Author Andrea Cremer paid a visit to OHS on Monday, Jan. 23. Cremer is a young adult fantasy author who is best known for her New York Times Best Selling “Nightshade” series, which debuted in 2010.

Cremer began writing after crushing her right foot one summer. She drew inspiration from her childhood in rural Wisconsin. As a child, she, along with her brother and best friend, used to create imaginary worlds in the forests. When she combined this with her knowledge of fantasy and early modern history, which she has a phD in, Cremer was on her way to creating her first novel.

“It was like flipping a switch inside me,” Cremer said. “I had never loved anything more than creating this world and the characters.”

“Nightshade” tells the story of Calla Tor, a teenage girl who discovers she is a werewolf.  Contrary to popular images of werewolves, those in Cremer’s novel are actually more like gray wolves, rather than monstrous werewolves and it is considered “a gift to have the power of transformation.” Despite the current popularity of vampires and werewolves in young adult fiction, Cremer does not let this phase her.

“I don’t see it as a current cultural obsession. To me, it’s always been there, it just depends on how much attention the media gives it,” Cremer said.

In addition to discussing the content of the novels, Cremer gave students a crash course in what it is like to have a career as an author. She said that it is unpredictable and relies on passion. Her talk even inspired some young writers at OHS.

“It was pretty interesting,” Caitlin Kennedy (11), a student in Mrs. Dyann Menzel’s creative writing class, said. “As an aspiring author myself, it was nice to see that someone young and fresh can be successful.”