Local teen's first book is published

College-bound teenager is already a published author

By OLIVIA KOERNIG/Whitefish Pilot

It's been said that everyone has one book in them. Jared Barton, 18, of Whitefish, has already written and published his, but that hasn't stopped him from outlining 12 others.

"I worked on it since I was 13, putting in so many hundreds of hours," Barton said. "I'm working on two more and have dipped into a third."

His book, "The Lady of Frostvale," a fantasy, was released from the self-publishing house Xlibris last month. The story follows Seleana, the princess-turned-warrior of Frostvale, as she takes on the Ice Queen. Now, he's figuring out the rest of the stories.

"There's a lot of fighting, a little bit of romance," Barton said. "The target audience is anybody who likes mainstream fantasy who is 13-or-older."

An avid reader of fantasy, Barton's influences include R.A. Salvatore, Elaine Cunningham and David Eddings, among others. And though he reads a lot of fantasy, it was his interest in a video game — Ice Window — that sparked his interest in writing his book in the first place.

"I scrapped my first draft because it was too much like the game," Barton said. "I kept what was original, so now it doesn't bear any resemblance to that first draft, but the game is probably why it's a north setting."

Barton acknowledges that no story lines can ever really be original, but maintains that his book has elements of originality throughout.

"Mine has a few things you don't find as often, like a strong female main character," he said.

Likewise, Barton himself has a few things you don't find as often. In addition to already being a published author, he plays harp and runs sled dogs. For work, he runs the afterschool program at Children's House Montessori. Next year, when he attends Concordia University, he'll study elementary education, with plans to become certified in the Montessori method along the way.

"I don't intend to make the kind of money I want to make as a teacher," Barton said. "I'm (going into) teaching because I want to."

Indeed, Barton credits a few teachers at Whitefish High School with encouraging his budding talent. Norma MacKenzie, Kelliann Blackburn and Nikki Reed all had a hand in shaping Barton's development as a writer. The respect is apparently mutual. MacKenzie organized a book signing for him at the high school today (May 22).

The book is currently available at Borders, Books West and Bookworks, but Barton noted he's able to offer his books at a discounted price.

He also recently joined other Montana authors at the local library for a reception.

Since Barton is heading off to college at the end of the summer, he plans to do as much promoting as he can before then.

"I have this summer," Barton said.