Aspiring writers everywhere dream of publishing the stories they pour their hearts and souls into, but achieving that goal is something many struggle with. For a time, this was the case for young author sophomore Lily Berg. After writing her first book, “Bubble Gum”, which tells the story of a competitive boxer who leaves his life and legacy in the ring, she decided to pursue writing as a hobby. After finishing her second book, “The Black Smoke Rises” — a novel set in a dystopian world following a young high school boy and a small group of rebels navigating a war-torn society — Berg was asked to provide a simple backstory for a character she created for her high school Dungeons & Dragons club. This backstory evolved into what is now “Shattered Illusions”.
“Shattered Illusions” is set in a place called Estherholt and follows the story of a young man named Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto as he grapples with responsibility, jealousy, love, loss and helplessness.
“What started as something so small turned into a beauty I never could’ve imagined,” Berg said.
The book itself took Berg more than 4 years to write. It took her this long as she kept taking in new inspiration and restarting the book. The publishing of the book took the most amount of time.
“Lily did not say much about the book until she started publishing it, so she never told me about it,” sophomore Malia Berg said.
Writing a book takes much less time than publishing it. Unlike most independent authors, Lily faced a difficult and lengthy process with Shattered Illusions. She took full ownership of her book, buying the complete rights through the purchase of an ISBN and becoming officially recognized by the Minnesota Authors Network (MNAN). While many independent authors settle for majority ownership, Berg wanted to truly call her work her own.
The publishing process takes a long time “It took me almost a year.” she just really wanted the “book to be my own,” Berg said.
Berg has plans to sell copies of the book only to friends and those who request it. English teacher Granger Taft has been begging Berg for a copy.
“I only plan to sell the book to my English teacher and other close friends who ask. I don’t plan to sell it in any stores,” Berg said.
The publishing process was a long and grueling journey, one that took hours, weeks and even years. Lily invested time, patience, and effort into every part of the process. When asked if her twin sister had any final thoughts, Malia Berg simply said, “Good book.”
