COOS BAY — Last summer, practically every teenager with an interest in reading had one question on her mind, “What will happen to Harry?”

With the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the first question was answered but it raised a second: “What do we read now?”

To find an answer, Janna Nickerson didn’t go to a bookstore or a library. She reached for her pen.

Now a 19-year-old junior at the University of Montana, Nickerson has produced two books in a trilogy of fantasy novels she began as a seventh-grader in Missoula. The story is set in a mythical Northern Kingdom, that looks very much like Alaska, minus the Aleutian Islands.

Her story centers on three characters who share the same birthday and strong magical talents. The first is a young princess, Janevra, who is facing the prospect of an arranged marriage with a man she detests. She befriends Mat, a boy of humble means who always seems to be getting into trouble. The third central figure is Raxsen, who envisions conquering the Northern Kingdom and ruling it with an iron fist.

Nickerson does not re-invent the fantasy story, but offers her own twists to the genre. Her stories borrow some ideas from previous best-sellers, including the Potter series and Christopher Paolini’s Eragon, both of which the young writer lists among her favorites.

Nickerson paid a visit to the Bay Area last week to share her experiences with local readers and peddle some books. After speaking at Coos Bay Public Library the night before, the Montana native paid a visit Thursday to Sunset Middle School, where she spoke to students about the same age she was when she started her first novel, “Eyes of War.”

“I do read a lot,” she said. “I think when you are reading a lot, you think, ‘Could I ever do this?’”

It was her sixth-grade teacher who suggested she could. That year, she was asked to write a five-page short story on any topic she wanted. She wound up writing 100 pages in her notebook, she said. After a couple failed attempts at writing a novel, Nickerson found a subject she liked following her seventh-grade year, which wound up becoming her first novel.

The influence from the Harry Potter series was evident as she explained how magic works in the Northern Kingdom.

While a wizard at Hogwarts is practically powerless without his wand, magicians in “Eyes of War” need only think a charm and it occurs. But not all wizards are created equal. Some have nearly unlimited powers, while others can only perform menial tasks, like growing a plant in the palm of her hand. To determine a wizard’s power, he is taken to a chamber with an orb on a pedestal — Nickerson’s Sorting Hat, if you will.

If a wizard has no powers, his touch will make the orb glow a dull brown. If all-powerful, the wizard’s hand makes the orb emit pure white light. Raxsen’s hand produces this latter result, while Mat and Janevra also produce a powerful color.

Raxsen’s method for dominating his chosen country also is similar to a familiar villain. As he conscripts warriors and wizards to his cause, Raxsen marks his minions’ arms with magical tattoos. If they betray him, they will suffer great pain.

Nickerson does branch out and take her own devices. She has a fascination with eyes, which she notes play a pivotal role in her third, uncompleted work. She also used an interesting method to create the names that populate the Northern Kingdom. Picking points on a map, she would choose several place names, take letters from each name, scramble them, and create a new word. Thus was produced the Gangga Mountains, Cyrain Plains, Darrath Ocean and the state of Caendor.

Nickerson self-published her first book as a senior project in high school. At the end of 2007, she came out with the second installment, “Faces of Sorrow.” The final book, “Tears of Destiny,” is nearing completion she said. She said it was producing the latter work that has been particularly enjoyable.

“I had already established characters, plot line and locations in the first book,” she explained. “In the second book, I could take the characters anywhere I wanted to.”

This familiarity also is something younger readers enjoy, said Billie Chestnut, the librarian at Sunset who served as host on Thursday.

“At this age, fantasy and series books are really popular,” she said. “When you have a series where you get to know the characters, that’s real comforting to them.”

Apparently.

Nickerson came to the school with 70 copies and all sold out, Chestnut said, with some students asking to reserve copies. The library also purchased 10 books for its stacks, all of which have been checked out.

“They just flew out of here,” she said.

Nickerson is currently on an 11-state book tour, while still taking online courses toward her degree. She encouraged students to consider writing outside of class and think about publishing their own books.

“The only thing that really matters is what you think of your own writing,” she said. “You should write on topics you enjoy and use the writing style you like.”

— Staff Writer Alexander Rich covers Coos Bay issues for The World. He can be reached by calling 269-1222, ext. 234; or by e-mailing to arich@theworldlink.com.