At Nova Southeastern University, it’s important to highlight when our alumni and students are pursuing their dreams. One alumnus and two current students are doing just that. On Oct. 15, those three, along with seven others, published an anthology series called “Stories From The Forest: 10 Stories of Nature, Love, Loss and Life.”
NSU alumni Flor Mireles and current students Janelle Giannetta and KaliVictoria Wilson each wrote a story in the anthology series. Mireles was not only an author, but also edited the book. She is also responsible for bringing the other nine authors together.
“I reached out to people that I knew and some people on Facebook and we got together in May,” said Mireles.
Mireles graduated from NSU in 2021. Her contribution to the book was not her first publication, though it was her first work in fiction writing. She has written and published two poem collections, “The Language of Fungi and Flowers and Perspective (and other poems),” which can both be purchased on Amazon.
“[Fiction writing] felt totally different. But it felt amazing. It really pushed me to just start diving into fiction writing, which was something I always wanted to do,” said Mireles.
Mireles’ story, “The Tale of the Mystic Wood,” is a thrilling mystery story about a teenager that finds themselves in a dilemma about entering a forbidden forest. As the story goes on, the reader learns why the forest is blocked off from the public.
Wilson is a junior communication major at NSU with a concentration in digital media, as well as a minor in strategic communications. Her short story, “The Torrent,” was heavily influenced by a film called “Bridge to Terabithia.”
“I love diving into first person forms of writing and perspectives,” said Wilson. “You don’t really get Leslie’s perspective… I had this idea, maybe I could write the story from her perspective and create my own idea of combining her love for nature and the cause of her death.”
“The Torrent” isn’t Wilson’s first published work. She has published two books in addition to her story in the anthology series, as she has a series called the “Trials of Fate.” The first book, “The Shadows of Heaven,” was released on Nov. 27, 2020. The second installment in the series, “His Descendant,” released on Oct. 20.
Giannetta is an English major at NSU. Her story, “Viridian,” is her debut as an author. “Viridian” is a thriller that has the reader wondering what is truly happening and what isn’t.
“It’s awesome because I have never let anyone read my writing before so having this out is kind of nerve-wracking but also exhilarating.” said Giannetta.
“I was really grateful for the opportunity because having my work out there is kind of cool. It was really fun, honestly, because we were creative with how we could write about it,” said Giannetta. Giannetta shared that she is currently working on a novel that she plans to release in 2022.
Mireles, Giannetta and Wilson, along with some of the other authors, will be having a panel at Life to Paper’s book festival on Nov. 6 at The Bookshop, Life to Paper’s physical bookstore. The Bookshop is located at 190 NE 46th Street, Miami, FL 33137. “Stories From The Forest: 10 Stories of Nature, Love, Loss and Life” can be purchased here.
