Octavia Reese represented Michigan in the Miss America pageant back in 2006, and now she's an author on a mission to inspire young girls!
Reese says she grew up as a self-described "super geek" and loved sci-fi and fantasy adventures, but when she looked at the characters in them, none looked like her. Reese wanted other girls of color to be able to identify with characters they looked up to. She also wants to remind young girls to follow their dreams.
So, she wrote a sci-fi fantasy series of her own called "The Hibouleans." The main character is a 14-year-old girl named Taryn, who along with her friend Priya, uses math and science smarts to solve clues on a life or death treasure hunt against terrifying shape-shifting Hibouleans.
Reese was among dozens of authors at Detroit Book Fest on Sunday at Eastern Market. She lives in Chicago now but was born and raised in Detroit. The Motor City is where her book series
is set.
Reese was Miss Michigan in 2005. She went on to have 3 boys and started writing while she was
a stay at home mom. She says her books have a message for boys, too.
"I want my boys to see us in these roles, too. I want them to equate bravery and boldness with girls as well as boys .. and skin color across all forms.
She's released 2 volumes of the 10 books she's written so far. They're available on Amazon.com. Volume 3 will be out in the fall.
