“I am 15, but I was just a 9-year-old fourth grader when my love for writing blossomed,” says Leena Althekair, a Saudi girl who just published her own novel written in English, ‘Foreshadow: Trapped in Her Own Mind’.

The book, which is currently available at Virgin stores around the Kingdom, as well as online on Amazon as a paperback or an e-book, is about a high school freshman, Meghan, who has to face everyday school life dilemmas - such as a bitter teacher and classic mean girls - until a nearly lethal lab accident changes her new year completely.

The novel, which has so far sold almost 200 copies, with even a couple orders from the US and Europe, delves into some of the author’s very own emotional experiences as a teen.

“I wrote what I wish I had been able to read back when I was a middle grader, so the book has many motivational and tons of relatable moments throughout,” Althekair says.

In a review of the book, Peggy M McAloon - an author and public speaker who mostly writes fantasy books for kids and young adults - describes Althekair’s work saying “the author has delivered a sensitive portrayal of the average teen which highlights the love, compassion, friendship, and courage it takes for our children to make it through the challenges they face every day.”

Althekair is currently a sophomore in Manarat Jeddah International School. Although she is still indecisive about what she wants to study next, she hopes to someday major in Computer Sciences.

Her trip to becoming, probably, the youngest English book author in the region was not exactly planned like this.

“I never really planned to publish a book until after I graduated college, perhaps wait until I turned 22,” Althekair says.

Her parents encouraged her and convinced her to go ahead and write a book, even promising to publish her book themselves.

“I couldn’t be more grateful to have them as parents,” she adds.

While she decided to write her first book in English, being one of the most spoken languages worldwide, in addition to a language that she finds herself comfortable in using, she still plans to write a novel in Arabic sometime in the near future. Her novel is considered a variant of young adult fiction,

“Not until I began with ‘Foreshadow’ did I realise I was really into Science Fiction.”

Currently caught up with studies, Althekair has not been able to write as much lately. Struggling with her homework and school projects she needs to turn in, as well as a sister to babysit, she barely writes during weekdays. Most of her writing is done on the weekend, specifically on Saturday evenings.

“I can’t live without writing, so I always try to fit it in,” she explains.

School work, however, is not the only challenge she has to deal with; writer’s block was another major obstacle. Even as the book approached completion, it was still tough for her to find a publisher, before the family settled with self-publishing, because companies weren’t that confident in a 15-year-old’s debut novel.

Althekair is determined to continue writing, and “sending her message out to the world”. She concludes saying, “I want to add a piece of advice for whoever may be reading; you are never too young or too old to chase your dreams.”