At just nine years old, St. Thomas resident Xavien Hill can already add “published author” to his list of accomplishments.
The Locke’s Public School student recently released his first book, Brave Waves: Choosing Faith Over Fear, a children’s story that encourages young readers to face their fears and embrace new adventures with faith and courage.
The story follows a young boy whose excitement for a beach trip is interrupted by rainy weather. After learning to make the most of a day at home, he eventually reaches the beach, where he must overcome his fear of entering the water. Encouraged by his mother’s reminder that God is always with him, the boy discovers that facing fears can lead to unforgettable experiences.
Values that the young author leans on every day.
For Xavien, the inspiration to write came from his love of reading and the stories he’s enjoyed over the years. While writing the book was a rewarding experience, he says helping create the illustrations was one of his favourite parts of the process.
His mom, Erika Hill, explains that through the use of the image-generation software, Xavien worked closely with her to bring his vision for the book to life.
The book quickly found an audience, reaching Amazon’s #1 Best Seller status shortly after its launch and selling more than 75 copies in its first few days. Erika says watching her son’s dream become reality has been an inspiring experience for the entire family.
Xavien’s classmates at Locke’s have also been impressed by his achievement.
While Xavien has been creating stories for years, Erika shared that he’s become especially serious about writing over the past year, often filling pages with his endless ideas.
Although he hasn’t started work on a second book just yet, Xavien says he hopes to write another story in the future.
For now, he’s enjoying the success of Brave Waves: Choosing Faith Over Fear and encouraging other young people to pursue their own writing dreams.
The book is currently available for purchase through Amazon.
Written by: Kennedy Freeman
