Raquel “Destenie” Moreno, the daughter of Kyle residents Vince and Esmi Moreno, has been enjoying the experience of having seen her book, “Prophecy Quest,” the first in a planned series, published at an extremely young age. Ripple effects from the book’s publication include a recent book-signing at Kyle’s HEB Plus and an appearance on a San Antonio TV station morning program. (Photo by Jim Cullen)
by JIM CULLEN
A local middle school girl’s life took on a new chapter recently, ironically the result of writing some chapters of her own. Thirteen-year-old Raquel “Destenie” Moreno, a Wallace Middle School student and the daughter of Vince and Esmi Moreno, has been experiencing some life-changing life experiences, the result of her having completed and published her own book through the AuthorHouse publishing company.
The new title, available on Amazon, is “Prophecy Quest,” and the work stands as the first in a planned series of books. Her mother reports the second entry in the series has been completed and publication is expected in late November. Destenie’s writing on the third installment in the series is expected to be completed soon.
The Amazon description of the book refers to the character named “Destiny,” who is described as being a young girl in the 6th grade who “is about to find out the truth…about everything.” It continues, identifying the character as “the child of a prophecy, a prophecy everyone has been waiting for her line of ancestors to fulfill.”
The young author’s mom says her daughter told her about the first book when she was approximately halfway through its writing and she says, “I read the book and liked it.” Moms are supposed to like their children’s creative works, evidently others do too.
Kyle’s HEB Plus, in the middle of its drive to encourage reading, invited Destenie to a book-signing last weekend. Guest speaking engagements, including at the San Antonio Shekinah Radiance Academy, are coming her way and they’re not even the headiest of the experiences resulting from the book’s August 10 official publication. Several weeks ago she enjoyed an appearance on San Antonio’s KENS-5 morning show. Movie producer Douglas Spain took a look while at the studio and talked with her about the work as well.
“Destenie hopes that one day it might be made into a movie,” Esmi Moreno says, though her daughter’s current goal is “to attend Johns Hopkins University and pursue a degree as a pediatric surgeon.”
