The Power of the Pen

Power of the Pen Alumni Authors Promote Positivity, Kindness and Bravery

Dhonielle Clayton ’01 is co-author of the bestselling novel “Tiny Pretty Things,” and its sequel, “Shiny Broken Pieces,” with Sona Charaipotra. The books were made into a Netflix drama series. They follow three friends through dance school at New York's American Ballet Company.

Clayton has written and co-written several other novels as well, including bestseller “Blackout” and the "Belles" series.

To help support diverse authors, she started a non-profit, We Need Diverse Books. In addition, Clayton founded Cake Creative, an entertainment company that she runs in New York City. It is dedicated to bold and diverse storytelling across books, podcasts, film and television.

Christiana Kelley ’00 is author of the children’s book “How Will I Know When I’m a Unicorn?” During a journey of self-healing, Kelley had an epiphany: She wanted to teach youngsters to love themselves. “I happened to be wearing unicorn leggings that day. I think we identify unicorns as beings who love themselves. I asked, ‘How will I know when I’m a unicorn?’ …which was to say, ‘How will I know when I love myself?’ and the idea was right there.”

Kelley, who has a BA in journalism and an MA in strategic communications, loves to tell stories. She decided to write a children’s book with a message of positivity.

“There are so many images and messages coming at people through the media about not being good enough. The message is: Get these clothes, lose that weight, get Botox, wear this makeup, and then you will be loved,” Kelley says.

She hopes to dispel that notion.

“I know we are moving in the right direction with body positivity campaigns and more diversity coming through in entertainment, so I wanted to be a part of that shift,” Kelley says.

She hopes her book will help children decide for themselves that they are worthwhile, even if they aren’t getting that message from the outside world.

Kelley has other ideas for future books in the works. For now, she is happy to be helping to boost young people’s self-image.

Jiexi Lin ’22, came to the U.S. from China to study at GC as an international student. She loved her classes and enjoyed interacting with the students, who made her feel welcome. Lin was even voted “friendliest” out of the senior class and received the Brother Mark Award (see page 25).

She was also chosen to give the senior awards ceremony keynote speech, in which she called the GC community “compassionate and competitive.” Being from China, Lin said she didn’t know anyone and had a bit of a language barrier, “but everyone had my back.”

“At first I had no confidence in writing in English because it wasn’t my mother tongue,” Lin says. But she quickly gained reading and writing skills in an English class at GC. “Writing has been my habit for years. It’s a kind of self-expression, I can talk to my diaries,” she says.

The class also inspired her to read western poetry. “I was fascinated by it,” Lin says. Most students in China aren’t exposed to western poems, in large part because translations don’t exist.

In 2019, she decided to translate a collection of western poems into Chinese. The result was her book, “A Selection of Interesting Poems,” by poets ranging from Langston Hughes to Amanda Gorman.

One of Lin’s favorite lines is from Gorman’s poem, “The Hill We Climb.” She declares, “We are striving to forge our union with purpose. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.”

The line is fitting for Lin, who loves the diversity she has encountered in the U.S.

“It feels like a dream that I’m able to study here, with all kinds of cool people, diverse and inclusive people. It has been a truly dynamic experience,” she says.

Throughout this pandemic, society has become more divided, especially America and China, Lin says. “Through all the pain, we need something that can heal us together.” The Constitution says we are all equal, we are all brothers and sisters, she points out. Lin feels Gorman’s poem perfectly exemplified this.

“I wanted to carefully translate into Chinese this and other poems for people in China and Asia. I think as global citizens, we have this obligation to bring peace, prosperity and goodwill to all people,” she says. “We need to help each other and come together to help make a better tomorrow for not only ourselves, but also future generations that come after us.”

Rachel Johannes ’13 has written an adult fantasy novel called “Behold the Sins” under the pen name Rachel Serrin. It is the first book in what will be a four-book series, she says.

The book takes the reader on a perilous journey through a portal to seven worlds cursed by the seven deadly sins. The protagonist is on a search for her brother, who entered the portal and never returned. Romance and adventure are the major themes.

Inspired initially by a creative writing class she took at GC, Johannes started writing the book after receiving a dual degree in journalism and international politics from Pennsylvania State University.

“I always enjoyed literature classes. I love to read,” she says. “I remember going to the library at Good Counsel and seeing all of the young adult books there and trying to decide which one to read next.”

The class helped her push the boundaries of her imagination, she says. “I was excited to see what I was capable of doing.”

Johannes loves to travel, which she said helps with world building. Currently, she is working on the second book, which she will publish in December.

The first book is available on Kindle Unlimited, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Robby Silk ’03 is also a children’s book author. He created and wrote a three-book series called “The Adventures of RJ Mouse,” including “The Lost Castle,” “The Forgotten Voice” and most recently, “The Lonely King.” In the series, the title character and his friends have mystical adventures and learn life lessons along the way.

Silk’s whimsical books use rhyme to tell tales about the mouse (named for Silk’s eldest son, Robby James), who embodies courage, kindness and selflessness. The stories aren’t sugarcoated, however, Silk is quick to point out, but incorporate fantasy with a somewhat serious tone. The fictitious vignettes are given authenticity by Silk’s prose.

The stories exist in a unique universe filled with locally-inspired locations like “Olney Woods” and “Greenwood Lake,” and have some characters in common, but each one stands alone. They evolved from bedtime stories Silk would tell his own kids, Robby, Cassidy and Reese.

To maintain control of his content, Silk started his own publishing company. For the illustrations in the most recent book, he was able to recruit illustrator Patricia M. Hung, who has designed characters for shows like “Super Monsters” on Netflix and “Elena of Avalor” on Disney Junior.

During his time at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, Silk played football and excelled in sports in general. “I always enjoyed writing and reading good books, too. Andy Collins ’82 encouraged me; he said I had a knack for writing. I didn’t think much about it until after college.”

His wife, Katie, who works in the Good Counsel admissions office, encouraged him to write. He started a blog in 2010 called the “Philosophical Photographer,” in which he posted his original photographs and wrote about them. Eventually, he decided to write his first book.

“After the first one came out, I saw that there is a bit of a fan base for this,” Silk says. “I jumped right into the next book.” He soon created another character based on his daughter, Cassidy.

Silk has started writing a middle grade novel for 10–12-year-olds, which he hopes will be out next year. His current books can be found on Amazon and other websites.

“You want to raise your kids to be good people. You want to teach them important things in life. A central focus in my stories is me wanting to pass down my thoughts about being helpful, courageous and a kind person,” he says.