The stories behind neglected, abandoned, long-forgotten places have always interested Warwick resident Nicholas Bramble.

Now, as he prepares to wrap up seventh grade at Immaculate Conception Catholic Regional School in Cranston, he’s finished writing a story of his own inspired by such places- becoming a self-published author at only 13.

“I always wanted to create my own book, and after some family members started writing, I asked them how they did it, and they told me, and that’s how it started,” Nicholas said.

Nicholas first started writing and drawing when he was a young child. His mother, Janice Bramble, said that she first noticed his passion for it as soon as he was able to draw.

“All of his drawings came with a story, even at the beginning before he could write,” Janice said. “Some just grew into this particular story that stood out in our heads.”

The book, titled Adventures at Bramble Woods, follows Mr. Nick, a former worker at Bramble Woods Resort who inherited the property from his uncle, as he attempts to rehabilitate the old facility and bring back Bramble Woods’ glory days.

While the resort is fictional, Nicholas said that it was largely based off of places that he and his family visited on family vacations in New Hampshire, as well as Lighthouse Inn in Galilee. Janice said that the book also took shape during nightly dog walks, saying that it helped Nicholas’s mind clear and creativity flourish.

Adventures at Bramble Woods took first took shape when Nicholas was in fifth grade, and took two years to write. Throughout those two years, Nicholas said he learned a lot about both the writing process and his own ability to persevere.

 “From the beginning, I was like ‘I want to get this done,’ and every time I wanted it done, I was coming up with more and more ideas to add to it,” Nicholas said. “The writing process took a while for me because I was always coming up with something new, seeing things I’d like to incorporate… Then, I finally was like ‘OK, I’m going to wrap this all up now.’”

Along the way, his parents and other family members served as beta readers and editors, with Janice saying that they helped him translate and clarify some of Nicholas’s ideas for the story.

Nicholas decided to self-publish and illustrate as well, saying that his grandmother and uncle had previously self-published books and were able to provide him a lot of help. The book was officially published on Amazon.

Best selling new release

Following its official release on Feb. 26, Adventures at Bramble Woods landed on Amazon’s Best-Selling New Releases list, eventually peaking at the #7 spot on the list.

Both Nicholas and his mother said that they were surprised and ecstatic to see the book do so well.

“We were kind of monitoring, and we were watching as the number got lower- the lower the better,” Janice said. “It was an exciting moment.”

Nicholas said that his teachers praised the book for being easy to visualize, while many of his classmates bought copies for themselves as well.

While Nicholas said that he has a few ideas for potential future books in his head, he said that for the moment, he’s giving himself a bit of time before jumping into a new idea.

Asked what he would tell anyone interested in buying the book, Nicholas said that they should pick it up if they’re interested in “a real page-turner.”

“You’ll really enjoy it,” Nicholas said. “When I’ve talked with teachers and friends, they’ve said they’re interested in the story and it’s a topic that they enjoy reading about. The way that it was described, they felt like they were at Bramble Woods.”

Adventures at Bramble Woods is available on Amazon for $12.99. Nicholas has a book signing on April 13 at the Brewed Awakenings on Bald Hill Road.

Correction: Publication  originially listed the date of Nicholas' book signing as April 15.