An ASU graduate had her first novel, a book about a young girl finding “love, faith, and hope” after a tragic accident drastically changes her life, published earlier this month.

Michelle Hardt Thompson, who graduated from ASU in 2006 with a Bachelor’s degree in Family and Human Development, had her book “Taming the Wind” picked up and printed by Utah-based Cedar Fort Incorporated.

Hardt Thompson spent a semester writing as a columnist for The State Press in the spring of 1997.

Now, many years after Hardt Thompson’s time at ASU, she is in the process of spreading the word about her recently-published book.

The process of writing “Taming the Wind” began about a year before she actually wrote anything down, she said. Every night when she went to bed Hardt Thompson said she would see storylines playing out in her head.

Finally, in the beginning of 2008, Hardt Thompson started the actual writing process for the book, which she finished during the summer of 2009. Shortly after, Hardt Thompson sent her book out to potential publishers, and a few months later, she heard back from Cedar Fort, who said that they wanted to publish her book.

Hardt Thompson describes her book as being about a young girl who finds “love, faith, and hope” while dealing with the tragic loss of her parents and siblings, moving in with her estranged grandfather and meeting the neighbor boy that she would shortly fall in love with.

For more information on Hardt Thompson, including information on “Taming the Wind,” check out her Web site at michellebooks.com.

Reach the reporter at cebrown4@asu.edu