“I could see my cloudy breath in the cold December air as I curled my trembling hand and knocked on the door to my grandmother’s house … I felt the tension of six silent years release with the swinging of the door as she answered it. My grandmother flashed me a warm, familiar smile.”

This is the first paragraph from the novel “Our Song,” a story written by 19-year-old Katelyn Rehatchek of Palmerton. The book is about love, heartbreak and the strength of family bonds. The story parallels the romantic journeys of young Charlie Quinn and her grandmother, Lillian Abbott through the time periods of the late 20th century and the Great Depression.

“Charlie lives a very sheltered life because of her overprotective mother,” said Katelyn, a graduate of Palmerton Area High School and currently a second-year student at Susquehanna University. “She’s a textbook overthinker and earns a college scholarship. Then she pledges to focus only on her schoolwork, avoid the party scene, and not bother with getting into a relationship.”

On her first day on campus, Charlie meets Jonah, who’s in a band. He aggressively pursues a relationship with her. She seeks her grandmother’s advice and the story then follows the romances and conflicts of both of these characters during their different times.

In the third grade, Katelyn began her love for writing when she wrote an eight-page short story. At Palmerton Area High School, she contributed her novelette titled “Echoes” to the school literary magazine.

“I love New York City so I put the setting of ‘Echoes’ there,” she explained. “It’s a dystopian story about a theater kid on Broadway.”

Katelyn also performed theater at Palmerton. She played Sophie in “Mamma Mia!” and Abigail Williams in “The Crucible.” She admits to losing herself inside the fantasy lives of classic literature.

“My favorite novel is “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen. Her characters are so heartfelt. I love adventure stories like “Lord of the Rings,” too.

Like many writers, Katelyn aspired to writing a novel, but finding the time to put in the effort was difficult; that is, until the coronavirus provided her with the opportunity to do it.

“I had the idea for a novel about a year ago, so when the virus kept me home, I decided to do something good with all the time I had.”

“Our Song” began with a 40-chapter plot outline along with multiple character charts. Katelyn stayed true to a schedule of writing 3000 words a day. After editing the draft, she sent it out to some high school friends and teachers for their opinions. The reviews were very positive.

Sequencing the plot’s events was her biggest challenge. “I knew my beginning and my ending,” she said. “I had to figure out the plot holes in between.”

Her characters were inspired by members of her family, and though she claims that the main character, Charlie, is not autobiographical, there is a part of the author inside her fictional person.

Speaking of the author, she decided to use the pen name Kate Rowan instead of her actual name as the author of her book.

“I’ve had this dream of seeing my book on a shelf next to the Harry Potter series,” she said. “So I chose “Row” for Rowan after JK Rowling, the author of the Potter books.”

Katelyn aspires to be a high school English teacher, but for now, she can sit back and enjoy the local buzz around her 320-page contemporary/historical novel. Her mother, Chrissy, has been busy marketing the book on her Facebook page.

The novel is available in paperback and e-book editions on Amazon.

“I’ve sold about 50 copies so far,” she said. “My grandmother and my friends are pretty excited for me.”

Two loves, 56 years apart. On page 10, Charlie asks for advice about her new relationship with Jonah. Katelyn poignantly describes Lillian’s reaction.

“She stood up and brushed herself off. ‘Come with me to the kitchen. We’ll make some more tea and I’ll tell you everything.’”

Read Kate Rowan’s “Our Song” and you’ll enjoy finding out the rest of “everything.”