NC State alumna Cristel Orrand proudly launched her new novel, The Amalgamist, at Cup a Joe’s Hillsborough Street location on Friday. The author offered signed copies of the book and met with many excited patrons and old friends.
The launch was in many ways a homecoming for Orrand, who was excited to be close to campus in the community where she had been a part of for so long. Many of her friends and acquaintances from the area came to congratulate the author, along with others who were interested in the book.
This is Orrand’s first novel, but she said she has experimented with poetry in the past. Orrand doesn’t write full time, but managed to complete the book while working her day job and being a mother of twins. The Amalgamist has been two years in the making with one year of writing and another year of editing and publishing.
The book was published by 1st Ride Enterprises, an artist-owned and Raleigh-based independent publishing house. 1st Ride is dedicated to supporting authors with compelling, character-driven stories, while letting the authors stay true to their vision.
The Amalgamist portrays themes of travel, love, history and re-coming of age as the main character explores a new land and her own life while tying her memories and experiences together.
Orrand grew up in a military family moving from the United States to Turkey, where the novel takes place. The book grew very organically from Orrand’s life and a long desire to write.
“As a little kid, I really wanted to write,” Orrand said. “In a lot of ways, it was returning to a childhood dream. Turning back to it felt really natural.”
The term “Amalgamist” was coined by Orrand while writing the book to describe the novel’s main character and her purpose. The word draws from Latin origins to describe someone who pieces things together, as the main character does with fragments of her life and experiences.
While attending NC State, Orrand pursued an undergraduate degree in French language and literature. She also completed a master’s in NC State’s International Studies program.
Orrand also published work in NC State’s literary magazine, Windhover, during her time in college. According to Orrand, her studies at State helped to impact her writing by refining skills and learning to edit away “fluff.”
“I wrote so much, especially in grad school where writing is huge,” Orrand said. “You learn a lot about accuracy and pinpointing.”
Although Orrand did not choose to pursue a degree in English or writing, she was still able to use the skills she learned from her studies to write a novel. She urges students not to be discouraged by defining their possibilities by their major’s title. Her advice to aspiring authors is to keep writing, surround yourself with others who are writing as well, and most importantly, read as much as you can.
“The best writers tend to be prolific readers,” Orrand said.
Cheri Samples, who studied nutrition at State, attended the event. She was excited to see a fellow alumna being published and bought a signed copy of the new book while congratulating Orrand.
“The plot seems interesting, and I’m excited to start reading,” Samples said.
Since returning to Raleigh, Orrand said she is very excited to be back and involved in the Raleigh and NC State communities. She plans on staying in the area and hopes to teach at State in the near future.
“Like the theme of the book, so much of life can seem disparate or random, but you find a way to put it all together one day and think, ‘Oh, that’s why I needed that experience!’” Orrand said.
The Amalgamist is available in paperback from Amazon and CreateSpace. The digital version can also be downloaded for Nook and Kindle users.
