Scarsdale Kids: A Special Birthday and a Young Author

Mia Dell'Orto celebrated her twelfth birthday on December 12, 2012. This once in a lifetime date coinciding with Mia's 12th birthday must be a sign of good luck and a bright future! Here's wishing Mia Dell'Orto, a student at Scarsdale Middle School a happy, happy birthday!

Todd Morse, a senior at SHS recently published his first book, The Last Unknown, on the Kindle store. Here's a summary of the book and thoughts on the process of writing and publishing from Todd Morse: The Last Unknown is a young adult novel that follows the adventures of Shawn Gordon, Jackie Summers, Rick Franklin, Peter Williams, Ella Brown, Richard Johnson, and Fate, each from their own points of view. Although the characters seem unrelated at first they soon discover their stories are intertwined when many of them realize they have developed superhuman abilities. These abilities lead them on a perilous journey, escaping and chasing superhuman enemies and a mysterious group that seems bent on their destruction. All the while fate watches over the story, seeing all and providing his comments.

According to Morse, "Publishing the book presented challenges as well. I sent the book to five agents and only one even bothered to answer me. I read an article about an author who published to the Kindle all by herself. After reading it, I knew that the Kindle approach was for me. It gave me so much control over my work and bypassed the need to spend months trying to find someone willing to give me a chance."

Morse adds, "Kindle direct publishing is a powerful tool. The 70% royalty rate is almost unbeatable and the widespread access that the internet provides is astounding. In under twelve hours my book was available for sale in Japan, India, the United Kingdom, the United States (of course), and a myriad of other nations. Check it out at www.thelastunknown.net.