By the age of eighteen, senior Juan Luchsinger has accomplished the arduous feat of publishing a book and so much more. Published on October 8, 2020, Zeta is a story about a girl in the eighth grade named Courtney Bohlmann who attends a school named Seacoast Academy. After retrieving a ring from the bottom of the ocean as part of a recruitment process to join a secret organization, she and her friends end up getting sidetracked by evil forces at work.
An excerpt from chapter 1 reads:
“There was nothing odd about the tower, except that it was built overnight.
The dark gray structure matched the early morning sky. The rising sun’s light reflected off its many windows. As I stared at it, the tower shimmered and faded away, revealing the empty lot that had always been there before.
My eyes widened. I scanned the lot, trying to understand what just happened, but the building had completely vanished. “
If this sounds intriguing, you can purchase the book and support your classmate on Amazon now.
“I don’t think I had any specific inspiration to write the story. Around sixth grade I wrote a short story for class and realized I like writing, so I decided to write a book,” Luchsinger said when asked about his inspiration.
He is currently planning out his second and third books, which are not going to be direct sequels to Zeta, but will feature the same characters. Beyond that, he has a list of possible adventure or horror stories.
“For college, I plan on studying aerospace engineering. So far, I’ve been accepted into Caltech, Georgia Tech, and others, and I’m mostly just waiting for decisions from MIT and Princeton at this point,” Juan responded when asked about his future plans.
He might not have illustrated Zeta, but art is definitely one of his hobbies. For art class, he has been focused on drawing mask related drawings. Here are some of his most recent drawings, including a self-portrait:
“Juan is my student, and he is very talented. He likes to draw and paint masks and faces.
His work is interesting, intriguing, and personal because he shows what he thinks and feels.” Our art teacher, Mr. Eduardo Lacayo said about Juan.
Aside from art, he spends most of his free time watching anime and Netflix shows.
“Recently I’ve been watching Attack on Titan, Jujutsu No Kaisen, and Arrested Development. I’ve also gotten interested in sword fighting and have two swords (they are made out of hard plastic) for practice. Whacking trees with swords is good stress relief,” Juan said when asked about his hobbies.
You can find more of his art on Instagram at @luxingart, and do not forget to pick up one of his books up on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KQ7BKZS.