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  • PATTY MILLER | THE EDMOND SUN Book illustrator Jerry Bennett, left, shows artwork included in Anna McKinley’s book for tweens, “The Pirate Bride,” which she co-wrote with her father, Ryan McKinley. The book may be purchased at Best of Books in Edmond or online at Amazon.com. PATTY MILLER

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June 23, 2010

Sixth-grader co-authors book with father

Patty Miller The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — Far-away places and fanciful characters float through the mind of 11-year-old Anna McKinley on a daily basis.

Telling stories comes second nature to Anna. She comes from a family that loves to make up tales. She shares her ideas with her mother, Shawna, her father, Ryan, and her brother, Kyle.

In fact, one such story came to her while on a hiking trip one hot July evening around Arcadia Lake with her father and her brother. That late night hike through the tick-infested forest led to the publishing of her first book, “The Pirate Bride,” co-authored by her father and illustrated by Jerry Bennett.

As they usually do, the family was sharing stories, and Anna started telling one about Rachel, a young girl who, while surfing, was kidnapped by a ship of lost pirates who cannot decide if she is their guide to safety or their doom.

“I got the idea for ‘The Pirate Bride’ from watching the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’” Anna said, “a movie I had seen a few weeks before.”  

Her father said when they returned home he took Anna’s loosely structured story and started writing it down. “I had three younger siblings,” Ryan said, “and Anna has her younger brother to draw ideas from and use in her story.”

Anna is a sixth-grader at Heritage Hall. Between times of doing homework, she and her father would work on the story of 13-year-old Rachel on vacation with her family. The story includes tales of Rachel’s parents and five younger brothers, and the antics surrounding the family trip.

Anna said she is also inspired by books she reads as well as movies. “I find the books I read have a lot of layers,” she said, “and this one is no different.”

Life lessons taught within the book include, “Don’t let other people define who you are; stand up for yourself,” and it also has a strong family message, Ryan said.

Ryan added he is hoping at this young age his daughter realizes she is in control of who she turns out to be. “We are hoping that living with this family is something that defines her and not something she wants to escape from,” her father said.

“And,” Anna said, “in the book it shows how there is no escape from responsibility, even on vacation.”

The illustrator for the book is a friend of the family as well as a contributor. Jerry Bennett and Ryan are members of Jedi OKC and during a meeting Bennett shared samples of his drawings of “Star Wars” characters.

Always interested in drawing comic book characters, Bennett said he never thought he would be illustrating a book, much less loving it.

“Ryan approached me with a unique situation, and he allowed me to be as creative as I wanted to be,” Bennett said. “I now focus all of my strengths on that (illustrating).

Her father said Anna writes a lot, and she is always working on a story. Sharing stories of the mysterious and supernatural beckon her now. “Right now I am writing a mystery book about a haunted mansion,” Anna said.

“The Pirate Bride” may be purchased at Best of Books in Edmond or Amazon.com.



pmiller@edmondsun.com |  341-2121, ext. 171

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