A Delaware teenager recently published her first novel and is already working on a follow-up book.

Anna Carroll is a junior at Delaware Christian School and is the author of “Eighteen and a Half,” a dystopian young adult fantasy novel that was released in June.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve loved coming up with stories and writing,” Carroll said. “Looking back now, it’s clearly the foundation for all this … (A) desire to put a piece of myself out there and leave a mark on the world.”

Carroll said she started writing the novel last October, and the plot centers around a dystopian society where people are divided by their eye color and forced to move to assigned regions. She said the story follows protagonist Bentley Aldridge as she attempts to “fight against the system” as she turns 18 and-a half-years old, and the book contains mysteries and themes Carroll hopes readers engage with.

“I’ve always liked writing weird stories, and I’ve always liked dystopian (fiction),” she said. “The thing with eye color, I just found that kind of stuff interesting. In writing, one of my goals was wanting the reader to think through some philosophical concepts found throughout the novel. I wanted to let readers know there’s more than entertainment in reading the book, and I wanted them to think through certain things.”

Carroll self-published the book on Amazon under the pen name “A. E. Carroll” on June 18, and she started writing a follow-up a week and-a-half later.

“I’ve already started on the next one,” Carroll said. “I fell in love with the story and can’t get enough. … I definitely learned a lot (writing the first one.) It was difficult. I didn’t have a professional editor, so I edited my own novel but eventually we figured it out. Next time, I’ll definitely do certain things differently.”

Carroll said the feedback on the book has mostly come from friends and family but has been positive so far.

“They seemed to enjoy it, which is encouraging for me,” she said. “(It feels) a lot different than I expected to feel. It’s nerve-wracking to know people are reading your writing and you know going into it that they have some sort of expectation. It’s a lot of pressure but it’s gotten better.”

Carroll said she’s “fond of the idea of gaining a voice” through the book.

“(I like the idea of) being in the position to influence others, no matter how small the community is,” Carroll said. “It’s a beautiful realization, and I hope that through me others will see a reflect of the reason why I’m doing this in the first place, which is to glorify my savior, Jesus Christ.”

The book is available on Amazon.

Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.