Rowan of Rin book series by Jennifer Rowe throughout her childhood.

"I really liked it," she said.

"We started reading it in Year 5 and I remember just re-reading it. Then I started to read daily in about Year 9, and that was when I really got into the habit.

"However, I have loved writing since I was about ten. I would always bring a journal with me on holidays, and I would blog about it on WordPress.

"So, I have always loved reading and writing."

That love continued to develop throughout Ms Coppola life, and now she is publishing her first book, Daughters of Menace.

The story follows two sisters, one struggling with mental health, on a journey of reconnection with their estranged father.

The 18-year-old said she hopes the story will grow young people's understanding about mental health.

"If they don't know much about mental health or have friends going through some struggles, they may be able to understand those issues more," she said.

The opportunity to publish arose after entering her work into a school writing competition.

"I entered into the students as authors writing competition, and they gave us a prompt of either courage or faith," she said.

"So, I spent a couple of weeks drafting and writing, and then I submitted it in June."

Ms Coppola said she is "thrilled" to be able to share her work with the community.

"It's like feels like a little milestone. It was originally just for fun, but it's really nice, as I want to write for my career. So this is quite reassuring," she said.

Ms Coppola recently graduated from McCarthy Catholic School Tamworth.

Her next great adventure will be at Charles Sturt University, where she'll begin her Bachelor in Journalism online.

The Daughters of Menace can be found on the bookshelves of the Tamworth Regional Library and McCarthy Catholic College, and an e-book version will be available for all the Catholic archdioceses.