Sophomore novelist offers readers of all ages a literary escape from reality
Words provide a legacy that transcends time. Leading readers through a young adult adventure of a lifetime is sophomore Violet Krautkramer in her self-published book, The Legend of Crystal Falls. At just 15 years old, Krautkramer has crafted and published her own novel.
“The book is from the perspectives of Cora Williams and Oliver Johnson as they race against the doomsday clock to save humanity,” she said. “Oliver Johnson lives in Crystal Falls and lives a normal life, until he has a dream about this girl he has never met before.”
To avoid cliché, Krautkramer leads readers in a dramatically different direction.
“Later he goes on a trip and learns this girl was alive 500 years ago,” she said. “She was related to a royal family and connected to this goddess. After an earthquake, he hears voices and, next thing you know, he is in the hospital lying next to the very same girl.”
Krautkramer’s unique ideas stemmed from other interests and influences in her life.
“It actually did not begin as a book,” she said. “It started off as this script for a show I like, Ninjago. I sent it to the creators, and they denied me, so my mom and I had the idea to start from scratch and keep my original ideas and create a book.”
Krautkramer stayed motivated throughout the strenuous and long nights of editing by remembering her true intentions.
“The main goal was to get it out there,” she said. “When I first told people they all supported me and told me: ‘I want to see this to be a real thing.’”
Krautkramer’s main focus was the imagery of her story that would allow her readers to fully dive into the book’s details.
“My goal was to allow people to visualize these characters and these scenes,” she said. “I want them to see it come to life.”
Krautkramer’s ideas spurred throughout her daily life to accumulate into a single story.
“It took about two years,” she said. “I wrote it on anything I could, like napkins and paper. But, I mainly used Google Docs to keep my thoughts in order. It definitely takes a lot of patience, but it's so much fun.”
Krautkramer worked alongside others to bring her dreams and thoughts to life on paper.
“Everyone I have interacted with has somehow influenced the story,” she said. “They are all a part of it in one way or another. For example, Mr. Brydon was actually my editor.”
Global Academy teacher William Brydon advised Krautramer and guided her ideas to the final copy.
“During her freshman year, earlier in her process, she let me in on this project,” he said. “Nearing the end of that year she displayed a piece for a project, and once she finished it she actually had me edit it line by line.”
For Brydon, watching students grow and expand themselves past the classroom is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.
“It's cool to see students writing something that's no longer student writing,” he said. “It's a real passion of hers and for any teacher to see their students pursue their passion so vigorously is just really inspiring.”
Brydon was uplifted by Krautkramer’s passion and devotion to her piece.
“I loved the process of seeing what it was then and seeing what it is now,” he said. “I love how she imbued it with so much passion.”
Krautkramer plans to continue her series with more books in the works.
“I plan on making this a trilogy,” she said. “I have more ideas and I'm not done just yet.”
Krautkramer hopes to inspire others to continue to create and pursue their passions.
“My advice is to try what you want to do,” she said. “It's better to know what you can do than have that big what if just sitting there.”
By Rin Fox
February 21, 2023
Oshkosh West Index volume 119 Issue V