Salathiel Murphy has an important message he wants to share. Murphy, who just finished the 7th grade at Flat Rock Middle, published a book about learning to master your emotions and make friends out of would-be enemies.
Salathiel enjoys acting, gaming, and making friends. He has appeared in movies and TV series, and now he can add published writers to his resume.
His book, “Taming the Flame: A Story of Mastering Emotions,” tells the fictional story of Drake, who struggles to perfect his powers of fire. With no support system, Drake doesn’t know how to express his loneliness, and he lashes out and bullies his peer, Halo.
The story was inspired by a past experience where Salathiel made a new friend from an uneasy situation. He learned that you never know what someone’s journey is like, so it is important to walk a mile in their shoes before judging them.
“Everybody has to go through stuff,” Salathiel said. “Instead of making an enemy, make a friend.”
It was a surreal moment seeing his book in print for the first time.
“When I held the first copy, I was surprised. ‘I made this. I made my book,’” he thought. “This is going to be here for years to come. I was bedazzled by the fact that I did this.”
The first of what he hopes is many books are available for purchase through Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Target, and Amazon.
