In my room: Monroe teen writes a comedic superhero tale

Published 3:34 pm Thursday, June 5, 2008

Pierce Ronberg wrote his book by mistake.

He was told to write a story, and so he spat out about 60 pages.

“I thought I had to,” he said, sitting in his Monroe bedroom. “I thought everybody was writing something that big, but everyone wrote these four- or five -page short stories.”

Never one to miss an opportunity, Pierce, 14, self-published the book, “The Pimple: Pimple for the World to See,” earlier this year.

That comedic superhero tale illustrates a sly interest in the fantastic. He’s the type of kid who says his bedroom, with its green and orange walls, looks like a carrot.

He works on writing in that carrot room, and also reads; books line his bed’s headboard.

Pierce was named after the fantasy author Piers Anthony, he said, and he has some Harry Potter books. He dismisses the boy wizard, however, calling those “family books.” He’s moved on to bigger stuff, such as J.R.R. Tolkien, author of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

Stories like that inspire him.

“You can pretty much go wherever you want with it,” he said. “You don’t have to be compelled by the laws of science and everything. You can pretty much get lost in it.”

The collector: Although Pierce has collected many things — hats, for instance — he’s into laser-etched crystals right now. He sets the crystals on a tiny platform that becomes illuminated from below, tossing light into the etchings.

“I started (collecting them) not that long ago,” he said. “They look cool. I like the dragon one a lot because of the detail, the craftsmanship.”

The gamer: Though Pierce is a big reader, one bookshelf in his room holds board games such as Monopoly and Sorry.

He likes strategy games the most. His favorite is Warhammer 40,000, a sci-fi game that pits armies against one another.

“It’s one of the most strategic,” he said. “It’s a lot like Dungeons and Dragons and Stratego combined.”

The black belt: Pierce has earned a black belt and won trophies for tae kwon do, a form of martial arts he began practicing when he was about 7.

In other words, the 14-year-old has been into martial arts for half his life.

“I like to be active and it’s a really good sport. And it’s my thing, not Cameron’s,” he said, mentioning his brother, a fifth-grader who plays football.

Story by Herald Writer Andy Rathbun / Photos by Jennifer Buchanan