San Dieguito Academy student publishes first novel

Asher Robinson, a sophomore at San Dieguito Academy High School, has just self published his debut novel “Maniacal” under his pen name Asher Warren.

“Maniacal” is a mystery/thriller about a group of high school seniors that travel to a remote island off California for a summer vacation. They soon learn that the home they are staying in has a dark history and they are at risk of becoming the next victims of a serial killer. With the help of some friendly local police officers, they have to help catch the killer...before it’s too late.

Asher said the exciting novel is an homage to the slashers of the 1980s and ‘90s like the “Scream” saga: “This isn’t the type of genre I typically write, it was a little out of my comfort zone,” Asher said.

Asher has always liked writing, starting out writing his own comic books when he was just five years old. After going to a summer program when he was seven, he moved on to short stories, which became more elaborate after studying creative writing in middle school.

As Asher has ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), he has ideas constantly flowing in his head and it helps to write them all down—writer’s block is not a problem for him, he typically has two or more stories going at the same time, including his next novel.

So far “Maniacal” has gotten good feedback from SDA students who said its 151 pages was a scary quick read —the book has also scored two five star reviews on Amazon. From one reader: “Awesome read. Gave me nightmares. Great slasher with insane graphic detail.”

“Getting your work out there, especially as a kid, is a very hard thing to do,” said Asher, who didn’t want to wait until he was older to publish his first novel. “I feel like it’s better to start early and improve as you go along.”

He believes “Maniacal” was a good starting point and he hopes his readers will stay tuned for what comes next.

Find the book on Amazon at amzn.to/3YWhgI5