Young local author writes first of three novels

Nate Potvin at the Children’s Market.

Nate Potvin, who states he never enjoyed the endings of books he read, and the same goes for the personalities of characters within the books he has read, decided to make the perfect story, with everything he would like in a book.

As a result, Potvin, a 14-year-old Grade 9 student at St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School is a self-published author of Arf the Intergalactic Dog.

Arf the Intergalactic Dog follows the life of Theo, a 12-year-old who has a normal life before a little orb enters his life and changed things forever.

When a dog named Arf is summoned through the orb from another universe, Theo must work with the furry creature to complete an ancient prophecy as the chosen one.

With the help of his friends and a secret organization, Theo and Arf will fight evil across the galaxies, all while discovering the truth about the past.

Potvin explains that a lot of outside inspiration helped him create the world in his novel, including all the science fiction that he consumed at a younger age, including Star Wars and the series Doctor Who.

The cover illustration was based off the drawing style of Dav Pilkey and the relationships between characters were based off the sitcoms Potvin enjoys watching.

“I was originally inspired by the fact that Gordon Korman had published his first book at the age of 14,” explained Potvin.

“I always enjoyed Gordon Korman books, and I figured that if he could do it, why couldn’t I?”

Potvin started writing comic books at the age of eight and has always enjoyed creating stories.

“I love telling my stories to others and enjoy the thought that my book could be entertaining someone else,” added Potvin.

“It is also a good way to escape the real world, since you get to create a world perfect for you. It’s a lot of work, but in the end, it is completely worth it.”

Recently involved in the Clinton Children’s Business Market, Potvin started selling his novel and ended up winning the Young Entrepreneur Business of the Year, under the company name Novels by Nate.

After the success of selling out all 35 copies at the children’s market, Potvin decided to take his business to local stores including Fincher’s in Goderich.

It is currently in the works of being added to their collection, and Potvin has added Arf the Intergalactic Dog into the local library system.

Currently, Arf the Intergalactic Dog is available at Fincher’s for $25.

As for Potvin’s next novel, he is currently working on a sequel to the first novel called Arf the Intergalactic Dog 2: The Great Calamity, with the plans of making it a trilogy.