North Carolina author Scott Reintgen returns to his roots at Lufkin Middle School

Author Scott Reintgen, who creates engaging books that encourage middle school students to read and dream, returned to his own middle school earlier this week: Lufkin Road in Apex.

"It's always an honor to come back here and think about you as students -and know how much potential you have," he said.

The students listened to him with awe. His success is proof that any one of them might grow up to become a successful author, too.

The former high school teacher finally realized his own potential - to write gripping stories for young readers like these. His newest book is called Ashlords, and it's his fifth published book in a series of eight books Random House Publishers contracted for his series.

The story involves three main characters in a five day race on magic horses.

"Whoever's the best fighter, the best rider, the best alchemist tends to win," said Reintgen.

He said he tries to create a sense that anything can happen at any point. He said, "Your favorite characters are never quite safe."

By targeting his books to engage a middle school audience, he said he hopes his writing can be "that little lightning strike that gets them interested in a new book."

Reintgen said he believes reading books as a habit is an essential skill for success and funnels into everything students might want to do later in life. Reading improves fluency, helps develop a longer attention span and hones creative thinking.

While e-readers and audio books are a modern trend, Reintgen said he prefers to remain old school, saying, "There's nothing that replaces the feeling of just picking up a book and just flipping through the pages - the first, like, 'crack of the spine.' All of that is just really, really appealing to me."

His first book series "The Nixia Trilogy" received very positive reviews.