Amilea Perez set a 2024 New Year’s resolution to write a book. She had no writing experience but loved to read and thought the transition to being an author couldn’t be hard. Perez found an editor to guide her through the process and by April of 2024, her book was complete.

It was never her intention to become an author. As a 2020 Skyline High grad, Perez enrolled at the University of Utah with the hope of attending medical school. She took STEM courses and prerequisite classes before hitting a wall. She turned to writing as a creative outlet.

“This was such an outlandish dream for me as someone who was from the STEM field and spent her days in the lab,” Perez said. “But it’s working out.”

“The Tournament of Heirs,” released in October 2024, is a tribute to her heritage as a first-generation Mexican-American. Stories based on Greek, Roman or Norse mythology were prevalent when she was growing up, but Perez hadn’t seen a fantasy series based on Indigenous cultures in Mexico, like the Mayans and Aztecs. She decided to change that.

Her book features Acalan and his sister, Metztli, who are trained to fight in the Tournament of Heirs, a battle to the death where they must compete and win against other houses and combatants.

“I want people to be less afraid to pick up something they don’t know anything about,” she said. “I think it’s important to diversify your reading. I always encourage people to be actively looking for books that are being published by authors of color…It elevates your reading experience to be more well-rounded.”

Perez, who lives in Sandy, has spoken out about giving people of color a place at the publishing table. The career platform Zippia reported that 75.6% of published authors are white, followed by Hispanic or Latino at 7.6% and Black or African American at 5.9%.

In an Instagram post, Perez wrote, “Without a place at the table, it’s impossible for POC authors to truly thrive. It’s an even greater issue that the majority of executives making decisions about our books are white.”

For her books, Perez draws inspiration from Mexican culture, dancing and music. Her research into Indigenous civilizations deepened her appreciation for her cultural history. She wants her stories to showcase the history of her people.

“I think a lot of the time these Indigenous cultures, like the Mayans and Aztecs, like we only remember the bad stuff,” she said. “I think in between all of that, we lose all the really beautiful stuff, like the culture and the spirituality of how they lived and what they believed in, and all the mythos.”

Spanish is Perez’s first language, but her parents encouraged her to read to strengthen her English skills. That reading background helped launch her fantasy series, with the second book scheduled to be released on Sept. 30. 

Her second book, “The Reckoning of Heirs,” was harder for Perez to write. After only two characters survived her first book, she found she’d killed off all the past storylines and she finds it challenging to write characters that are human and flawed. The pressure of writing a sequel made the process stressful, but she’s grateful for how her first book was received and accepted. 

Perez appreciates her 22,000 Instagram followers (@Amilea.writes) because they support her and give her the courage to continue her writing journey. She tells aspiring writers not to give up, to keep practicing the craft, even if it’s small steps each day. 

“You never know what’s going to happen,” she said. “Start writing, start promoting. All you have to do is start. I wish someone had told me that earlier. I would tell people to follow their dreams.”