John and Elizabeth Hiel, of Avon, Illinois, are well-known in this area as being the owners of Hiel Trucking, Inc. in Prairie City.
Now there is a new member in the Hiel family making the news.
At the age of 18, John and Elizabeth's granddaughter, Annabelle, has published her first book, titled 'Meirlich Oga's Children's Home,” a historical fiction book targeting young adult readers.
Hiel, daughter of Trevor and Diana Hiel, began writing the book in eighth grade and spent nearly four years completing it while attending high school in Washington, Illinois.
Annabelle became interested in writing early on, she was a voracious reader as early as second grade. She found writing to be a natural way to express herself, and began to take it more seriously around the middle of her eighth grade year.
The novel follows Kitty Thompson, a self-taught lockpick in Victorian London who ends up at a luxurious orphanage that serves as a front for a young thieves guild. The 400-page book is available in paperback for $19.99 on Amazon through Ingram Spark and Kindle Direct Publishing.
Now a marketing major at Hillsdale College in Michigan, Hiel has already begun work on a sequel and has written more than 10,000 words toward the second book in what she envisions as a duology.
Hiel recently held a book signing at a bookstore in Sarasota, Florida, and plans to schedule an event in the Macomb area when she returns from college.
While self-published for now, Hiel hopes to eventually sign with a traditional publishing house.
One can only believe that this young author will make a name for herself in the literacy world.
Congratulations Annabelle Hiel!
