13-year-old North Texas teen now a published author

DALLAS - A young author hopes to inspire others like her with her a book series that’s based on her own life experiences.

At age 13, Alena Pitts is already making history in the publishing world. She’s the youngest African American female to be represented by a major publisher.

The first book in her “Lena in the Spotlight” series is already in stores.

“So she learns she can’t be in control. She has her life planned out kind of like me and then all of a sudden she has the opportunity to act in a movie,” Alena said.

Like the character in the book, Pitts also acted in the movie War Room in 2015.

“Just wow. That’s crazy. I’m 13 and I’m able to do all these amazing things. It shows me that anyone can do anything,” she said.

She’s already a student, athlete, actress and now she’s adding author to the list.

Her mother, Wynter Pitts, is also a published author and helped Alena write the book.

“It was really fun but as a mom sometimes it was challenging because I know about deadlines and pressure and she doesn’t. She’s like, ‘Let’s watch TV and do it later.’ I’m like, ‘It’s not that easy to write 40,000 words,’” mom said.

The mother and daughter worked on series together. The second book will be published in September.

Being published is an accomplishment a person of any age would be proud of. So the seventh grader hopes the character in her book inspires other young girls to follow their dreams.

“This isn’t normal. So your wildest dreams can come true,” Alena said.