By Kit Humbarger
Features Editor
Author and former Costa student Kinzie Malony recently published her first poetry book. The book, “They Were Never Just Words,” follows Malony’s navigation through the struggles of being a teenage girl in today’s world.
Malony has been an avid writer her whole life. According to Malony, she started writing as a way to communicate her feelings to others, but it quickly developed into a passion that she has been improving upon for years.
“I have been writing since the first grade,” said Malony. “I used to have a really hard time opening up to people, so I wrote everything I wanted to say down so I didn’t have to verbally express it.”
Writing a book has been a lifelong goal for Malony. According to Malony, she hopes to use her passion for poetry to create a lifelong profession.
“I thought that I could reach more people with a book since it is easier for me to touch people with my writing” said Malony. “I plan to continue writing books and poetry as I get older and turn it into an everlasting career.”
Malony started writing her poetry book at the beginning of her junior year. She used Shanahan Printing and Graphics and M and M Book Bindery to self-publish her book. According to Malony, there is a lot of effort that goes into publishing a book.
“After I wrote [the book], it went to an editor three times to make sure everything was perfect,” said Malony. “I had to get a copyright, and then I sent it to a publisher. After getting the measurements and ideas of what I wanted the cover to look like, it took about three weeks to make a [prototype] to make sure it is what I wanted. Finally, it took another three weeks to print the rest of the books, and now they’re ready to be sold.”
Malony’s book contains both short stories and poems. Her writing reflects on her personal experiences and struggles.
“Many of my poems are related to experiences or feelings I don’t know how to express in healthy ways,” said Malony. “For example, ‘You Can’t Tell Me to Stop Loving You’ is what I wanted to experience during a break up that I couldn’t express verbally in the moment.”
Malony has been working on this book for over a year. She is relieved to be done with the process and is excited for what the future holds. According to her, she is grateful for all the incredible help she received during her journey.
“My biggest supporters throughout this process really have been my mom and dad,” said Malony. “They both helped push me to accomplish my goal correctly and with the right resources.”
Malony finally received the hard copies of her finished book in October. Right now, Malony’s book is only available for purchase through direct communication, but she’s hoping to expand.
“At the moment, people are contacting me directly to buy my book, but I am working on other ways of selling them,” said Malony. “I am in contact with Barnes and Nobles and am looking to sell my books online too.”
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