The second book in the “Destiny By Design” series, “The Gene Rift” was officially released Sept. 1, and is the third published book written by author and area resident Jessie Andersen. Andersen goes by “J. Andersen” as a writer.

The book is published by Brimstone Fiction. The third book in the series, “Legacy’s Impact,” has been contracted and also will be released soon. Andersen will be holding book signings at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Sinclairville Library and at 10 a.m. Saturday at Off The Beaten Path in Lakewood.

The Sinclairville Library’s teen book club will be reading her newest book and discussing it with her on Oct. 14 at 10:30 a.m.

Andersen said the story follows 17-year-old Katherine Dennard and her quest to rescue the man she loves, possibly losing her freedom and making an unthinkable deal with a high-ranking military official who is determined to capture her and her comrades, called the natural-born rebels. Dennard desires a quiet life with Micah and her newborn, but could be thrust back into the world of “The Institute,” a place where only perfect, genetically-modified babies are allowed to survive, she said.

Jessie Andersen

The first book in the series, “The Breeding Tree,” follows Dennard when she is selected to become a “creation specialist’ in “The Institute.” Dennard realizes that all is not well in her world when it comes to light that her profession includes the destruction of human life. To insure disease and malformation don’t exist in her society, no infants with imperfections are allowed to survive. Dennard finds out that The Institute is using her DNA to create a new life, and takes a risk to save her son, who has been determined to be unviable, with a band of rebels.

Andersen said it would help readers to pick up the first book before reading “The Gene Rift,” but it isn’t 100 percent necessary.

“I will say that the ‘The Gene Rift’ picks up right where ‘The Breeding Tree’ left off, so reading them in order is helpful, but hopefully, I’ve included enough reminders so that someone picking it up first would be able to figure out what was going on,” she said.

Andersen has been a resident of Chautauqua County for most of her life. She said she moved to the area at age 2, and grew up in Sinclairville. She went away to college in Rochester and moved back afterward. She is currently raising her children in the area with her husband.

Andersen said she has always wanted to write books.

“I’ve always enjoyed writing and even said I was going to publish a book by the time I was 25,” she said. “I was a little late on that prediction. When my first book was published in 2012, my mother handed me a packet I’d filled out when I was in third-grade, (which said) ‘I will be famous for … writing a book. Apparently, I’d written a story called ‘Harry the Frog.'”

She said she doesn’t remember that aspiration at that time specifically, but she believes that when people are meant to do something, it is ingrained in them at a young age.

Andersen said she chose the young adult fiction genre after teaching secondary English for many years.

“During that time, I read what the kids were reading and fell in love with the genre,” she said. “I think there’s something special about younger characters who are trying to discover who they are and what they stand for. They form a part of who they are based on what they’ve been taught, but there comes a time when they have to make decisions for themselves (and) I love being in the midst of that.”

For more information on the books, visit www.jandersen-books.com. To join in the online launch party, find her on Facebook. The books will be available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and local bookstores.