While Mackenzie Patel began writing as a child, it wasn’t until her sophomore year that she truly began to take interest in creative writing. “I loved writing essays and analyzing the language in technical terms,” she recalls. Once she took creative writing with Mr. Stewart, her fascination with writing and literature took off. That writing has certainly gotten her places; Mackenzie was recently featured in the Huffington Post, and she has also published a short story collection based in Rome.
“My love affair with the culture and history of Rome began when I visited the Eternal City back in 2011 with my family,” she explains. Mackenzie’s short story collection, entitled Vitae Romanorum (The Lives of The Romans), is available on Amazon and CreateSpace. “My series of short stories is about characters living in the Ancient Roman Empire. I draw from my traveling experiences and previous historical knowledge to craft these tales.”
Her story in the Huffington Post, “7 Things I Learned from Traveling to Europe”, gives a personal account of Mackenzie’s travels various travels in Europe. “I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Europe several times, mostly to visit my family there,” she asserts,

“My favorite trips have been to Rome in 2011, Spain in 2013, and France 2007 and 2013.” Mackenzie’s favorite cities were Florence, La Spezia, Segovia, and Banyuls-sur-Mer.
Mackenzie isn’t done there, though. “I hope to publish a fantasy novel one day,” she explains. Mackenzie finds influence in writers such as J.R.R Tolkien and J.K Rowling. “Lord of the Rings was the most detailed novel I have ever read—the language itself was so beautiful and descriptive. I love the Harry Potter series because I grew up reading it,” she asserts.
Mackenzie is currently working on a Young Adult novel.