"Time of Death"

Try Googling the name Victoria Anes and see what pops up.

More than likely you won't get any links that direct you to Rodriguez High School where Anes is finishing her sophomore year. There aren't any links to Studio 309 where she's danced at for many years, but you will see a link that reads "Time of Death" by Victoria Anes, which shoots you to a site where you can purchase her first ever published book.  Nope your eyes aren't fooling you; 15-year-old Victoria Anes is Suisun's youngest published author and was recently awarded a Certificate of Recognition from Mayor Pete Sanchez.  

Anes' book entitled, "Time of Death," published in February of this year, can be ordered on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble, and Xlibris. Her father, Victor Anes, communicated with many different publishers before settling with Xlibris. He would like to eventually get his daughter's book into local libraries, but is content with her success thus far, he said.

Kindly enough, Anes allowed me to pick her brain to get a better understanding of what goes through the mind of a 15-year-old author.

Full Name: Victoria Anes

Nicknames: "Tori" and "Dolly" (given by her mother)

Age: 15

Birthday: August 27, 1995

Favorite Quote: "If you believe, you can achieve."

Favorite Music Artist: Beyonce

Q. What inspired you to write this book?

A. I was actually inspired from a series of dreams that I was having. I would go to sleep the very next night hoping that my dreams would pick up where they left off.  In a way it was kind of like one massive dream just split into segments every night.

Anes explained that her book tells the story of her dreams. She uses real life characters, such as herself and her friend Mellody, but tweaks the characters giving them a different, unrealistic personality, she said.

Q. Can you briefly describe "Time of Death?"

A. Mellody is the main character and she gets kicked out of her house. Being her best friend I give her the option of staying at my house, but because of our bad behaviors my father doesn't allow her to stay with us. So I find this abandoned building and I tell her to stay there until I come back for her in the morning. While we're at this place we start to hear weird, creepy noises and out of nowhere we're both knocked unconscious. When I wake up Mellody is missing. I try to find her, but she's gone. Overtime I begin seeing this mysterious character that I named "Mystery" and for some reason this character knows more about me than I do him. Pretty much he gives me ultimatums of either saving myself or saving others. Let's just say it isn't a happy ending.

Anes kept a journal where she wrote detailed descriptions of her dreams. All of her dreams were very vivid, she said, but she was never scared of what her dreams meant.

Q. How did you manage high school and writing a book?

A. I still wonder how I was able to make it all work out. I was just so interested in my dreams and knew from the moment I started having these dreams that I wanted to eventually write a book. Whenever I had free time I would write for hours.  If I wasn't dancing then I was writing.

Other than writing, Anes loves to dance and has been dancing at Studio 309 since she was nine. She would like to start taking theatre classes next year and become more active with on stage performances. Writing has always been her passion, said Anes, and knew that writing was always one of her strengths.

Q. What do your friends and family think about your success?

A. My family is very supportive, but I try to not talk about my book at school because kids can be a little mean. They have that "so what that you wrote a book" attitude so I don't think they're very accepting of it. But I do have some friends who are really happy for me and even want to be characters in my future books.

Upon completion of her first book, which took her four months to write, Anes began writing her second book that she recently finished.  The book is untitled for now, she said, but classifies her newest piece as a tragic romance.  Anes is hesitant to release her second book because it's a lot more detailed than the first, she said.

Q. What are your future goals?

A. I'm going to continue to write and I eventually want to start my own magazine where other young adults can contribute ideas. I want to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and maybe even incorporate a fashion advice section into my magazine.

So here's a quick break down of a typical day in the life of Victoria Anes. Wake up, shower, get dressed then school. After school it's time for dance class then home for dinner. Squeeze in some writing and if time prevails some more dancing then Anes' day is complete.  

"I just want people to see that anything is possible as long as they put their mind to it. If you have the determination, you can do anything," said Anes.