Utica High School alumni are achieving all sorts of different things post-high school. Recently, author Amy Deskins published her first children’s book, “Payday the Pony”. You can find her book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or from Deskins directly at [email protected].

What was your favorite class in high school? Why?

“My favorite class throughout high school was always Newspaper. We had the most dynamic, caring, and hard-working advisor who really got the best work out of all of us. A large number of us opted to forgo the classic “lunch hour” in order to eat/work in the newspaper room.”

Who was your favorite teacher in high school? Why?

“Hands-down my favorite teacher in high school was Mrs. Olman, the Newspaper Advisor. She spent so much time with the Newspaper staff, making sure that every piece published was the student’s best. She was always going above and beyond to support her staff.”

What is your best memory of UHS?

“There were so many great memories; senior year really stands out, because I had some really great friends who I am still close to today, even though we are all spread throughout the country. ”

What did you do post-UHS?

“After graduation, I began my college career at Northern Michigan University, then transferred to Macomb Community College, where I obtained my Associate’s Degree. Next, I attended Oakland University where I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in English. After working for awhile, I decided to go back to school in 2012, and I obtained my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.”

Did you work any jobs during/after high school?

“My work resume includes a little bit of everything. In high school, I had my own tutoring business, where I would tutor elementary school kids. Sophomore and junior year, I worked for PetsMart. Right out of high school, I had a summer job working at Stony Creek. Over the years, I found myself working in many different capacities, at many different jobs, but what has stuck with me over the years has been horses. I have been teaching horseback riding lessons for close to 20 years. I also found my niche about 6 years ago, working for a funeral home. I am a very good example of how the usual “high school-college-job-retire” narrative doesn’t work for everyone! You can be successful on your own terms.”

What made you want to go into writing books?

“I have always had a huge love for writing. I have been writing stories for as long as I can remember. I had always thought that publishing a book would be the ultimate accomplishment, but now that I have achieved that goal, I am in the middle of writing another story to follow my first book.”

Why did you choose writing children’s books over writing books for teens or adults?

“I’ve written a little bit of everything, but writing for children seemed to be what really clicked. It might be because my (now 7 year old) daughter was watching me throughout the process of writing and illustrating my book. She even wrote and illustrated her own book while I was we working on mine.”

What’s the name of your book? What’s it about?

“My book is called Payday the Pony, and it is about a pony who is trying to find his place in the world. It is based off of my own pony’s life.”

Do you have any plans for upcoming books?

“I am currently writing the sequel, but I also have a few projects started that I would like to jump into.”

How exactly did you get your book published? What process did you have to go through?

“I published through Ourskirts Press, which is an independent publisher, so I am still able to keep all of the rights to my work. A lot of work with the publisher involved getting getting the illustrations and the layout together the way I had envisioned it. It made me think of how we used to put the newspaper together at Utica.”

What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

“The advice I would give to aspiring authors would be to just keep writing, even if nobody is going to see it. Write for yourself; who cares! One thing I really liked about one of my English teachers at UHS was that she made us do what she called “Unshareds” every Friday. She would set a timer, and tell us to start writing. These writings were not to be shared with anyone, so they were literally, “unshared.” It was a nice way to work through your thoughts or problems, without having any judgment from your peers. Although, I have to admit that sometimes I just wrote the word “unshared” over and over when I didn’t have anything to say at the time.”

Where do you see yourself in five years?

“In 5 years, I will (hopefully) still be writing, for books and for fun. I would like to have my trilogy of Payday the Pony books completed by then, as well. Maybe I will be working on a brand new idea, you never know. The possibilities are endless!”

How did your time at UHS impact your life?

“The teachers are really the ones that make a school experience memorable and have an impact on the students. I still keep up with a few of my UHS teachers on social media. It’s so great to have these relationships live on. When I was in high school, I never would have thought that some of my teachers would still be in my life 20 years later.”