Brittany Kelley
KYLE — A midnight realization led Kyle local Rowan Fiscal to achieving her lifelong dream of publishing a novel.
For Fiscal, writing has always occurred naturally, as from a young age, she was creating her own stories, which often mimicked the ones that she was enjoying at the time, such as “Junie B. Jones.” This continued and evolved from shorter, illustrated books, to full-length stories in middle school.
She explained that her love of writing never lapsed throughout the years. Despite this, Fiscal had not published any of her hundreds of pieces until one random night, when she had the startling realization that she would die one day.
“I turned 30 and I was like, ‘Oh, wow. This is a new decade and I still have not published anything. I’ve written all these stories and nothing.' So, after that, I was just like, ‘I really have to buckle down.’ And my husband encouraged me [to],” said Fiscal, leading to the publication of her first novella, “Nocturne: The Nocturnal Plague,” in December 2024.
The idea was inspired by her husband, who never dreams, Fiscal shared. As someone who constantly has nightmares, the author said that she wondered what a sickness that would infect individuals with nightmares would look like.
Because horror is one of her favorite genres, Fiscal stated that it was nerve-wracking, but exciting to put her story out into the world.
Following this was a poetry collection, filled with writings throughout her life, titled “Kiss Me With Death & Call It Love: A Poetry Collection.”
Despite wanting to continue the Nocturne series, Fiscal shifted gears toward her most recent release, “The Stars Led Me To You,” for her grandmother.
“My grandma, who I call my granny, she loves to read and has always supported my dream of being an author. We’re super close and so, she was like, ‘I really want to read your books, but I’m terrified.’ So, she [didn’t] read my book, but she did buy it. And I was like, ‘Oh, well, I want you to read a book. So, I guess I’ll start a romance series,’” Fiscal said.
Having no idea where to begin, she turned to the romance books that she has enjoyed in the past, including Jenny Han’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight.”
The inspiration for “The Stars Led Me To You,” which was released April 21, 2025, was Fiscal’s love of love and the power it holds. The author explained that she wanted to explore this power and discover if it would really transcend time.
“It follows Clara, a girl who moves near Seladora Isle, which is rumored to be magical, and she’s determined to finally take a chance on love when she meets Uli on the beach. Their instant connection feels like more than a coincidence, especially after they discover clues linking them to a local legend about soulmates destined to reunite,” said Fiscal. “But as summer fades, real life struggles test their bond and Clara finds herself torn between Uli, who feels like fate, and Locke, her best friend, who feels like home.”
Not only was she navigating a new genre, Fiscal continued, but also a new writing style, as she had to exchange her instincts of breakneck, third-person point-of-views for first-person, in-the-moment sequences: “It was a process, for sure, but it was so much fun. [There were] so many late nights staying up; that’s when I write. I write late nights, in the car picking up the kids [and] I replaced TikTok with writing.”
Despite being a young adult novel, the characters and story cover heavier topics in a world in which Fiscal hopes readers feel immersed.
Fiscal grew to love the characters through the long process and discovered that their story wasn’t over; therefore, she is currently working on the second of the trilogy, “The Stars Led Me To Us.”
The author reflected on the moment that she first held the book in her hands, stating that it felt surreal: “It feels like anything is possible. I really wanted my kids to see that your dreams can come true as long as you stick with it and work hard.”
Additionally, she shared that the hard work was worth it, as her grandmother was finally able to read her book and was brought to tears by the story.
“My advice [to anyone that wants to be an author] would be to just write. There’s never a perfect moment; there’s never a perfect time in your life. A lot of times you postpone things or wait, but if that is your dream, just write. Write amidst the chaos, replace your doom scroll and even if it’s not perfect on paper, you can always edit it later. Just write the story,” Fiscal emphasized.
Currently, the author is preparing for a book signing at 1 p.m. Nov. 8 at Barnes & Noble, located at 18030 Highway 281 North, Suite 140, San Antonio.
Fiscal’s romantasy — romance and fantasy — debut, “The Stars Led Me To You,” can be purchased online on Amazon or at retailers by request. Additionally, it is available as an e-book through the Kyle Public Library. For more information on Fiscal, visit bit.ly/48Kk1oa.
