‘I hope that I’ll never run out of stories to tell.’ 20-year-old Villa Hills author releases third book in ‘The Ascension Series’ – The Cincinnati…

Lauren Hudson sits outside her home in Villa Hills, Kentucky holding her book series entitled "The Ascension Series." "The Redemption," which is the third and final installment, has just been released.(Photo: Albert Cesare / The Enquirer)

In the month leading up toher sophomore year final exams at the University of Kentucky, Villa Hills native Lauren Hudson released the third and final novel, "The Redemption,"in her young adult fantasy series "The Ascension Series."

The books followa set of triplets who discover on their 15th birthday that they are members of a guardian angel race, called Asterians, and that their real mother is trying to take over the world.

Hudson, 20, said she has always gravitated towards fantasy because it's what she loves to read.She said she realized she might have a future in writing fantasy while she was in middle school.

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My seventh-grade English teacher asked us to create a short story. And instead I gave her a30- pagenovella," Hudson said.

Hudson said she got the idea for the first book in the series, "The Ascension," back in sixth grade.

She was on a FaceTime call with a friend when the idea came to her.

I sat there, and we weretalkingand I said, How cool would it be if someone could see the past, present and future? And I wrote the first chapter to my series that night, back in sixthgrade," Hudson said. "And I picked it back up when I was a freshman in high school, and it was horrible.

Lauren Hudson, 20, also wrote the "Students Leading America Series" with her co-author and father, Rob Hudson. The two books in that series are "Our Best Tomorrow" and "It Can Be Done".(Photo: Albert Cesare / The Enquirer)

Sherewrote itin high school, and thought it had potential. She was right.

In 2017, Hudson flew to London where she accepted the Best Young Adult Book award at the London Book Festival.

Within its first couple weeks, "The Redemption" was featured on Amazon's "Hot New Releases" list for the religious science fiction andfantasy category. The book received a No. 1 ranking on the list.

Surprisingly, the Dixie Heights High School graduate said she never really thought about majoring in creative writing. She has been excited to go into medicine since "before she can remember." Currently, she is a neuroscience and biology major on the pre-med track.

Hudson has to compartmentalize her fiction writing skills when writing for scientific journals, she said. It has been a learning curve.

Another learning curve? Finding time to write her fantasy novels.

It was easier to write during the school year back in high school, Hudson said. In college, it's more difficult.

"And so now I write furiously over breaks," Hudson said. "I pretty much take, like, a break from writing during the school year."

Over the summer, Hudson says she will crank out 2,000 words per day. Over spring break and Christmas, she'll spend a few hours each day writing.

Hudson says that she enjoys talking to students about her books. The series is geared towards middle and high school aged kids. Her favorite thing to hear from readers is that they connected with a certain character in the series. A lot of the sibling interactions in "The Ascension Series" are based on Hudson's real-life relationship with her older brother.

"I hope that I'll never run out of stories to tell," Hudson said.

Hudson said she does not know what she will write next. For now, it is time to focus on her studies at the University of Kentucky.

I am hoping to get through med school, and then once I get settled into wherever I am for my residency that I will pick up with a new story," Hudson said.

Lauren Hudson's book series entitled "The Ascension Series" rests on a table. "The Ascension" is the first book; "The Deception" is the second, and "The Redemption" is the third and final installment.(Photo: Albert Cesare / The Enquirer)

"The Ascension," "The Deception" and now "The Redemption" are all available on Amazon.

Hudson said printing has been delayed, but you can preorder a physical copy of "The Redemption" online. It is currently available as an eBook.

Hudson will also be participating in a Zoom Into Books chat about her latest book on May 30. Registration can be completed online.

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'I hope that I'll never run out of stories to tell.' 20-year-old Villa Hills author releases third book in 'The Ascension Series' - The Cincinnati...