Filed away are 250 reasons Michelle Izmaylov's dreams of becoming a nationally published author should never have happened.

They are the rejection letters from agents (not even counting the publishers) who refused to even consider her book, Dream Saver, which she wrote at age 14, buoyed by the confidence she acquired writing her first self-published book at 11.

"It was crazy," says Izmaylov, 18, a senior at Alpharetta High School, recalling the days when every mail delivery brought more form-letter rejections.

But in her hands today is a symbol of her determination. It is an advance copy of what is now her third published book – the first of a three-part trilogy that will hit shelves in January 2009.

The Galacteran Legacy (Book One): Galaxy Watch is essentially a re-write of the book she first wrote at age 11; a gift to her little sister who could not muster her way through the Harry Potter books.

"[My sister] was only five and she tried to read the books but the vocabulary was too hard," recalls Izmaylov. "She was upset and I didn't want to see her so sad. So I wrote the book for her – a fantasy story she would like."

And that's how this story begins, with a series of short stories for her sister, Nicole, which by no coincidence is also the name of the main character, Nicole Sky, in Michelle's first book, "The Pocket Watch" (and who continues in the trilogy series.)

The story centers on Nicole and her efforts to save the Earth after she finds a golden pocket watch which transports her to an alien planet.

The book was self-published through a site Izmaylov found on the Internet and sold 300 copies. Three years later she was looking to publish Dream Saver, but found the doors closed to her efforts. Undaunted despite a year of rejection, Izmaylov entered a contest through Mercury Publishing, ultimately winning the nationwide contest for a short story she submitted. She asked the publishers to take a look at Dream Saver.

"I just e-mailed the company [telling them] I had won their contest, and by the way I have this novel I wrote," she said, with her characteristic confidence. "They read the first couple of chapters, liked it, and that's how it was published."

Dream Saver, which Izmaylov describes as "realistic fiction" loosely based on her life (but still within the fantasy genre), sold almost 50,000 copies. Shortly after, she contracted with the publisher for a trilogy, beginning with Galaxy Watch, a re-working of her first book. The other two parts will be released over the next two to three years.

In some ways Michelle is a typical suburban teenager – albeit a very high performing one. She modestly admits she maintains straight A's, takes a string of AP classes, hangs out with friends and reverts to the vernacular of teenage girls on occasion. But she also has a foundation rooted firmly in the culture of her parents, Alex and Regina, who emigrated from Ukraine in 1990 to California shortly before Michelle was born. Every aspect of Michelle's life has basis in her parent's culture, from language (only Russian is spoken at home) to where she will attend school (Izmaylov will attend Emory University and commute from home) to business (her father negotiates her publishing contracts and Michelle will have access to her finances when she turns 21).

But far from confining, Izmaylov revels in the closeness of her family ("we are very, very close," she says), much preferring the company of her parents and sister than whatever can be found outside. She does recall one incident where the clash of cultures was evident. On the first day of kindergarten, Izmaylov recalls sitting in class completely unaware of what the teacher was saying and perplexed the other kids could understand.

"I had never learned English!" she recalls with a laugh. But her parents did not want her "babied" in classes for non-English speakers, and opted for the total immersion program. It worked out; Izmaylov was fluent in English within a month, she remembers.

For now, she spends much of her free time working on the second book in the trilogy and enjoying her last year of high school before college beckons. Unlike many authors, Izmaylov does not know how the trilogy will end. Having no clear ending in mind, she prefers the characters decide what happens.

"I had the idea of the first book [in the trilogy] since it is based on the idea in the book I wrote when I was 11, but I'm letting the characters tell me where they want to go [from here]," said Izmaylov. "They tell me 'take this turn, look at this plot idea,' so sometimes I feel my characters are doing the writing for me!"

-Candy Waylock
Northside Woman