MADISON – At 12 years old, Maria ‘Mia’ Craig has established her literary skills early with release of her book, “Queen and Country – Mission Antarctica.”

Craig, a seventh-grader at Liberty Middle School, wrote her novel and followed required steps for publishing.

Craig’s book is historical fiction, set in 1944-1945 during World War II. “Four British soldiers, Jim White, Liam Woods, Henry Smith and Ethan Madison, had to serve on Port Lockroy, Antarctica. The story not only follows their experiences on Port Lockroy but also the background of their lives in England,” she said.

Amazon summarized “Queen and Country – Mission Antarctica” as follows: “The winter of 1944 is fast approaching in the northern hemisphere. Europe is still knee deep in war. But while the colors are changing in England, summer is coming to Port Lockroy, Antarctica, where four English soldiers are serving their Queen and Country.”

“I’ve always loved to write. In third grade, I was accepted into gifted education at Columbia Elementary, in large part due to my writing skills,” Mia said. Previously, she has authored numerous poems and started drafts for novels and screenplays.

“My papa, Charles Larry Craig, motivated me to pursue writing. He loved to write himself and always dreamed of getting a piece published,” she said. Mia Craig decided on the setting after finding her papa’s book about Antarctica.

The most difficult step was typing and editing 200-plus pages; Mia’s mother Jenny agreed to help with proofreading and keyboarding. “The rest was fairly simple. Amazon has a great feature now where novice authors can self-publish; your book is printed on demand as people buy it. Since having my book copyrighted, I’ve been approached by a publishing company,” Mia said.

At Liberty, Craig participates in Beta Club and advanced classes. She studies piano, enjoys horseback riding and likes art, painting, science and drawing.

Mia’s parents are Richard ‘Rich’ Hunt and Jennifer ‘Jenny’ Craig.

Mia has lived in Madison about seven years. “My mom and her family are from the Huntsville area. She wanted to move to Madison for the amazing school system,” Mia said.