When he was a boy, Joshua Gabe dreamed of becoming a successful author by writing stories and composing colorful works of fiction. His father, though, was doubtful and told young Joshua that he needed to find a more stable job that would guarantee a comfortable life.

Gabe, though, now a 22-year-old English major at the University, held onto his dream.

Gabe has released several editions of his first book, Counting My Blessings and has another book entitled When Cinderella Falls Down Dead to reach online bookstores including Barnes and Noble and Borders April 4. And he’s already working on another novel; he is three chapters into his new story.

When Cinderella Falls Down Dead is a twist on the classic story, Cinderella. But instead of writing about bickering stepsisters and a pumpkin that turns into a golden carriage fit for a queen, Gabe turned the story into a mystery, adding tidbits of black humor and sarcasm.

“The more satirical pieces (in the novel) is a J.K. Rowling spoof and it’s not made to hurt but made to poke fun,” he said. “I think even J.K. Rowling would find it funny.”

He explains a scene from his book.

“She sits down next to the fairy god-mother-like character and she points a finger and says ‘repariamus’ (reconcillio) and the main character goes, ‘wait, wait, wait isn’t that dangerously close to a copyright infringement?’” he said. “And the godmother says ‘no, it’s actually the Latin word for repair with the wrong conjugation.’”

The story is about a girl named Christina and her best friend, Gloria, who join a police internship program called the Junior Detectives. It starts out simple and innocent with Christina having many Lizzie McGuire-like moments such as tripping and falling into trash cans. But the two girls quickly find out that there is more to their innocent small town of Clearwater, Mass.

Most of Gabe’s stories incorporate the female voice as the main storyteller because he feels that women are more emotionally complex.

“I actually interviewed over 60 women and found what they look for in love; you want a more realistic approach,” Gabe said about his research for his collection of short poems, Counting My Blessings as well as adding a preface of his latest book.

In the future, Gabe plans to hold a book signing at the ASUN Bookstore when the book is released around April 14.

When Gabe first published Counting My Blessings, he said his father gave few accolades and wasn’t supportive of his son’s dream to become a writer but when he handed his dad When Cinderella Falls Down Dead, and showed him the marketing that publisher WordClay has given him, his father started to change his mind and supported his son.