Cybersecurity student is published author

WACO  – A Texas State Technical College Cybersecurity student became a published author last year – and is planning to publish more.

Brian Lonidier is a full-time worker, a student working on an Associates in Cybersecurity at TSTC, a mayor pro tem and a published author. He said finding the balance was not easy, but he made school a priority and worked on his book when he could.

“I use Google Docs to do my writing, so throughout the day I would just pick up my phone and start writing out on the chapter I was working on,” he said.

“I was very diligent about school, so that always took priority over the book. And I would always finish my semester really early so that I could focus on the book as well.”

After about 20 years in the retail business, Lonidier said he wanted a change, and the choice to go to TSTC for Cybersecurity was an easy one. 

“When I was in high school, me and a couple of my friends actually went and toured TSTC in Waco, and it was there that I initially wanted to do cybersecurity,” Lonidier said.

“I took a year off – that then turned into two, then three, then I don’t know – 20. That thought of TSTC and the cybersecurity degree never left my mind, so when I decided to finally do something about it, it was the first choice, my only choice.”

At the same time that he decided to go back to school, Lonidier’s wife found a short story he had written while he had been a part of a forum group that wrote fan fiction. 

She suggested  he take the piece and write a book based on it, so he did.

Lonidier said the book was inspired by the TV show “Heroes.” The book, titled “Kaden Michaels: The Rise of Yencom,” involves young adults with unique abilities, a tech company that wants to exploit them, and a main character Lonidier described as “sarcastic,” a “smart aleck” and “witty.”

One Amazon review of his book echoed this analysis of his main character.

“Received my copy this weekend and could not put it down,” the review stated. “Intriguing storyline with a witty main character who makes it fun to follow along in his journey. From start to finish... you will be hooked!”

Lonidier said the inspirations for many of his characters and their conversations are based on real life.

“A lot of the conversations back and forth are either things I’ve heard said or, maybe not specifically, the way people talk to each other,” he said. “Coming from retail – I’ve had a lot of people to draw on.”