When the burdens of life weigh your shoulders down, you need something to rely on. When the clouds of despair loom over you, blocking every ray of hope, you need a hero. We all need a hero sometimes, and we search. We look around, yearning to be saved. But what if you were told that the hero you are searching diligently for was closer than you think?

A hero in her own right, author K.I. Price soars through the genre of fantasy fiction, penning down a story that rejuvenates the ray of hope for every reader that the hero is nowhere else but within them.

Chosen: The Path of Heroes is the first installment in her exhilarating fantasy fiction adventure. In the book, the protagonist, Tauzuri Jones, a thirteen-year-old bullied and left out, feels alone and detached in life until he discovers the powers that were dormant within him all along.

Zuri is then entrusted with defeating a universal threat named the Overlord.

The book tells you the one thing you need to hear: you can do anything you set your mind to. This was the origin of an unlikely hero, Tauzuri Jones, but what about the heroine who has devised the emphatic story herself?

Today, we’ll be delving into the origins of K.I. Price.

Origin Story

K.I. Price showed her gift and knack for storytelling early on in her childhood when she wrote short stories, painting her thoughts on little canvases, which were collected by her mother, who saw her potential before even her. All that our author knew was that writing was something that she really loved to do. She’d sit with her late grandmother as she read the newspaper and wonder, filling her mind with ideas. However, it wasn’t until high school that the notion of pursuing writing as a profession dawned upon her.

Price actually based Tauzuri’s high school off hers, Kirkwood High School. The name McCallie High was inspired by her principal, Franklin McCallie. This helps picture a young Price in place of Zuri, walking around the neighborhood with her books, polishing her craft.

Now that is one idea for a spin-off!

Where most kids would be ticked off by the idea of writing a 2-page creative writing essay, Price was that one exception that would effortlessly fill out 6 pages of extraordinary storytelling, leaving her teachers astonished.

Before showcasing her book series Chosen to the world, Price would prefer her work to be hidden, working behind the scenes. However, in this one instance, her teacher liked her work so much that he read her short story to the class. Price hid behind her desk while her teacher recited the story of Montana Tom with zeal.

The story revolved around a Native American character. From the first scene in the story, Price lured her audience and painted a vivid depiction of a nighttime chase. By the end, she was met with praise and applause from the students. Through the whistles and the claps, Price found her calling. The positive response was overwhelming, and the only sentence she could muster was, “so you guys liked it?”

The feeling was exhilarating to Price. After everyone left, she was requested to stay back by her teacher, who suggested she pursue writing seriously. Even though she never finished the story of Montana Tom, Price was destined to become a writer from that day.

K.I. Price,

Price’s Mission

Price inspires all those who are keeping their talents hidden so that they, too, can make a difference by bringing people joy and encouraging them in the long run. For all the K.I. Prices reading this, keeping their talents for writing hidden, our author has only one piece of advice – just do it!

We aspire to be successful in life and have our work praised by the world, but we give in to the voices in our heads telling us we can’t do it. We overthink, talking our way out of doing what we’re so good at. She encourages upcoming writers to be persistent and believe in themselves, for you never know when you might get your big break. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time. You can only reach that point through hard work and dedication. A good idea goes a long way. You may doubt yourself, thinking you’re too different from everyone else, but your uniqueness will set you and your writing apart from the world.

Ultimately, you should always write for yourself, not always for the world. Some naysayers will criticize your work. But it is all about resilience and an undying belief in yourself that will help you through.

And that is the mark of a true hero.

Grab your copy of Chosen: The Path of Heroes today!

Written in partnership with Vishnu Chaudhari

Members of the editorial and news staff of Life & Style were not involved in the creation of this content.