Manheim Central OCTOBER 5, 2022
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
enaya Metzler has always loved to write, and she’s always been close to her twin sister, Nickea. When the pair graduated from Manheim Central High School in 2020, Tenaya presented her twin with a book she’d written, “Your Name is Light,” featuring a main character loosely based on Nickea. Tenaya said she never gave much thought to the book becoming more than a family gift until one day she saw an ad on TV. “I was at my grandparents’ house, and an ad came on for a publishing company,” Tenaya stated. She decided to submit her draft, enlisting her family to help with edits and suggestions for changes.
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“My older sister advised me to make some changes, like having the characters travel to actual places, not the ones I had made up for the story,” Tenaya said. The original draft was also specifically tailored to Nickea, with inside family jokes and other personalization that Tenaya changed for the final version, striving to give the book a wider audience appeal. “Your Name is Light” was published through Covenant Books in August. “It’s a work of fiction, and it has elements of nursing, romance, action, espionage, intrigue and international travel,” Tenaya said, noting that the book has a Christian focus. It tells the story of registered nurse Alina Dixon, whose ordinary life is shattered when she’s the vic-
Tenaya Metzler
CARE LOOK INSIDE
Disguise & Prize Will Offer Family Fun
The Write Stuff BY CATHY MOLITORIS
VOL LXIII • NO 36
tim of a brutal attack. Working closely with M15 agent Blane Burns, Alina travels the world to find out who’s behind the attack and stop a potential worldwide threat. “One of the themes of the book is the idea of being saved,” Tenaya noted. “The main character is coming from a place of light, a place of faith from being a Christian, and the other character is in a dark place and has lost his faith.” When she’s not writing, Tenaya works as a nurse, as do her twin sister and their older sister, Kierra. “My older sister has worked in the ER for years, and the main character in the book works in the ER,” Tenaya said. “I started writing the book before I became a nurse, so my sister Kierra’s insight really helped me with that part of the story.” Tenaya also wrote some of her twin’s favorite things into the plot. “The places the characters go in the book are places my sister has always wanted to visit,” she explained, noting that the storyline takes the characters to Alaska, where they encounter sea otters, Nickea’s favorite animal. “They go to Norway to see the Northern Lights, and they go to Austria to attend a New Year’s Eve imperial ball. I think it’s everyone’s dream to go to a ball in Europe.” “Your Name is Light” will be distributed through both secular and Christian outlets, in both print and e-book format. It is available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble, among other outlets. With one novel under her belt, Tenaya said she’d love to write more if she can find the time. “With my job, it will probably be a few years,” she said, “but I’m working on ideas now.” She encourages anyone who loves to write to take the leap. “If you have an idea, just try and write it,” she stated. “You never know what will come of it, but you should take that first step: Sit down and write.”
BY CATHY MOLITORIS
The members of Jerusalem Church believe in giving “Glory to God.” That’s the message cut into a corn maze located at the church, 1620 Newport Road, Manheim. For the seventh time, a team of
church members designed and created the maze, and people are invited to explore paths through the cornstalks as part of the church’s Disguise & Prize event. The event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 8, from 1 to 4 p.m. The rain date will be Sunday, Oct. 9. See Disguise pg 5
Decorated cars and accompanying activities will be featured at Disguise & Prize.
Giving Thanks For Our Furry Friends
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 A Big Show In A Small Space . . . . . . .6 From The Editor’s Desk . .6
BY CATHY MOLITORIS
When she was in seminary, Barbara Seras used her cat as her “spiritual barometer.” He helped her take stock of her emotions and reminded her to appreciate the moment. “Pets teach us to be more gentle,” said the priest-in-charge of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Manheim. “They teach us to take our time, to slow down.” See Thanks pg 2
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