Choosing the title for my book wasn’t the hardest part of the writing and publishing journey, but it was an interesting experience. When I first started writing, I didn’t have a clear title in mind. I simply had ideas and a vision for the story.

Then, out of nowhere, the title "The Last Ones" came to me. I remember thinking that I had never seen a book with that title before, and it felt fresh and original. It resonated with the themes I was exploring in the story, without giving too much away. The title captured something important, yet still left room for mystery.

It was one of those moments when the right words just pop into your head unexpectedly. "The Last Ones" felt like the perfect fit, and from that moment, it just stuck. It wasn’t something I had planned; it was more like the title found me when I least expected it.

The journey to write The Last Ones began on March 17, 2022, when the idea first came to me. At the time, I was a junior in high school, and my junior year was one of the busiest and most stressful periods of my life. With everything going on around me, writing, planning, and editing The Last Ones became a relief—it was something I could do on my own, without relying on others.

From March to April 2022, I spent a lot of time jotting down ideas for the story on random pieces of paper I’d grab in classrooms or at the school library. Sometimes, an idea would come to me out of nowhere, and I’d quickly write it down. I didn’t tell anyone I was working on a book because I wanted it to be a surprise when the time came.

Then, from April to May 2022, I began writing the actual book. The first draft wasn’t difficult for me because of how much passion and dedication I had for the story. It was my first time writing a book, and I was excited to finally put my ideas down. I was eager to get everything out of my head and onto paper.

From June to July 2022, I worked on the second draft, and from July to August, I focused on the third draft. I didn’t take long breaks between drafts because I was so immersed in the story—I couldn’t wait to see it come together. Writing became something I was deeply invested in, and I wanted to get all my ideas down as quickly as possible. While it was a lot of work, the excitement of seeing the story take shape kept me going.

I designed the cover of The Last Ones myself. There were two initial cover designs that I considered, but I ultimately decided to create the cover on my own because I wanted it to reflect my vision for the story.

The design features a black background, which represents mystery, danger, and darkness—the unknown elements of the story. The red flowers on the cover symbolize innocence, purity, and the beauty of the main characters at the beginning of the story. As the plot unfolds, the image of blood dripping from the red rose represents how that innocence and purity begin to fade. The blood symbolizes the loss of that innocence as the characters face the harsh realities of their journey throughout the book.

Honestly, everything! The Last Ones is the very first book I’ve ever written, so I didn’t have much experience with writing or, especially, editing. The entire process—from writing the story to editing the final draft—was a challenge, but in some ways, I also enjoyed it because I was in control of where the story was going.

If I had to pick the most difficult part, it would definitely be the editing. I had to go back and fix a lot of mistakes, which often made me doubt myself and my work. There were many times I questioned whether I could—or should—keep pushing forward with the book. But eventually, the book was published, and I have no regrets about the story or the journey it took to get there.