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PAGE 6A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JANUARY 7. 2016
Jackson Leake talks writing, the arts and late night snacking
PHS junior Jackson Leake feels at home in the arts. Leake
has recently completed writing Room 22, a fantastical mys
tery centering around a teenage boy named Dylan, who has
survived in the mental hospital Creedmoore for longer than
any of the other residents. As more people disappear, others
come to take their place, which leads to the introduction of
characters Hunter and Scarlett. Information about where
you can purchase his book is located at the end of the article.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Jackson Leake is a 16-year-old
Pickens High School student
whose book Room 22, the first in
a three-part series called the En-
spirit Trilogy, will be available in
paperback on January’ 23
through Amazon. Leake is also
heavily involved in arts pro
grams at the high school, includ
ing theatre and chorus. His
parents are Amy and Chris
Leake.
Where did you get inspiration
for the Enspirit Trilogy?
I originally wrote Room 22 as a
short story back in 9th grade, and
in the summer between 10th and
11th grade, I decided to turn it
into a book. It wasn't until I was
halfway through the book that I
considered making it into a tril
ogy.
The trilogy is categorized as sci
ence fiction/fantasy. Is this your
favorite genre?
Young Adult/Teen fantasy is def
initely my favorite genre. I love
the action involved and the idea
of people that have these gifts or
powers.
What can you tell us about the
first book in the series, Room
22?
I will try not to give any spoilers.
The first book in the Enspirit
Trilogy, Room 22, is centered
around a teenager named Dylan,
who lives in the mental hospital
Creedmoore. It's a book that in
volves lots of action and mystery,
but also tells the story of a boy
who is just trying to deal with all
of the crazy things happening
around him. The ending is a per
fect set up for the second book,
Room 15, and I'm sure there will
be lots of anticipation for its ar
rival.
Are the other two books com
plete? When will they be re
leased?
wrote their own and submitted it,
and everyone received two
copies of their work. I didn't win
any awards with my short story
and it never amounted to much,
but it did make me think about
the prospect of writing longer
works and maybe getting noticed
for them.
When and where is your fa
vorite place to write?
My favorite time to write is
whenever I have an idea, and my
favorite place to write is wher
ever I have that idea. It's usually
on my bed with my laptop late in
the evening, but I've written in
the car, and even at my summer
job as a pool monitor.
idea. I would like to be involved
in Fine Arts, or in
television/movies in some form,
but anything is fair game at this
point. I'll just decide when I get
there.
What are your plans right out of
high school? Is college in your
future?
I am currently Dual Enrolling at
Reinhardt, and I am considering
whether I will continue there
after I graduate or not. I plan to
move on and do bigger things,
and I eventually want to wind up
in New York City for grad
school.
Who are your favorite authors?
ously have plenty of hobbies,
but do you spend a lot of time
watching television or playing
video games? What do you
enjoy watching/playing?
I'm currently watching Marvel's
Jessica Jones, but really any
show like that is right up my
alley. Arrow, Doctor Who, The
Flash, Lost, Teen Wolf, and The
100 are all on my list of shows I
suggest to everyone. I occasion
ally play Minecraft.
Tell us your guilty pleasures.
I like to eat snacks late at night,
if that counts.
If you were on death row, what
would you choose as your last
meal and why?
I'm incredibly indecisive, so
maybe I will never be on death
row so that I don't have to make
that decision.
Who are your heroes?
I don't want to make anyone
upset or jealous by naming spe
cific people, so I’ll just stick with
my celebrity hero. Holland
Roden. She went to the Univer
sity of California for molecular
biology, but decided she wanted
to pursue her love for acting. She
switched her major to women's
studies, and while she was on set,
did her homework in between
shots and eventually received her
degree from UCLA while acting
full-time in the process. I truly
admire her for that.
Book 22 is available for PreOrder
on Kindle for $4.99. It will also
be available on iBooks, Nook,
and all other leading eBook
providers, and will be available
in paperback for $11.95 on Jan
uary 23rd on Amazon and
through Createspace (Amazon's
self-publishing service Leake
used to publish his book), and at
Jasper Drug Store and Salon 84.
Visit www.Room22.com after
the January 23 publishing date to
learn more.
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The other two books have not
been completed. I'm hoping for a
release date around July for
Room 15, but it's not set in stone.
It just depends on how long it
takes me to finish it.
In eighth grade you wrote a
book that your teacher pub
lished and gave to your entire
class. What was the book about?
How did this impact you as a
writer?
Well, it was more of a short story
than an actual book. Everyone
You are also very involved in
theatre and chorus. Why are the
arts important to you?
I'm a very creative person, and I
love expressing myself and my
ideas through this form. Whether
it's writing a skit, acting, direct
ing, or singing, I love to be in
volved in the Fine Arts, as it's
where I truly feel like I belong.
What do you want to do for a
living?
This is a question I get asked a
lot, and quite frankly, I have no
As of right now, Tahereh Mafi is
definitely my favorite author. I
love her writing style, and I wish
I could read more books like that.
I've also always loved Michael
Grant and all of his works.
What do you do for fun ?
I usually just watch Netflix, and
maybe write if I feel like it.
Sometimes I even come out of
my room and get cereal, which is
always exciting.
Kids are criticized these days for
too much screen time. You obvi-
Nelson council starts new year
New Nelson council Re-elected
member David Hamby. Michael Haviland
Re-elected
Tina Monaghan
By Ralph O. Dennis
Contributing writer
New Nelson council mem
ber David Hamby took his oath
of office and his seat on the
Nelson City Council on Janu
ary 4, 2016. Mr. Hamby is a
lifelong resident ofNelson and
hopes to be able to contribute
to the council. Also renewing
their oaths were council mem
bers Tina Monaghan and
Michael Haviland.
Council member Jackie Jar-
rett was reelected to serve as
Mayor Pro-tem. The council at
first had a hard time deciding
whether to approve the agenda
for the evening. After some
discussion, it was approved
and the meeting continued.
Mayor Larry Ray introduced
new employees Miranda Mc
Dowell, City Clerk, and Brandi
Strawn, Clerk of the Court, to
the citizens present.
The report submitted by Po
lice Chief Mark Riehl was
brief. He reported that he and
Officer John Wilson would at
tend various training sessions
over the next few months to
maintain their certifications
and to become certified on
radar and the tag reader. Offi
cer Wilson will also attend a
class to learn about the Depart
ment of Defense programs for
obtaining equipment and ma
terials. The chief hopes to have
the department certification
process completed in April and
the department being a Certi
fied Law Enforcement Agency.
Mayor Larry Ray gave his
report on the activities in the
city over the last few months
and last year. He cited that the
road crack sealing is ongoing
but not complete. He men
tioned work around the city
such as drainage, the baseball
fields, the community center
and the roadwork.
Mayor Ray once again
asked the council to purchase a
crack sealing machine at the
cost of $1,400. He again cited
that with this machine and the
one borrowed from the city of
Jasper the two maintenance
men could get twice as much
done. He told the council that
they needed to purchase an
other pallet of the sealing ma
terials at a cost of $2,112. After
much discussion as to what ac
count the money should come
from and the fact that the coun
cil had put a freeze on spend
ing until the audit has been
returned. Council member
Thad Thacker made the motion
to purchase the equipment but
the motion died for a lack of a
second. The council will now
wait until after the audit for the
purchase.
The council will hold a spe
cial meeting/work session on
January 21 at 7 p.m. The spe
cial session is to receive the
audit. Then the council will go
into a work session to prepare
for the February meeting.
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