Spurred by her love of reading and writing, Tailei Richards has managed to achieve one of her biggest goals at the young age of 12 – to become a published author.
Tailei, who is in Grade 5 at Lilyfontein Primary School, recently published her book called Finding Home, which tells the story of an orphan named Lila who has her mind set on finding her family.
When things get tough at the orphanage, Lila’s faith is tested and she must rely on God to calm the worries in her heart.
“When I was in Grade 4 my teacher discovered that I had a gift for writing.
“My classmates started giving me ideas for short stories that my teacher would read to us all once I had written them.
“One of these ideas was ‘A story of an orphan’. That is how Lila, the orphan in my book, came to be. I got so involved in this particular story that before I knew it, I had written much more than a short story.
“Before we knew it the idea of turning my story into a book was born,” said Tailei.
With the help of her grandmother, who taught her some skills in digital art, Richards was able to create the illustrations for the book herself.
Tailei said Karen Kingsbury was among her favourite authors.
But her biggest support system throughout her journey had been her teacher and her family.
“I got a lot of encouragement to keep writing from my Grade 4 teacher. My parents and siblings also supported me and helped edit it along the way.
“I want people to be inspired by my book. I want them to know that anything is possible with God and that he cares more than anyone and that because of him there is hope in Jesus,” said Tailei.
Publishing Finding Home signified the beginning of a long journey for her as an author, she said.
“My goal is to publish and write as many books as possible in the future,” Tailei said.
