By Bobby Rivera

Staff Writer

There is a multitude of ways that we can now read a book, and many of those choices are at the touch of a keyboard.

The development of the eBook, or digital book, makes it easier to read about every topic imaginable and is used by millions around the globe. Publishing technology has entered the world of the Internet, and a potential global market can take a previously unknown author to a best-selling writer overnight. The eBook genres, similar to physical novels, range from fiction to biographical, and anyone with a desire to write can share their thoughts and inspire.

When looking for a top-selling author who can move people, we don’t have to go further than CSUSM. Freshman Katlin Sweeney earned the distinction of becoming one of Amazon’s best selling authors in the Children’s Sports Biography section at the age of 18. She was motivated by her experiences with competitive sports, what she saw in high school and her love for her father.

“I was inspired by my experiences playing competitive club and high school volleyball,” Sweeney said.

Now 19, Katlin was influenced to attend CSUSM by professor and former department chair of Literature and Writing Studies, Professor Martha Stoddard-Holmes.

“What’s distinctive about Katlin, aside from her strengths as a writer, are her persistence and sense of focus, those are key qualities for anyone who wants to publish,” Professor Stoddard-Holmes said.

Yet Sweeney’s story doesn’t end there. It’s really a story of her love for her father, Tim Sweeney, who suffers from Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis and is her editor.

“The book is dedicated to my Dad, somebody who has supported me no matter how good or bad I was at volleyball and has taught me more about life than I can ever repay in my lifetime,” Katlin said. “The Bench Sitter” is a novel that is a real-life parallel to Katie’s own experiences and observations as a bench sitter on her high-school volleyball team. It portrays the world of Katie through a lens that can be easily identifiable to the reader. People have depth, situations are real and the lens is clear. Katlin’s story will also take you back in time to when someone cheered you on at a sporting event.

Katlin’s father shared his “John Wooden approach” of parenting, where he treats his kids as adults rather than talking down to them. In the hour I spoke to Tim Sweeney, I was motivated to looking at writing a book. His inspirational thoughts and sharing of knowledge led him to be a highly regarded writer, which has transferred to the younger Sweeney.

Katlin first published “The Bench Sitter” in August of 2011, a week before she began her senior year at Great Oak High School in Temecula. The following month, she learned her book was a best seller in the category of Children’s Sports Biographies. Her book continued to be on the best sellers list and Katlin is making a name for herself in a market that has been traditionally dominated by much older adults and seasoned professionals. She is unmatched with 19 months on Amazon’s Best Sellers List as of April 4, 2013, with her book crossing into two other best sellers lists during that time frame as well.

While Tim Sweeney has lived through a difficult 12 years of ill health, Katlin has a passion for life, and it’s the love for her father that drives her as a writer and as a human being. Katlin told me of how her relationship strengthened with her father as she wrote “The Bench Sitter.”

“With his illness, we make the most of every day and our family appreciates time spent together,” Katlin said.

Tim Sweeney has been very successful with his marketing business and his self-publish knowledge has helped move Katlin into uncharted waters for her age. What I find mature in Katlin is that she does not concern herself with the sales of the book. She has focused herself on her next book, which she is keeping quiet about.

“I find it to be a very relatable story. I think we all have felt that we don’t belong and kind of just hope someone will be nice enough to actually talk to us. She’s truly descriptive, which I like. It helps illustrate a good picture of all the personalities, what she’s feeling and everything around her,” CSUSM student Karla Reyes said.

“Social media presents another outlet for written expression, another way to start writing and keep writing–which is what good writers do: read a lot and write a lot. There are no shortcuts, and Katlin knows that–she works at her craft, and it shows,” Stoddard-Holmes said.

“The book’s events happened, but the characters were changed to make sure nobody’s identity was given away. All of the characters in the book are created from two or more people that I have encountered throughout my career that had similar qualities. This was done to teach readers about the kinds of players/coaches that participate in sports, not to bash specific girls and coaches,” Katlin said.

“When girls are growing up they are “Daddy’s little girl,” then they eventually connect to mom. At some point they come back to their fathers, with the knowledge fathers share with their daughters,” Tim Sweeney said. Such is the case I find with Katlin.

Katie is a freshman writer, loving daughter, and is very humble. She has a personal narrative that reminds us all of what matters the most in our lives, which is the love for family. Katlin Sweeney may not be a starter on a volleyball team, but she’s successful as an author.

You can buy The Bench Sitter for your Kindle, Nook, iPad or computer at barnesandnoble.com, Amazon or iBookstore.