Kali Ray, sophomore, has self-published a novella titled “The Bravest Pirate” and is selling copies for charity.

After beginning the story more than two years ago, Ray finally picked her pencil back up and gave her story an ending.

“It was just a little idea that I left for a while and later realized I could do so much more with it,” Ray said. “Over the course of writing the book, I fell in love with the characters and I had to finish it.”

Ray’s story centers around a young boy named Johnny who dreams of becoming a pirate. Johnny hopes to someday head out to sea to search for his mother whose cruise ship sank; however, Johnny’s alcoholic father did not tell him that finding his mother would be impossible because she had actually drowned in the accident.

Using a program through Amazon.com, Ray was able to self-publish her book for free.

“Self-publishing was a lot of work. I spent a lot of time editing to make the story how I wanted it,” Ray said.

Though revising her book was a long process, Ray believes all of her hard work will pay off when she can give all of the money that she raises to a charity organization in Kansas City called Solace House. Solace House is a nonprofit organization that gives free counseling to children, individuals and families who have lost loved ones.

Solace House’s mission statement is “I seek strength to carry on. I see courage to move beyond pain. I seek faith to believe happiness will come again. Solace is my goal. I can find it. I can help others discover it.”

Choosing to donate to Solace House was a decision close to Ray’s heart. After the death of her father when she was 4 years old, Ray and her mother visited Solace House and received support. Encouraged by the Solace House affirmation, Ray hopes she can help others find comfort by contributing to the organization.

Ray’s goal is to raise $500 by February of next year. Copies of her book are available on Amazon.com for $8.99 and all of the proceeds go to helping Solace House.