Ivan Gomez is a current Magnet senior at Morris Hills, and this year he completed his GT project on writing a novel entitled, “Journey.” His novel is set in the eighteenth century in Great Britain. Johnathan Baker Tarragon, the protagonist in the story, is a father to four children and married to a loving wife who runs a bustling merchant enterprise. He also holds the title of the Duke of Wessex. Once upon a time he was a young British Lord who disobeyed his grandfather to fight in the American Civil War. A couple years after that event, he’s back in Britain as commander of the British Army. Remnants of the recognized Confederacy wash up on his doorstep, and a harrowing journey of intrigue and learning begins. A plot to overthrow the Monarchy. Self-Discovery. Love. Themes of democracy clash with socialism, and everything normal is called into question. And even after nearly 30 years? It’s still not over. As one can see, Ivan’s book is intriguing from a fictional perspective but is also enriched in the history of America and Great Britain. The experience of writing such a powerful novel was new and exciting for Ivan but could not have been possible without the help of his advisor, Mrs. Edelstein.

Mrs. Edelstein was Ivan’s English teacher for grades 10 and 11, teaching him many writing styles and techniques, driving his passion for writing his own stories. Ivan commented, “I chose Mrs. Edelstein as my advisor as she has always been a mentor to me and has always pushed me in my writing. She is very knowledgeable concerning the writing process and even when she didn’t have all of the answers she still helped me as much as she could.” Ms. Edelstein shares a similar sentiment as she remembers Ivan was very open to constructive criticism, which is a crucial part to being a writer. She not only helped Ivan edit his book, but also helped him research some of the different publishing processes. Mrs. Edelstein comments on how Ivan’s work ethic contributed to such a well written book, “I think Ivan’s clear sense of his own goals helped keep him focused and this was so important to making so much progress. The final product is so professional and beautiful.” In addition, Ivan enjoyed the process of not only writing his own book but editing, revising, and self publishing. He also had to learn the importance of marketing and the resources needed to get the public aware of his publication. Reflecting on his project Ivan mentions, “I learned how to become sharper in my writing and explored multiple ways in which my characters could be developed. I also sophisticated my sentence structure and learned the ropes of the publishing process.” Mrs. Edelstein played a big part in what Ivan took away from his GT project, leading him to much success in the future.

Speaking of the future, Ivan will be attending Mount St. Mary’s University and majoring in English. He is currently working on a number of books and cannot wait to explore all the possibilities each of his stories have to offer. He plans to have three installations in his trilogy of Journey and is already working on the second book. For more information you can visit his website where you can see the books he is currently working on and can contact him directly via his Google form. Mrs. Edelstein expresses her hope for Ivan as he moves onto college, stating that she hopes “that as Ivan moves into adulthood that he will keep that balance of spirit and I really, really hope that I was able to help him start to navigate that transition while teaching him to protect these best parts of him that also make him a great writer.” Morris Hills wishes Ivan all the best in his future endeavors and cannot wait to read his book in person!

https://ivangomez.my.canva.site/fiction-fantasy-author-poet-journey-adventures-through-time-tungle-folk-hell-squad#home