Eight years ago, then-13-year-old Alexa Talamo went for a run in her hometown of Greensburg, Pa., and decided what she wanted to do with her life.

"I was running, and suddenly, it just hit me. I knew that I wanted to be a writer," Talamo said.

With that goal in mind, Talamo (senior-English) has done just that. Her first novel When That Day Comes was published in August.

Despite her success, Talamo has remained humble, choosing to write under a pseudonym of Amata Rose.

"I didn't want it going to my head. I believe in never resting on your laurels," she said.

When That Day Comes follows a girl named Dayeda Mildeva as she begins her freshman year at college -- coincidentally, at Penn State.

"She has a very dark past, and she leaves for college to leave everything behind her," Talamo said.

Talamo said she had a rough freshman year at Penn State, often feeling like "just a number." This inspired her to start writing the novel toward the end of her freshman year.

"The book helped me think through things," she said.

The novel is largely autobiographical, but not completely, Talamo said.

"It was based on my interaction with people up here," she said. "I took what was going on in my life and tweaked it. My imagination had full reign."

The novel took Talamo one year to write. Another year of revisions continued the development of the novel.

Eager to get advice about her writing, Talamo shared her early chapters with Penn State professors. She remembered her encounter with Nicholas Joukovsky, professor of English, in particular.

"He was the first person I showed it to in any form," Talamo said. "I owe a lot to him -- he looked at me and said, 'this is too melodramatic.' "

Heeding Joukovsky's advice, Talamo cut the sources of melodrama from her life.

"My room is now completely devoid of electronics," she said. Talamo doesn't watch much television anymore, and her computer doesn't have the Internet.

Talamo's drive to succeed was evident to Charlotte Holmes, a professor of English at Penn State. Holmes remembered that Talamo was working on the novel while taking her Advanced Fiction Writing (ENGL 412) class.

"She didn't regard herself as a student who was writing a book, though," Holmes said. "She was a writer who just so happened to be a student. It was never a question for her."

While many students might find it difficult to balance activities, Holmes said Talamo excelled at the task.

"She's extraordinarily mature and very focused," Holmes said. "She also takes herself very seriously."

Amanda El-Chaar (junior-health policy and administration) said she was astounded by Talamo's accomplishment.

"It kind of makes me feel pathetic," El-Chaar said. "I'm still trying to fit in a part-time job."

But Talamo has a specific formula for her writing success.

"I don't make writing the center of my life. It goes: life, writing, school. And I'm an English major, so I can do that. It's really important to not let your academics take over your life," she said.

Talamo generally writes for four to six hours per day and is currently working on a second novel. The second novel still has one or two months to go until revision.

Talamo's novel was published by PublishAmerica, a company that publishes on a print-order basis. Being produced on a print-order basis means that Talamo's novel cannot be found in a regular bookstore.

Instead, interested readers must place an order for it.

"That's what helped to get it published so quickly," she said.