Story of persistence: Baltimore woman with autism releases first book in trilogy

BALTIMORE - As a child, Rachel Flowers' parents were told she would never speak, behave or interact normally.

In fact, they were told she should be put in an institution. 

Flowers calls herself "an autistic woman." Now 22 years old, Flowers recently published a novel.

The author from Baltimore released her first book in a trilogy, called "A Demon's Flame."

"I would describe it as a fantasy book with a bunch of sci-fi elements," Flowers told WJZ. "That would hopefully grab your attention from the get-go."

"A Demon's Flame" is an elaborate fantasy taking place in an imaginary world of castles and demons.

"I have a very big imagination and I've wanted to create this whole big world for a while now," Flowers said.

"This is her. this is her imagination from the characters' names, cover with book pages flipped to the to the planets to the kingdoms," her mother Vicki Flowers said. "It's absolutely phenomenal and I'm very proud of her."

It's perhaps even more phenomenal when you consider that at 7 years old, she was diagnosed with ADHD, OCD and an anxiety disorder.

As a toddler, Vicki Flowers knew something was different.

"At the time Rachel growled, She didn't speak. She was non-verbal. She would literally run from room to room and throw herself up against a wall."

"When I was told that she should be put in an institution, my mother looked at me and said, 'that's not going to happen,' and I said, 'oh no, it's never going to happen. There's somebody in there.' It turns out my brain just functioned differently."

"A Demon's Flame" was just released and sold on eight different websites.

"I have put a lot of thought and a lot of love into this book and I hope that shows," Flowers said.

Flowers is working on two more sequels.

That's not bad for an author who calls herself, "an autistic woman" and whose parents were told she had no future.  

How did it happen? With hours of therapy, medication, persistence and hard work.

"I didn't give up on my child," Vicki Flowers said. "That's not what any parent would want to do, is give up on their child."

Because they never gave up, Flowers not only earned her high school diploma but also recently graduated from Baltimore County Community College.

"I don't really want to be seen as an inspiration if that makes sense," Flowers said. "I just want people to look at other autistic people, no matter what, and just be like, 'hey, they're living their best life. They're doing their best with what they got.' Please respect them."