Drew Lorenzo, a 15-year-old freshman at Tennessee Temple Academy, is nearly finished with her second novel, part of a trilogy she hopes to see on store bookshelves soon.
"When I was 13, I started a story about a girl who had an imaginary friend when she was little," Drew said. "He went away when she got a little older, but he comes back when she is 17 years old."
Drew and Caroline Lorenzo, from left, look over new stories written by the 15-year-old writer, who recently presented her first novel in the spring Meacham Writers' Workshop.Drew has now fleshed that story into three novels: the completed "Imaginary," the second in the series, "Rapture," (now in its revision stage) and a third book called "Ethereal," which is still on the drawing board. She is currently crafting a short description of her novel to send to potential agents and editors.
"Her stories capture you," said Drew's mother, Caroline Lorenzo, who is helping her wade into the publishing industry. "We're excited to see where this is going to go. It's really a phenomenon that someone can have so much bottled up inside such a little head."
She said it is amazing to see the progression of her daughter's writing from one story to the next. Lorenzo keeps Drew organized and plans to send her to workshops and conferences where she can continue to learn.
The professional feedback she's already received was encouraging. Lorenzo took Drew to the Meacham Conference this spring to have her pieces workshopped. Most of the visiting writers, including author Cathy Holton, who read Drew's story, were amazed at the quality of writing, she said.
"[Holton] said she liked it and didn't have that many problems with it when she was looking at how it flowed," said Drew.
Drew writes a mixture of young adult fiction, fantasy and magical realism, preferring to tell her stories from a first-person perspective. She has rooted the characters of her series in the Chattanooga area, steeping her plot with familiar sights, sounds and smells. She said many of her story ideas come from song lyrics or melodies, which spur her imagination.
"I just feel like I have too many thoughts to keep all of them inside," said Drew, who can always be found with a pad of paper, pen and a book on hand. "I've been reading since I was real, real little. Then around the end of sixth grade I had an idea and started writing. I wrote 60 pages and it wasn't really good, but I loved writing from then. Maybe that's what God wants me to do with my life."
Lorenzo said she always read to her daughter and even as a 5-month-old, Drew could tell when a book was upside down. Drew said though she wants to keep writing, she plans to become a criminal psychologist.