Crafting Connections

With her first novel, one young Member invites readers into a fantastical world of possibilities.

Myiesha Jain has been creating new worlds from the second-floor Library for years.

With the release of her debut novel, the 14-year-old scribe pulls readers into one of them.

In Blood We Burn tells the story of the clashing kingdoms of a 12-year-old assassin and her misunderstood rival. Jain admits it’s still surreal to see the first book in her planned trilogy published.

“To me, it’s always going to be the document that’s on my laptop,” she says of the 390-page tale, now available in the Club Library and through Amazon.

A self-described avid reader and writer for as long as she can remember, Jain is evangelical about the power of the written word.

“There’s a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words,” she says. “But for me, a sentence has the power to stick with you for a lifetime.”

She began working on the story three years ago but says the book really took shape over the past year, after she developed a strict routine of writing after school until dinnertime. Those sessions often took place at the Club.

“There’s something very cozy about the Club Library,” she explains. “I just love the entire atmosphere. I honestly think I had my best writing sprints there because I was so focused.”

Jain admits that the process of creating a work for others was a challenge. She recalls how hard it sometimes was to digest critical feedback from the book’s development editor and her writing peers.

“As a teen, I don’t want to be valued just for my age, I want to be valued for my writing. So it was really difficult to get past these feelings of self-doubt,” she says.

“I just reminded myself that writing, at its core, is just your art. It’s your way of expressing yourself and building connections with the world around you.”

Jain cites Hafsah Faizal (We Hunt the Flame), Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me) and Sabaa Tahir (An Ember in the Ashes). The three have been breakout successes in the young adult genre, which is the fastest-growing category in publishing with print sales jumping by nearly 50 percent from 2018 to 2023.

In addition to sharing a fondness for creating dystopian worlds, Jain praises the three for adding diversity to their works.

“As a writer, I can recognize how difficult that can be to really represent different cultures and religions correctly. But as a reader, it really healed me to read their books and see how they represented people who look like me in an industry that’s so Westernized,” she says.

Born in India and a resident of Tokyo since she was 5, Jain says she hopes her works can have a similar effect on readers.

“I just feel so inspired to make the same impact that they’ve had and also give those same feelings of comfort to other readers.”

Words: Andrew Chin
Image: Yuuki Ide

December 2024