A fourth-grade teacher at Isanti Intermediate School has written and published a young adult novel.
Kate Goebel will hold a reading and signing event for “The Thoughtful Ring” from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, at The Green Table in Isanti. A second signing event will take place Nov. 12 at Mora’s Holly Fair with another local author, Rachel Norby, from Mora.
“The Thoughtful Ring” is about two teenage girls, Cora and Katie, whose lives are brought together by a magical ring that allows them to hear the thoughts of others.
The ring is based on a childhood desire of Goebel’s.
“When I was young, I actually wanted the power to be able to hear thoughts,” she said, “and I still want that.”
Once they meet, they find the thoughts they hear through the ring are positive or negative in accordance with their respective dispositions. Cora is a pessimist, and the ring shows her the negative thoughts of others. Katie is an optimist, and the ring does the opposite for her. Katie then tries to teach Cora the power of positive thinking, which Goebel says is the overall lesson the book teaches.
The book took Goebel four months to write. She had always wanted to write a book, but never knew what she wanted to write one about. Then while she was out for coffee with a friend, she says she had a “flooded feeling,” and many of her ideas for the book came to her. 
“I was overwhelmed,” Goebel said, “and I thought, I’ve just got to go to the computer and write all my ideas down and brainstorm everything. So I did.”
During the writing process, Goebel asked friends and colleagues for things that annoy them and for favorite positive quotes to include in the book. She also used colleagues to help her with editing, and she says her students helped her decide on the book’s title.
“The Thoughtful Ring” switches primary points of view from chapter to chapter, which Goebel says was inspired by some of the books she and her students have been reading together in class. She wrote the book for an intended fifth-grade reading level or a little above.
“The content and comprehension and things like that would be (for) everybody,” Goebel said, “so I think a lot of people will enjoy it even though it’s about two high school freshmen.”
Goebel self-published “The Thoughtful Ring” with the help of AuthorHouse, a company that allows aspiring authors to purchase several levels of service in printing, marketing and distribution for their work.
Goebel’s ambitions for “The Thoughtful Ring” are modest.
“My goal wasn’t to become the next big author,” Goebel said. “However, it’s kind of not in my hands. I did my job and I’m trying to do my job to market it, and if it gets bigger, or stays hometown-ish, that’s fine. I just want some people to like it.”
What’s next for Goebel? Depending on how many people like “The Thoughtful Ring,” she says it could receive a sequel. She deliberately wrote its ending to work either way. Goebel also says she has an idea for a “science book,” which predates the ideas that she wrote into “The Thoughtful Ring.” She didn’t pursue the book before because it would have required research, and she didn’t want to go through with it unless she could make sure to get the details right.
“I just enjoy writing,” Goebel said, “but really just for fun.”
For more information on Goebel, her novel and her future endeavors, visit www.kategoebel.com.