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Local teen pens first novel

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Michael Marquez, 17, will graduate in May 2016 from Miyamura High School. The oldest son of Joseph and Emily, Marquez spent his freshman year at Gallup Catholic before they closed the high school.

“Mrs. (Ruth) Roberts started me on writing,” he said. “At first it was a way to earn extra credit and then I found that I liked it and just wanted to write, a lot.”

For his sophomore year, Marquez went to Miyamura and met another English teacher who also encouraged his writing, Mr. (Timothy) Johnson.

“Sometimes I would turn in as many as 20 pages to him,” Marquez said.

Johnson never complained and even once told Emily that he saved Marquez’ work to read last, because it was so good and entertaining.

The grandma in this story is Josephine Jaramillo, who showed her love for her two grandsons (Matthew, 13, is the younger brother) in many ways, not least of all by putting both of them in her will as joint recipients of her family home and the rental house behind it. They were the only two grandchildren that Jaramillo had in her lifetime. It’s often said that a grandma’s love has no boundaries and that would certainly seem to be true in this case.

Jaramillo encouraged Marquez in his writing, gently, by telling him, “Do it if you want to.”

It took Marquez two years to complete his thoughts and his book, titled “The Power of Alsban,” published by Amazon. About 10 chapters into the book, his computer died and caused some delay as the story was put back together. Marquez describes it as a present day adventure story, though the storyline might not bear that out to some readers. You just need to trust the author.

Five main characters inhabit these pages. They all wake up on another planet and want to return to earth, but find that there are tasks they must complete before they can do so.

The 17-year-old leader has white hair and is named Oliver Jackson. The cute, long-haired blond girl next to him is 16-year-old Heather, who is knowledgeable about guns. Not your normal guns though; these burn or freeze instead of just puncture and destroy.

The other three characters are perhaps even stranger: a chupacabra named Kaku, a strong and silent type; an alien (unrevealed homeland) named Key; and a cat, named Kitten Cane who walks on its rear legs and speaks English.

Other people, gangs, are also looking for the staffs, or tasks to complete,  and are violent in opposition to the five main characters. To learn more, log on to Amazon.com: michael j marquez paperback and ask to purchase the book for $9.99. And be prepared for the coming sequel, which Marquez has promised to start right after the Christmas holidays are over,

His parents are very proud of him. But they expressed that pride at the interview by being thankful for the teachers that helped him overcome his shy, quiet, and reserved nature.

His mother, Emily, also told the story of Marquez bringing the first copy of his book to the room where his grandma lay dying. He wanted her to see it, even if she couldn’t read it. So, he laid it on the bedside table for her to look at.

Jaramillo died on Dec. 11 at the age of 77, just days after Marquez had received his copy of the book. Truly, his effort became a book for grandma, who will surely live on in his heart.