Joseph Horst

Ever since I was young, I loved to use my imagination, and growing up with five other boys greatly intensified my love for fantasy. In the forest around my home, we would build forts and play “Robin Hood,” or I would join the two boys that were closer to my age in battling hordes of medieval soldiers. Despite how many times we played such games, I never grew tired of them. Every day after school, I would rush over to my friends’ house to continue the never-ending battles.

Being homeschooled allowed for much more free time in those early years of my life, and, living far away from a city, my friends and I rarely had to leave the property. Then it all changed. Already three of the boys had left to college, and suddenly one of the others was heading to public school and the last to a private school. I still had free time and plenty of imagination, but what was I to do with it? It was then I realized that I had hundreds of stories in my head that would never be able to be played out. Therefore, I began writing. Not very much at first, within the first few months I only wrote forty some pages, but I was excited! I was an author! (Or so I thought. Little did I know how complicated writing is.)

Fortunately, my parents recognized my passion and bought me a writing curriculum, which I was to start the next school year. I opened it when it arrived, but put it away until the school year began. It wasn’t until the beginning of the 2012 school year that I began working on my first book.

I began taking it seriously after the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum stirred my imagination once again. I was excited on a completely new level and threw myself into the work. In 2013, I completed my first novel, and later that year I began work on Otapmir’s Last Commander. For six months, I wrote nearly every day for far more hours than would have been necessary for a class. Instead of playing sports or computer games, I wrote. Thus, in the spring of 2014, I completed the rough draft, soon followed by the second draft. Then, with help from the OYAN (One Year Adventure Novel) forum community and family members, I completed the third draft.

The next step was unclear. I had a book, I had it edited, and I wanted to publish, but how? It took a couple months, but I finally decided how to go about it: Kindle Direct Publishing. Now I have taken the final step, and it is available. Thus, Otapmir was born, but this is only the beginning. I dream of continuing the series and have already begun work on a sequel. My imagination is still as active as ever, and I want to share that with others.

I wrote Otapmir’s Last Commander with the hope that it may help someone who may not even know they need it. I may be far away from cities, but I want to make a difference. I want to bring a little enjoyment to someone’s life. I want to show someone who’s struggling that they can overcome. I want to make someone’s life just a little better.

~Joseph Horst