It was a dream she was unsure she could fulfill. Yet, Jaycie Mandrell found a way to publish her book, “Think Like the Killer,” while still in high school.

“Think Like the Killer” by Jaycie Mandrell is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and Writers Republic. (contributed)

Mandrell, a junior at Isabella High School in Maplesville, said she wrote her first book in third grade as an English project and has enjoyed writing ever since.

The idea for “Think Like the Killer” came to her a few years ago, but she started working on writing it about a year ago.

“I have always wanted to get published,” she said.

Mandrell got a job at Subway to pay for production costs.

“I found an online publishing agency and they helped me out,” said Mandrell, whose father, Jason Mandrell, works for Alabama Power.

“Think Like the Killer” is about a boy who enjoys journaling and sets out to solve a criminal case that has remained unsolved.

“He struggles with a bunch of mental disorders, and he gets a bunch of friends to help him out and tries to solve the case,” Mandrell said.

She said she wanted to highlight what it is like for people who struggle with multiple mental disorders at the same time. She researched the topic, including reading academic journal articles, before writing the book.

“I have always been interested in people who have been struggling mentally, so I wanted to try and help people understand them a little bit more,” she said.

Jaycie Mandrell and her father, Alabama Power employee Jason Mandrell. (contributed)

After graduation, Mandrell hopes to have a career in writing.

“That is all that I am interested in doing,” she said. “I don’t know of anything other than writing that I would want to do.”

“Think Like the Killer” is available now through Writers Republic at writersrepublic.com, Amazon.com, the Barnes & Nobles website and Books-A-Million’s website.

This story originally appeared in The Clanton Advertiser.