Into The Imagination of Katie Charles

Sophomore Kaitlyn Delaney is an avid writer and has turned her love of writing into a career. She currently has two books published, Be Mused: an A-MUSE-ing Anthology, and Land of Misfit Teens.

With 18 units and participating in the University’s Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo, and Saxophone Quartet as well as being the librarian for all three ensembles, there are many times that she can get overwhelmed with school and life in general. With that, Delaney goes to writing as her outlet to relieve stress.

“I’ve been writing for most of my life, and I got my first story published through [Desert Breeze Publishing] when I was 16 years old. It’s only in electronic format, but it’s sold anywhere you can get any book… [Land of Misfit Teens] is still in electronic format, but it is in print because it’s been doing so well,” Delaney said.

In April 2013, Delaney’s third novel, Dreams, will be available to the public in electronic format everywhere. After a certain number of copies are sold, it will be published in print.

It takes place at the college setting. It deals with a lot of issues that teenagers deal with today, such as self-harm and loss of someone close to you. “I didn’t even plan on writing it. I just sat at the computer and wrote, and now it is being turned into a book,” Delaney said.

Delaney uses the pen name Katie Charles. “[Katie] comes from the nickname of Kaitlyn, and Charles is the masculine version of my middle name, Charlene. [I was] named after my grandfather, Charles. I just think that one day when I’m rich and famous I can still have my personal [life], then the Katie Charles [life],” Delaney said.

Delaney is currently selling copies of Land of Misfit Teens in her dorm, Catalina room 404, for $10, and she will even sign the book for anyone who is interested. She plans to continue writing more novels even as she strives to become a science teacher in the future.

“It’s my coping mechanism for a lot of things. I get overly stressed out, overly anything and I will just sit down and start writing… It is all from my imagination.”