Photo provided by Katelyn Rehatchek
By Kayla Brown, Arts and Entertainment Editor
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused suffering for millions and boredom for most, but for Susquehanna student Katelyn Rehatchek, the pandemic was a chance to work on her passion: writing.
Rehatchek, a sophomore from Palmerton, Pa., has been writing for as long as she can remember. According to Rehatchek, when she was 6 or 7, her cousin, an English teacher, suggested writing since she liked reading so much.
Her time in quarantine allowed Rehatchek to finish and publish a novel.
Rehatchek began the novel, titled “Our Song,”in January, but then stopped until spring break. When school began remotely, it gave her even more time to work on and publish her novel.
In regard to publishing, Rehatchek said, “I chose self-publishing because I didn’t want to have to find an agent as a college student.”
Rehatchek finished the novel during the pandemic and sent it to past English teachers, who helped her edit the novel. After meticulous planning of each chapter, meeting word count goals for each chapter and editing, Rehatchek became a published author.
Using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing program, Rehatchek followed the steps and published her first novel in paperback and electronic format. The novel can be purchased on Amazon and from Barnes and Noble’s website.
The novel is told from two different perspectives, a college student in 1990 and her grandmother in 1934 and is described by Rehatchek as “a romance geared toward young adults.”
When she’s not writing, Rehatchek, an English secondary education major with a theatre minor, participates in the Shakespeare Club, and most recently participated in the production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
When asked about her major, Rehatchek replied, “I’ve always looked up to my high school English teachers…and I want to be that person for someone.”
With the success that she has already achieved prior to her sophomore year, Rehatchek has a bright future ahead of her filled with a Global Opportunities (GO) Trip to Regents, London and more Shakespearean productions.
But for Rehatchek, writing will always be part of her life, “not necessarily as a career, but as a passion.”