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On the first day of third grade in a new school, Cameryn Cortese waded through the stares of fellow classmates, her black plastic Star Wars lunchbox standing out amongst the bubblegum pink Barbie ones. Her parents’ plan of Catholic school had folded, and it was time for public school, where Cameryn remembers getting painfully teased because she didn’t fit in.

Through it all, Cameryn, who graduated from Syracuse University in 2019 with a sports management degree, said she possessed a willingness to alter her worldview.

“You know when you’re a little kid and you try to do a handstand but can’t do one, so you just kind of go down?” she said. “You’re looking at the world upside down. I like how a tree can be upside down. They don’t have to be upright all the time.”

A vast imagination helped Cameryn cope with bullying. She created her own escape in the colorful, pulpy pages of comic books — introduced to her by her dad, Tony — which provided Cameryn the blueprints for her creativity. At 17 years old, Cameryn began developing the story that would become her first published novel, “Brilliant Thief,” she said. The SU alumna with aspirations to work in the NFL published her fantasy novel last January.

“Brilliant Thief” follows an 18-year-old girl named Violet in the world of Romeca. The protagonist can read minds, but her gift gets her in trouble when others find out she is different, and she is forced to go on the run with a group who call themselves “the brilliant thieves.”

Even within her fantasy world, Cameryn incorporated her love of sports. After running track for five years and playing soccer for 13, she used dialogue inspired by game conversations and infused the steely determination of team sports into her characters. Nicole Battiste, Cameryn’s cousin and a 2018 SU alumna, noticed themes of family in “Brilliant Thief.”

The group of brilliant thieves are very protective and family oriented, like Cameryn, she said.

“(Cameryn) is definitely a loyal person, and the friendships and relationships she has matter a lot to her,” Battiste said.

Cameryn’s mother, Meg Cortese, described her daughter as “being born 40,” saying she was born an old soul and tomboy who marched to the beat of her own drum.

“She took the hard road growing up,” she said. “I mean, it wasn’t a conscious decision.”

When she was younger, Cortese’s father, Tony, introduced her to the comic books that helped build her imagination.
Courtesy of Meg Cortese

Meg sees her daughter in the main character of “Brilliant Thief,” Violet, in her refusal to conform. With her initial manuscript complete by the end of 2019, Cameryn had achieved a goal she set for herself: write a book by the end of the decade.

Then pandemic-related stay-at-home orders started last year, which allowed the SU alumna time to refine the manuscript and search for an editor. She researched narratives and use of color in films, comic books, cartography, weapons and combat terms, Cameryn said.

Cameryn’s friend David Capatch, whom she met during her 2019 internship at Bucknell University, volunteered to edit her book. Capatch said he understood the level of confidence a writer needs to have in an editor, and as an avid reader of fantasy novels, he felt prepared.

“I could at least give (Cameryn) the feeling that she could trust someone to look at it and give honest and critical feedback, at least in the capacity that I was giving,” Capatch said.

At times, Cameryn would lose momentum in her writing, and during those writing breaks, self-doubt swirled around her, she said. Though she questioned her talent and choices, Cameryn used the mentality she learned from her background in soccer to push through.

“You have to remind yourself how you got back up from being completely flattened on the field and say, ‘OK, I’ve got to get up and keep going. There’s still 30 minutes left in this game,’” Cameryn said.

When Cameryn was unable to find a publisher for her book, she self-published, proving to herself and others that not only could she write a full length novel, she could release it to the public.

But when the first physical copy arrived, Cameryn said she feared even touching it with sweaty hands. Meg, however, felt differently.

“She tackled me,” Cameryn said of her mother’s reaction. “She was more excited than I was.”

In her promotion for the novel, Cameryn positioned herself on her website as a resource for people with depression and anxiety. Battiste said she fully supported her cousin.

“I’m somebody who struggles with anxiety and stress a lot,” Battiste said. “So I’m all about advocating for it, talking to people about it and encouraging people to get help for it.”

Cameryn’s ultimate goal lies in event management within the NFL, hopefully for the Buffalo Bills. She’s taking a break from writing, but her notebooks are still stuffed with ideas waiting to be of use to a “Brilliant Thief” sequel, she said.

“The thing that made me different was always what made me, me,” Cameryn said. “It was a power where I saw myself as being on the outside.”

Published on September 19, 2021 at 11:31 pm