After receiving a touching piece of fan mail, author asks teen to collaborate on a book

An email to her favorite author turned into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Taryn Everdeen.

Three years ago, Everdeen, now 18, sent Carolyn Meyer, creator of the Young Royals series, some fan mail, letting her know how much she enjoyed her work. The pair began corresponding, and Meyer said she was surprised to learn that Everdeen was only 15. Meyer thought she was so "creative," she told Inside Edition, and brought an "entirely different skill set."

Meyer asked Everdeen if she would like to collaborate on a project, and knowing Meyer doesn't normally work with others, she quickly agreed. Everdeen lives in the United Kingdom and Meyer in New Mexico, but they traveled back and forth to work on their book, a time travel tale about a modern American teenage boy and a teen girl from Elizabethan England.

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Everdeen considers Meyer not only a mentor, but also a friend, and said the author has "taught me a lot about writing and about life in general. I've learned that collaboration like this requires a lot of work and dedication and belief on both ends to keep the ball rolling." Meyer is 84, and said the book, which she will soon pitch to her publisher, will be her final one. Working with Everdeen has been a treat, she said, and provided "a real lesson for me to stop and take in somebody else's point of view." Catherine Garcia

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