Milan's magical moment: Young author co-writes book with friend

Eight-year-old Milan Romany, a student at St Monica's Preparatory School, has achieved a significant milestone by co-authoring her first book, "Mermaidiorn Adventures, A Quest For Gold." She collaborated on the project with her friend and fellow crafter, 11-year-old Zola Clarke. Both girls were recently celebrated as first-time authors during a ceremony at Nalis Library in Port of Spain.

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Make your magic.

Milan, accompanied by her parents Saelese Haynes and Marc Romany, described her book as a tale about two friends who enjoy making jewelry and crafts. Bored with their usual activities, they venture to Trinidad for an adventure. During their escapade, they discover a book titled "Secret Fairytales of Trinidad and Tobago." Their journey leads them to encounter various folkloric characters, including douens, Papa Bois, lagahoo, and La Diablesse, and even a trickster spider named Anansi.

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Great. My mom had a book (Success: If I Make It/Here’s How ) and I felt I wanted to do my own book, too. My friend Zola and I make craft. I like reading, writing and drawing. So I felt I could make it happen. I like the Harry Potter series.

The narrative also explores fantastical realms with unicorns and mermaids, and the girls dream of creating a vision board. The book's core message encourages readers to "Dare to explore. Reflect and Learn. Empower Each Other. Act Consistently." Milan expressed her excitement about publishing her own book, inspired by her mother's success, and shared her love for reading, writing, drawing, and the Harry Potter series. Her favorite character is the lagahoo, whom she would like to meet.

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My favourite character was the lagahoo. I would even like to meet one.

Milan's mother, Saelese Haynes, expressed pride in her daughter's accomplishment, noting Milan's interest in reading "Dork Diaries" and her desire to create her own book after her mother's launch. Milan's father, Marc Romany, a mathematics teacher, added that Milan enjoys drawing characters and is glad she has reached this point. Zola's mother, Thenicia Alexis, also shared her pride, describing Zola as a "busy body" who has always wanted to do everything. Zola, who is homeschooled, enjoys art, ballet, dining out, and spending time with friends. She is also described as a "water baby" who loves the pool and the beach. Zola aspires to become a marine biologist.

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No. I don’t want you to ever meet a real life lagahoo. I’m proud of her. She’s reading Dork Diaries. When I launched my book, she felt she could do one, too.