With December graduation approaching, many seniors are wondering what kind of journey they will embark on after graduation.

Tyler Oaks, a graduate of Sacramento State, can share her own experiences of embarking on her new career as a published author. She releases her first book, “Ruby Rest,” a mystery novel surrounding death and secrets, according to Amazon.com.

“The stories kept swirling in my head, until there was nothing I could do to keep my sanity but to put them down on paper. It was beautiful,” wrote Oaks in an essay about her experiences as a new writer for CSU Stanislaus’ “The Signal.”

She graduated from Stanislaus with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish in 2000. She then earned a master’s degree also in Spanish from Sac State in 2005. She is working on what she wants to do in life: writing.

Oaks said many young people have had the experience of really enjoying something, whether it’s playing sports, writing, singing or dancing.

“And sometimes in college, those hobbies are overshadowed by other responsibilities like work, school and social functions,” Oaks said. She had the ability to write all along, but it seemed to just be an issue of timing.

“I think I used to enjoy writing in high school. A lot of those things get pushed aside in college. It came together so fast, all of these ideas and everything were inside of me and just had to come out,” she said.

With two degrees under her belt, she carried the same dedication into her career.

This commitment to her education and her writing abilities were apparent to professor Will H. Corral, a Spanish teacher at Sac State.

“Mrs. Oaks was an ideal student, thoroughly prepared, sophisticated in her verbal and written participation, and always able to go beyond her exacting standards,” he said.

In addition to family obligations, she was able to finish a very challenging project under Corral’s direction.

The project was writing an original novel for children in which she combined fictional and historical discourses about the history of California.

Professor Jorge Santana, a Spanish professor at Sac State, said, “Tyler was a very dedicated graduate student who always came prepared for class, paying lots of attention to details, which interests me in reading her novel.”

Oaks said her inspiration stems from other mystery writers like Alfred Hitchcock.

“That whole quirky, eerie, thing with a twist…I’m drawn to that. They are elegant (and) beautiful visually too,” she said. “There is always something a little off. I think that’s why I like mystery so much.”

In addition to being inspired from both her travels and the legendary Hitchcock, she also has been inspired by historical people who she read about in her studies at Sac State.

She said she started writing a novel set in Barcelona, Spain. Oaks got the idea while reading the work of women writers from Spain during the Franco dictatorship.

“I was just really inspired by their writing and how they really opened themselves up in a powerful way in those books,” she said. “You have to keep opening yourself up as a writer, and balancing the rejection, you have to keep doing it.”

Oaks emphasized in her article in “The Signal” how important it is to never give up on your dreams and aspirations and to keep going despite rejection. In the article, she quoted the words of Winston Churchill, who said, “Never, never, never give up.”

She said she experienced the blunt and sometimes rude world of publishing and that they say things to you that people would never say to you on the street.

Oaks described a scenario where she was at a writer’s conference, and one agent looked at her work to give her suggestions. The agent said things like, “I can’t believe you made me read this. This is horrible! This is crap!” and asked, “So does it have any sex in it?” Oaks responded with something along the lines of “Well yeah, I think there is a scene.” Only then did the agent say that it might be really good.

In reflection of this incident, Oaks said jokingly, “Yeah, because who cares about what the character is doing if she is having sex, right?”

However, Oaks does give positive advice for students who want to become writers. She said some people may not like your voice and may not want to hear it, but there will be someone out there who will.

“You just have to find the right channel, you have to prepare yourself. You will run into the wrong people, but eventually you will find the right people,” she said. She also said simply, “Don’t give up.”

“They have to believe in their own work. They have to learn about the business of publications,” she said. “In order to be a good writer, you can’t harden. You just have to be determined and confident in your work.”

On her website, www.tyleroaks.com, you can read a chapter from her book “Ruby Rest.”

Oaks doesn’t really see herself on any other career path, but she remains a scholarly individual who loves learning.

If she wasn’t a writer, she said, “I want to go back to school. I’d like to go back and do a doctoral program for Spanish. I don’t know…. maybe teaching. It’s more fun to learn.”

Kate Jones can be reached at [email protected]