After almost a year of writing and revision, Dos Pueblos High School’s Lily Bendle (12) self-published her first book, “Like Flowers in Red,” under the pen name Elbe Maude. The cover art was created by fellow DPHS student Lauren Foong (12), and in her acknowledgements, Bendle thanked several DPHS students, along with her family and friends, who supported her throughout the process.
“I was inspired in December of my sophomore year because I was also growing apart from a childhood best friend,” Bendle said. “I wanted to write about something that I felt like I could relate to, and that other people could relate to.”
Bendle’s first novel was published on Sep. 9, 2025, and focuses on the work to overcome their own personal issues throughout junior high and high school.
Bendle started writing her book over winter break of her sophomore year, when she had “a lot” of free time, finishing her first unedited draft within a month.
“My first draft was pretty quick, because I was just writing very quickly and trying to get through it,” Bendle said.
After finishing her first draft, Bendle reached out to an editor she found online and sent them a PDF of her book for feedback. That stage, Bendle said, was when the real challenges began.
“During the editing process, I was a little bit discouraged, just because it felt like such a big task,” Bendle said. “There were so many little things that needed fixing, and I was kind of worried that I wasn’t going to be able to finish it.”
Bendle mentions how she took frequent breaks throughout the editing and publishing process, and explains how she also started reading more.
“I also started reading a lot more, because I wasn’t really reading a lot of other books during that time,” Bendle said. “It was helping to motivate me to finish my book, and then I was able to overcome those challenges.”
While writing her book, Bendle found that observing the “different ways people interact” in everyday life helped her construct characters.
“There’s a lot of different characters; different characters have different perspectives on things, and so, I kind of had to use my imagination to construct these characters,” Bendle said. “To go out into public places and just observe the way people kind of react and act around each other, and so, that was something that was helpful for me to do.”
Despite finally reaching publication, Bendle said she was nervous for readers to see her work.
“I was still unsure that it was good enough, and because I technically wrote it so long ago … I probably could have done better,” Bendle said. “But now that it’s been out for a while, I’m kind of realizing, and once I received so much positive feedback from everyone, it boosted my confidence a lot, and now I feel really good about it.”
Looking back, Bendle said the long process was worth it, and she hopes other student writers trust themselves enough to push through the same challenges.
“You just have to give yourself grace and be patient, because it’s so rewarding,” Bendle said. “You’re your own biggest critic, and you’re a lot more talented than you think you are. There’s lots of resources to support you and help you, and it’s really rewarding in the end.”
