While some students come to college unsure of what direction their professional career might take, English freshman Chaselyn Roderick has a clear vision of what hers will look like. Roderick discusses how she became a published author before graduating high school and her vision for the future of her novels.
Roderick invites readers to step into her world of post-apocalyptic chaos, where monsters exist alongside humans and World War III is a reality. The 18-year-old writer has published three books: “Activated,” “99% Down” and “1% Falling.”Roderick’s love for writing began much earlier in her life, before her first publication.
“When I was in fourth grade, I wrote a little kid’s story called ‘Gnome In a New Home,’” Roderick said. “I saw this book that I had written, and I was like, ‘Wow, I want to do this forever.’ It’s still in my house.”
Roderick said she doesn’t let much get in the way of her dreams, and she tries to stay optimistic when life gets tough. As it turns out, an unfortunate injury brought her to where she is today.
“When I was 13, I broke a bone in my spine,” Roderick said. “It left me out of everything, and I had nothing else to do but revisit an old story. At 16 it became my first published novel, ‘Activated.’ I obviously couldn’t ask for a better turnout because it ended up as something awesome.”
Victoria Roderick, Chaselyn’s mother, has supported her since the earliest stages of her writing career. She juggles being her daughter’s manager and editor as well as teaching at a charter school.
“By fourth grade, I never heard her say anything else she wanted to be,” Victoria said. “It’s always been writing. I cannot fathom her ever not doing this; it makes her so happy. She lights up when she talks about it.”
Without interruptions, her writing process typically takes about a year from start to publication. However, Chaselyn’s aspirations don’t end there, as her dream is to see her creations be brought to life on the big screen.
“My goal is a movie,” Chaselyn said. “My favorite idea is seeing how people see my characters and the world that I created. I’m hoping that I can use connections to edge it toward a movie.”
Chaselyn made a significant amount of connections in Dallas when she was younger from acting, even making an appearance on the hit TV show “Barney,” but after that experience she realized her main goal was writing.
“She is the most determined, driven teenager I’ve ever met,” Victoria said. “Oddly enough, I’ve never questioned that she will be able to do it. I think one day we will see her books in the movies, and that’s what I hope for her.”
Upon publishing her novel,“99% Down,”Chaselyn faced some backlash on Facebook due to the use of a vaccine in the novel, and assumptions about its relation to COVID-19.
“They say that my novel discourages the vaccine and that I’m trying to mess with the election process,” Chaselyn said. “It’s not based on COVID[-19], it’s not based on the vaccine, it never was. It’s a fictional book about a fictional monster-making drug.”
Chaselyn was intrigued by Texas A&M because of her father’s love of the school, as well as the flexibility in her degree plan that allows her to focus on science fiction and fantasy studies through her English coursework.
“I decided to come to A&M because it was my dad’s favorite college,” Chaselyn said. “I think he’d be very proud of me. He’d be like, ‘You’ve been doing really good, pork chop,’ because that’s what he called me. I put that nickname into ‘Activated’ as a tip of the hat to him.”
All of Chaselynn’s novels may be found on Amazon, and her website details more information on upcoming releases. She is currently considering a spin-off series or writing her first fantasy novel. For fellow “BookTok” lovers, Roderick encourages readers to check out her TikTok account @chaselynroderick.
“She’s writing about a fantasy world that she loves,” Victoria said. “She’s incredible, and I hope people read all her books no matter what.”
