School of Communication Assistant Professor Arienne Ferchaud published her debut novel, Lifeshaper, in June, 2024.
“I’m excited that this is just something totally different for me. At work, I am a social scientist focusing on media effects/media psychology. This was a chance for me to stretch my creative muscles and do something totally outside of my training,” said Ferchaud. 
Ferchaud worked hard to balance her role at Florida State University (FSU) with her writing, spending most of her free nights consumed with this project. She says almost the entire novel was written between the hours of 9pm and midnight and added, “The editing process was extensive. I wanted it to be as good as it possibly could be, which meant several rounds of edits before sending it off to an editor who gave me some great feedback.”
Through her research and teaching at FSU, Ferchaud has shown special interest in narrative theory and discovering how new modes of storytelling change how readers perceive stories. Her research has trained her to write in a clear and concise manner which has carried over to her novel-writing.
“I really want people to be able to see clearly what I’m writing, and I would say my writing actually informs my research more than the other way around. I do have an interest in narrative theory, but I think a lot of times I get research ideas from what I’m doing in my personal life, whether that be through the things I’m engaging with, or, in this case, what I’m writing!” said Ferchaud.
Lifeshaper is available for purchase as an e-book and paperback on Amazon.The novel was published with a pen name, “A. Marie Cantrelle”, in tribute to her mother’s side of the family.
Before they disappeared from the world, the Nameless Goddesses bestowed humanity with strange abilities to manipulate the world around them. Now, Princess Kitania Melyora wields a gift unlike any other: the ability to breathe life into existence. But when her control falters at her uncle’s investiture ball, tragedy strikes. Hunted by the Emperor and haunted by her fragmented memories, Kitania seeks refuge in a nearby temple. There, she encounters Weiran, a rebel leader with the power to defy death. He forces her to confront a harsh truth: her own family’s tyranny. As betrayal and loyalty collide, Kita must navigate a treacherous path between her past and a future shaped by her family and those she would once call enemies.