What were you doing at 14? Atascadero native Maylia Baird was hunched over her desk hand writing her debut novel by candlelight. Last year, at 19, Baird self-published The Ship of Dreams.
Buy the book, follow the author
Raised in Atascadero, 20-year-old author Maylia Baird’s debut young adult historical romance novel, The Ship of Dreams, is available locally in Barnes and Noble in SLO and Coalesce Bookstore in Morro Bay, and online at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Follow Baird on Instagram and TikTok @mayliabaird.
“It’s a historical fiction romance following my characters through the events before, during, and after the sinking of the Titanic,” she wrote in an email to New Times. “Primarily following main character Beatrice Seaver, it delves into themes of independence, self-discovery, love, longing amid uncertain futures, survival, and courage in the face of tragedy.”
Baird grew up in Atascadero in what she calls a “crunchy” household. Her mom owns a yoga studio, and she, her mom, and grandmother are all certified yoga instructors. Her dad does custom masonry. She’s currently living in Paso Robles with her grandparents “helping them out because they’re getting older,” she explained over cold beverages at Scout Coffee in SLO.
Now 20, aside from being an exceedingly young novelist, she’s a woman who loves tennis and reads “a lot.” She attended Trivium Charter School for high school and “a Waldorf type school when I was, like, growing up.” She aspires to attend college.
“I recently got a job at Starbucks, and I’m hoping to take advantage of their ASU program, which covers college,” she explained. “I was thinking about getting my journalism degree or creative writing.”
Her interest in writing started early.
“I’ve always been a journaler. Now, I’m a little bit more social, but growing up, I was really introverted, which is kind of stereotypical for a writer, but very introverted. I went to an alternative school, kind of struggled with anxiety a little bit, so journaling just helps. It was my form of therapy when I didn’t really understand why I was feeling certain ways.”
Her own experiences navigating adolescence helped inform what her novel’s young protagonists are going through in 1912.
“Being a teenager is kind of tricky sometimes. Life is just this roller-coaster ride. There’re always new things that come up, but I’ve always come back to writing, and, during COVID, as everyone knows, you had a lot of time on your hands during that period, so that’s when I started writing the book.”
During her elementary school years, she’d read Mary Pope Osbourne’s popular children’s book series Magic Tree House, and one book in particular, the 17th in the series, Tonight on the Titanic, put a fear of boats into her.
“I love that book but was so scared of ships. I was like, ‘I never want to go on a cruise ship.’ My family’s asked me, and I’m like, ‘No, I don’t want to do that.’ After readings all this stuff, I’m spooked out by it.”
Later she saw James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic. Inspiration struck.
“I did a lot of research on it because I was super interested after watching the movie. It made me sad for a couple weeks, and I was inspired to research it because this actually happened—you know?—this crazy event. It’s still so significant.
‘Life is just this roller-coaster ride. There’re always new things that come up, but I’ve always come back to writing.’
—Maylia Baird, SLO County author
“I decided I wanted to write my own story,” she continued, “so I literally just sat down one day, and I wrote the first draft all by hand. I remember writing at night, and I had to shake my [cramping] wrist. But it was nice to do it on paper. I feel like it was more of a creative experience. Pen to paper is better, and I usually would light a candle and just write. It was really fun.”
Her cramping hand eventually forced her to the computer, which made editing her book easier.
“I published it last February, so it took almost five years, maybe four and a half. It was mostly me editing it over and over again. I’m kind of a perfectionist. I changed so much stuff over and over again, and then I’d switch things back.”
Her parents started taking note of how often and long she sat at her computer in her room.
“They asked, ‘What are you working on? You’re always in your room.’ I said, ‘I’m writing a book,’ and my dad said, ‘Really? Well, how far are you?’ And I said, ‘I’m on chapter 30.’”
Her parents were both very supportive, and when it came time, her dad paid to have the manuscript professionally edited.
“I don’t know if you know how much editing is, but that can be really expensive to get a whole novel edited,” Baird marveled. “It was all I cared about for a while. I really wanted to finish this book. I don’t know why. Sometimes I felt like imposter syndrome, because I was only 18 at the time. I just felt like I needed to write it. It was weird.”
She can’t recall the exact quote, but she remembers reading something to the effect that writing isn’t a career choice but a compulsion or “calling” that comes to you.
“I definitely want to write more,” Baird said. “I’ve always wanted to write more of a family story. How my grandparents met—their story is very interesting. I really love writing things that are based off true stories. I remember loving at the end of a movie when it says, ‘Based off a true story.’ That’s so cool because this actually happened.
“I wanted to write about [my grandparents] and give them something they can hold in their hands and be able to read their stories,” she said. “I guess I’m the writer in the family, so I want to take on that.” ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in April 2-9, 2026.
Most of the central coast has published at least 2 books you can find in any book seller. Who does she know to get THIS treatment?