Former Culpeper teacher pens young adult novel

Former students and coworkers may remember Chris Ledbetter as the math and sports marketing teacher who founded the first ever “Blue Devil Madness” in 2005.

Today, Ledbetter, 38, lives in Wilmington, N.C. with his family and sells cars for a local Volkswagen dealer. He also recently published his first novel.

An assistant coach to Culpeper County High School football coach Greg Martz from 2002 to 2006, Ledbetter taught business and marketing at CCHS after teaching math at Culpeper Middle School for two years. But despite his teaching background, he always had an interest in Greek mythology.

“Being an only child, your creativity gets away from you sometimes,“ he said. “I’d always wanted to write and always loved mythology, but never really came up with a story to pursue. This time I thought of a story that kind of drove me a little bit. The pen just developed a mind of its own.“

Through Outskirts Publishing, he recently released “Caenus and the Quiver of Artemis,“ a historical fantasy of hubris, humility and a love triangle. According to a press release, the story follows Prince Caenus (KEE-nuhs) as he attempts to prove his worth at a five-stage grueling test of strength and endurance. There, Caenus meets Adriande, an elusive local peasant girl, and Makedon (ma-KA-don), a ruthless prince who becomes Caenus’ rival.

But “Caenus” is just the beginning—Ledbetter has already written the rest of the story’s trilogy, which he outlined on a pocket flip pad in Dec. 2006.

“A lot of the classically Greek tales have to do with humility versus hubris,“ he said. “That’s kind of a running theme throughout the book and whole trilogy.“

He said he would wait to see how successful “Caenus” is before publishing the second and third parts. Because of his background in teaching, the story is geared toward young adult readers, though he said its broad appeal transcends a single demographic.

“Any lover of Ancient Greece and mythology will surely find the story enjoyable,“ he said.

**Chris Ledbetter’s novel, “Caenus and the Quiver of Artemis” is available on Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com. For more information, visit outskirtspress.com/CaenusandtheQuiverofArtemis or myspace.com/QuiverofArtemis.