Pictured is the cover of “Mercy Markos and the Blades of Betrayal." Photo Provided.
Pictured is the cover of “Mercy Markos and the Blades of Betrayal." Photo Provided.
Warsaw resident Sally Garcia wanted to leave something behind for her grandchildren. Not every one ends up writing a book to do so.

“Mercy Markos and the Blades of Betrayal” is Garcia’s first book, which is set to be released April 13.

It is about a young girl who’s part of a magical race called Ara’Jaeons, who were created by the elements to safeguard the elements and make sure everything stays balanced. The Ara’Jaeons live on a mystical island in the Mediterranean Sea. All Ara’Jaeons have elemental powers, but no one naturally has all four elemental powers.

The main character is Mercy, whose parents are members of an elite group that goes around the world defending the elements. When Mercy’s parents get called to duty, Mercy is sent to a training center/school and she doesn’t want to go. At the school, Mercy finds out about a prophecy where she will restore a broken crown that will bring forth death.

While she is trying to process the prophecy, Mercy and her friends get dragged into a murder of a high elder from 1945 that never got solved.

The book is geared toward young adults, but can be read by adults as well, Garcia said. There will be other books about Mercy, but Garcia doesn’t know how many books as of yet.

She didn’t have an idea for the book when she first started writing. Instead, she said she started writing and the ideas came to her.

She started writing the book in 2013. For the first four or five years, she wasn’t serious about it.

Garcia then took a workshop for three or four years. She completed two or three drafts of her book. She then quit the workshop and was coached by the owner of the workshop, Kathy Giorgio of AllWriter’s Workplace & Workshop LLC. Garcia then did another three or four drafts of the book. Then Giorgio worked with Garcia on marketing and how to present the book to publishers. About a year ago, Garcia started sending it out to publishers.

“Mercy Markos and the Blades of Betrayal” got picked up by Black Rose Writing in July.

Garcia said it was almost surreal when the book was picked up to be published because she had been working on it for so long and thought it was kind of good. She was excited but it was hard to believe.

It will be available to purchase through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It is also available to purchase at Black Rose Writing website, where it is available for preorder. If you put in the code preorder2023, you can get 15% off.

Garcia is having a book launch May 20 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Ruwm, 1400 W. Center St., Warsaw. It is open to the public.

Garcia also will talk to a class at Edgewood Middle School. No date has been set up. Garcia said they might wait until after the book has been released as the children may want to have read the book when Garcia talks to the class.

Edgewood English/language arts teacher Veronica Helser talked about why she wanted Garcia to speak at the school.

“First and foremost, I always want to promote a love of reading and writing. There is nothing like getting a good book into the hands of a young reader. It's exciting to hear their discussions as they connect to the characters and journey through the plot twists of a story. It's like opening up a whole new world to them, which is as exciting to a teacher as it is to a student,” Helser said.

“Sally is a gifted writer whose story is inspiring. I want my students to see that any dream is possible. Sally is a single mother, who didn't always have everything. She definitely knew struggle. Yet, she achieved her dream in a big way. I have students who want to be writers, and sometimes, they cannot see past their struggles, so I want them to meet Sally, who did. And, even if they do not want to be a writer, I want them to know that their struggles do not define them ... that they can be whatever they want to be.  

“Also, how exciting will it be to meet a real-life author, especially from our own hometown? She is not from New York or L.A.; she is from our sweet, little town of Warsaw. I believe her book is going to be big. I always tell her that when she becomes famous, don't forget the little people. She just smiles.”

Garcia said she hopes people can enjoy the coming of age story and enjoy some of the ideas in it like self-discovery and how important friends are.