Wheaton student published in anthology

Sophomore Eleanor (Ellie) Roth’s short story titled “Story from the E.R.” is slated to be published around Dec. 10 in “Voices from the Dark,” a horror-themed anthology. Roth connected with the Naperville-based writers’ group “The Writing Journey” last fall while working on a novel, and this year marks her first time participating in their annual anthology of short stories.
In previous years, the group’s anthologies were self-published, but this year “Voices from the Dark” will be published by It Is What It Is Press under the supervision of Roger Lubeck. Although the new publication process postponed the release date from Halloween weekend, Roth said “it’s definitely worth it and really exciting.”
While writing a horror story proved to be a learning process for Roth, who noted that horror is “not my genre,” she crafted a storyline involving a girl with telekinetic powers. “Story from the E.R.” opens with a doctor’s account of a girl who arrives at the hospital with fellow victims of a train crash. Roth travels with the readers to discover the intriguing truth behind the crash. She described the writing process as a journey, saying “I kind of pieced it together as I went.”
As an English writing major, Roth described writing as her “full-time homework and side-job.” She remembered always enjoying writing and aspiring to be a writer during middle school, but her ambitions shifted during high school when she became “fascinated with science and biology and that sort of took over.”
Entering Wheaton as a biology major, Roth planned to pursue biomedical research. “I had to ask myself when I got to the college level about the difference between what I wanted to do and what I wanted to be. I wanted to be a research scientist but I didn’t want to do research science,” she explained. What she did know was that “whatever job I get, I want to be writing, on the side at least. But then I thought ‘Why on the side? If I love it, then why not all the time?’ So I switched over, and I’m much happier now.”
Her love for science continues to influence her writing. A novel Roth recently wrote involves cloning and genetics, exploring how technology outpaces regulation.
To learn more about her work and to read her online fiction series, readers can visit Ellie Roth’s personal website: braveseries.com. “Voices from the Dark” is expected to become available on amazon.com in mid-December.