Young Westlake author makes his publishing debut
By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers SWEET TALE- Viewpoint School fifth-grade student Ryan Lederer, 11, of Westlake Village dedicates his new book, "Captain Candy," to his two best friends.

Captain Candy and his superhero friends have burst out of the Westlake Village home of 11-year-old Ryan Lederer and onto the pages of a book being sold by Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.

Lederer is the author of "The Adventures of Captain Candy," the first in a series of picture books about the main character and his superhero friends. Lederer will be signing copies of his book in the children's section of Barnes & Noble at The Promenade at 4:30 p.m. Wed., Feb. 13. The event is also a fundraiser to benefit Many Mansions. At the customer's request, 10 percent of the purchase of Ryan's book will be donated to the affordable housing organization's afterschool tutoring program. Ryan will match the amount raised through Barnes & Noble.

"It's sweet that we've got this 11-year-old who's written a story about good versus evil and the value of friendship," said Michele Kantor, Barnes & Noble community relations manager. "He's the youngest author we've had here."

Supporting Many Mansions was a natural outcome of the book, with its theme of helping others, something Ryan says he has always been interested in.

"I love that superheroes can have superpowers and save the world," said Ryan, whose sister, Amanda, 15, volunteers for the Many Mansions tutoring program.

Ryan also found inspiration from best friends Keaton and Cristian, to whom the book is dedicated. The two friends appear as Agent Mint and Blazing Fireball, Captain Candy's cohorts. Unlike other superheroes, Ryan's characters do not carry blades or guns but use humor and nonviolent means to save the day.

Ryan is hard at work on the second installment of Captain Candy. This adventure picks up from the end of the first book with the captain's spaceship crashing in Marshmallow Land. The story has a mysterious ending that leads into the third book, according to Ryan. He is working closely with illustrator Rafael Navarro, creator of the Sonambulo (Sleepwalker) comic book character and a contributor to the animated television series "Rugrats."

"They go over every character together," said Stacy Lederer, Ryan's mother. "Ryan approves everything. He's like a businessman when it comes to this."

Ryan created the Captain Candy character when he was 6 years old. He would sit on the lap of his father, Michael, and dictate the story while Michael typed it on the computer. Ryan wrote 25 chapters, each featuring different adventures and introducing new characters. When his grandfather, a lawyer, suggested trademarking the character, the family self-published a paperback copy of the first book. Impressed by Ryan's passion and dedication for his characters, his parents took him to publishing trade shows in New York, Chicago and San Diego to market the book. Seven Locks Press in Santa Ana picked up the book and published it in a hardcover format with bright, colorful comics-like illustrations by Brett C. Nance.

"Ryan has always loved superheroes and has a really great imagination. He never went anywhere without this cape he had," Stacy Lederer said.

Viewpoint School in Calabasas, where Ryan is in the fifth grade, has been supportive of the book, said Stacy Lederer. Each of the three fifth-grade classes has a copy of the book.

"Whenever I come into school in the morning someone is always reading my book," Ryan said. "It's exciting."

The Lederers moved to Westlake Village from Hidden Hills two-and-a-half years ago so that Ryan's sister, Amanda, 15, could attend Westlake High School. His sister Eden, 9, also goes to Viewpoint. Ryan reads several comic books and also enjoys science fiction, action/adventure and fantasy. When not reading or writing, Ryan enjoys tennis, guitar and snowboarding.

The Lederers hope that other bookstores will also pick up the book and that readers will enjoy the series.

"Ryan has worked really hard on this," Stacy Lederer said. "We are so proud of him."