Ben Garbacz/Daily Mining Gazette
Rehema Marie Clarken reads excerpts from her book “Pyrrha’s Journey” in Sunflower Books and Coffee during the Book Reading and Signing event on Thursday.
HANCOCK — On Thursday evening, Sunflower Books and Coffee hosted a Book Reading and Signing for the Hancock author Rehema Marie Clarken and her very first fiction book, “Pyrrha’s Journey.”
Clarken read abridged passages from her book to visitors to the bookstore and had signed copies of the book available for purchase as she talked to visitors about the novel.
She said she felt incredibly fortunate to be able to share her work with the Houghton-Hancock area. Clarken believes many of its residents are avid readers due to the long winters, and she enjoys the fact that she can discuss her contribution to a favorite hobby in the area. She is hoping that her book is one that some young adults will consider reading on cold winter days.
“Pyrrha’s Journey” is a young adult fantasy novel and the first of a planned trilogy. The book revolves around a teenage girl named Pyrrha who accidentally kills a tiger in her youth and is now tasked with slaying a dragon in a fantastical setting. Clarken was attracted to the fantasy genre due to it not needing mature elements to tell a story with a focus on personality of her characters and the fictional world instead of physical vices. The story is a hero’s journey tale with inspirations from Greek Mythology and the terrain of the Upper Peninsula for its setting.
Clarken is a resident of Hancock who grew up in Marquette and attended Northern Michigan University and Michigan Tech. She worked in education, and within that field, she came across the inspiration to write the novel and to create something that she would have wanted to read as a child.
She began when she was teaching high school and had a student who needed inspiration to read. She thought that she could craft a story that could serve as that inspiration, and though the girl is no longer a teenager after seven years of writing, she stuck to the goal and completed the book.
The journey to complete the book was not an easy one, however, and she needed motivation for the last two years it took to finish. Two years ago, Clarken had the cover completed and the physical representation of her ideas was the extra push she was looking for. The tedious editing process became worth it for her, and it hit store shelves in June. If young adults are intrigued and pick up the book, they will find more than just a tale in which to immerse oneself.
“One of the things I try to do is have a lot of mindfulness training in it,” Clarken said. “One of the games they [the characters] play in the book is called ‘What do you know?’ And so when they’re in a really, really difficult or bad situation, the question they need to ask themselves is what do you actually know? So like what are your surroundings telling you (about) what’s actually happening?”
She also went over why it is important for anyone and young adults especially to understand that when one is in an uncomfortable situation it does not mean the worst outcome is inevitable. What Clarken means is that the individual will have many unanswered questions and, through mindfulness training, one can overcome hurdles in his or her path. Another aspect of the book readers can learn about is partaking in actions outside of one’s purview.
“In our lives, we will face things maybe not quite so drastic [like in the story], but when we’re forced to do something we don’t want to do, we still have choices about how we behave,” Clarken said.
The next book of the series is still in development and will take place in a fantasy setting inspired by Isle Royale. “Pyrrha’s Journey” is currently available for purchase in Sunflower Books and Coffee in the featured local author’s section, other bookstores and online.
