It hardly needs to be said that Varak Kaloustian is already accomplishing his lifelong dream of becoming a writer. The ambitious teen author published his first book, The Legend of V: The Solar System’s Prophesies, in 2015. The sequel to this thrilling science fiction series, The Legend of V, Book 2: Triangle Corruption, was recently published and ready to be presented to readers of all ages.
Varak Kaloustian
Kaloustian will host a book signing on June 3 from 1-3 p.m. at Barnes and Noble Booksellers – Bookstar in Studio City, Calif.
What first began as a school assignment became a childhood hobby of making little comic books, evolving into the creation of The Legend of V. The book’s main character, V, is Kaloustian himself. He paints V’s life as a journey to self-discovery whilst exploring the universe.
Asbarez spoke to Kaloustian about his journey into publishing his second novel. “It was certainly more planned than my first novel’s publishing, so it went by much smoother,” he said. “The actual writing was very easy, not only because I knew exactly what I wanted to write, but I also had special motivation to write this book. See, I wrote most of my second book in my sophomore year of high school, easily my worst year of high school thus far. The hatred and anger that I was forced to internalize helped me easily convey my messages in Book 2.”
Kaloustian not only writes, but is also in his junior year of high school and juggles many extracurricular activities. He has a YouTube channel on trading card games and enjoys playing video games, basketball, listening to music, and hanging out with friends. Kaloustian said he is able to balance it all with the backbone of his trustworthy team in addition to being homeschooled. “I only have half the amount of school as the average person does,” he said, adding that “In some ways, I run a business, but my team is made up entirely of volunteers (because I can’t pay them!). Those volunteers are my two loving parents, extended family, including grandparents and cousins, and my dearest and closest friends.”
The 17-year-old said he has two main goals in life: “Firstly, I want to be able to write as my full-time job. This is very difficult to accomplish for anyone, but because I’m starting my writing career at such an early stage in my life, it may be possible. Secondly, I aspire to change the world. I want to leave a lasting impact on people’s lives somehow, whether it is through writing, my other hobbies like basketball and YouTube video making, or just my day-to-day life.”
Kaloustian encourages everyone, especially youth, to be themselves. “Whatever being you entails, be it,” he says. “It will lead to the best version of you possible. Are you athletic? Are you a smart guy or gal? Are you artsy? Do you like to go to the park on Sundays? Do you like to sit home and play video games? Do you like to hang out with your friends? These questions go on indefinitely, but they essentially all ask the same thing: who are you? Whenever you look in the mirror, who and what do you see? Pursue all of the keen interests that you have with all of your heart, mind, body, and soul. Also, don’t worry so much about the future. Don’t let who you are become affected by who you want to be because how can you define a future for yourself if you can’t even define who you are?”
Below is a teaser of the Kaloustian’s recent book, The Legend of V, Book 2: Triangle Corruption:
V, the 13-year-old chosen one, has returned from his quest to quell the Unbound Evil. Now, with his newfound alien ally, Vizor, V must venture out to Hell and find Vizor’s home planet, Treah, so they can locate the Shadow Prophecies before the Devil and Vizor’s father harness their power to destroy the Earth. On this journey, V will be confronted by the most evil opponent he’s faced yet: himself!
Lori Boghigian is the assistant editor of our sister publication Asbarez, where this article was first published on May 25.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Teen Author Varak Kaloustian Debuts Second Novel