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Treatise of Empires, a novel by Gahanna junior Blake Breehl takes place on the planet Boqueal, when a centuries old empire falls to a revolution and three new nations rise. The novel follows a different character per chapter and shows their point of view on the events that unfold.
Breehl began his writing journey in October 2020 during quarantine. However, his story developed years earlier when he and his brothers invented a game involving three warring countries. During their childhood they kept carefully written notes on their gameplay, and after finding them during quarantine, Breehl decided to develop them into a story. Initially he started with a collection of short stories that took place within his universe, but eventually, would decide to fuse them into an overarching plot.
During the early stages of his writing, Breehl decided to keep his novel a secret, aside from his younger brothers, in order to avoid having outside influences affect his story. Eventually, he would also tell his close friends as well as his girlfriend about his project and have them edit his writing 3-4 chapters at a time.
“I started writing whenever I had free time, like in class and at lunch,” Breehl said, but the holidays were when he did the majority of his work. Over Thanksgiving and winter break, Breehl worked on his novel for 6-7 hours per day, rarely taking any breaks. He was finally able to publish his novel in January of 2021.
Overall, Breehl claimed that this accomplishment has changed his life, helping him to become a more confident and outgoing person.
“I had a mindset change that has followed me to this day of just being able to do whatever I want and knowing that I can accomplish things.” Breehl said.
Accomplishing this goal has given him the motivation to improve his life and to set bigger goals for his future.
To other young aspiring writers Breehl offered this advice: “Find your own voice. Find a passion for whatever you want to write about and there will always be an audience for it somewhere.”
Treatise of Empires is available on amazon.com
Cover image provided by Blake Breehl
