About the Author 

Kaden Arnold is a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was born in Utah and most recently lived in Arizona. He enjoys riding dirt bikes, exploring nature, playing the piano, solving complex problems, tackling crazy goals, and making people happy. In the future, he plans to serve as an officer in the United States Air Force.

Kaden Arnold bio picture

My Story

Path to Publication

December 2016

It Begins

I wrote down my first ideas for the novel. Only a few pieces of the initial plan survived into the final book.

August 2017 – June 2018

Passion Project

I wrote a short story where I first invented the villain Keith Mozem, and then I wrote the first draft of the book for an English class passion project.

June 2018 – October 2019

First Revisions

I went through several revisions of the manuscript, fixing plot holes and improving characters.

October 2019 – June 2020

Beta Readers

I made major revisions to the manuscript through the advice of beta readers, most notably Jennifer Hancock. Among other changes, in this stage, the population of Dare’s base grew to include the army instead of just Dare, the teens, and a butler.

June 2020 – July 2021

Starting Over

I began working with Eschler Editing, and Noelle Ihli performed a developmental edit of my book. The feedback: the book had serious potential, but I needed to essentially perform open heart surgery to take it where it needed to be. I spent a year rewriting the novel nearly from scratch, downsizing the group of teens from five to the three present in the final version – Alex, Hope, and Jace – and reworking the entire plot structure.

July 2021 – August 2021

Success at Last

I finished the rewrite and sent in my new manuscript for another developmental edit. This time, I finally succeeded – my editor was impressed and only recommended a few superficial adjustments.

September 2021 – October 2021

Copyedit

Michele Preisendorf from Eschler Editing performed a copyedit of my book, and I began the first publishing steps.

December 2021 – March 2022

Nearly There

Angela Jepperson led the effort to make the book cover, which was designed by MiblArt. Michele Preisendorf led the creation of the book’s interior design. I formed Ad Finem Publishing, LLC, bought a PO box, and opened a business bank account.

April 2022

Finished

Finally, my book was published on April 23, 2022.