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Donna Tytko always thought that she鈥檇 write a book, and, as a student in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program at Excelsior College, she finally had the impetus.

For the capstone experience of the program, she chose to pursue a creative thesis. 鈥淗ow could you argue with writing a book as part of your education?鈥� quips Tytko, an avid reader since childhood. The course requirements directed that she incorporate her graduate-level research into the creative thesis and show how her studies influenced the novel. Her research paper explored psychology, education, and leadership, so she brought these themes to her novel 鈥淣ight Air,鈥� a psychological thriller about a woman named Penny who is haunted by her past.

The book captures situations from the perspectives of various characters. 鈥淚 wanted the book to be from different people鈥檚 points of view. It鈥檚 like research [that way]鈥夆�︹�塈 wanted all these people鈥檚 points of view coming through in the story,鈥� says Tytko.

The novel was essentially completed when she earned her master鈥檚 degree in May 2010, but Tytko wasn鈥檛 finished with the story. She ultimately rewrote the novel five times, starting from page 1 each time and working her way through it. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 really satisfied with it,鈥� she says. She鈥檇 consider whether a character was adding to the story and then decided to eliminate those that didn鈥檛 advance the story.

Through the rewrites, Tytko didn鈥檛 know how the book would end. Once she did have this elusive piece of the plot, the novel finally came together. In all, it took nine years to bring the novel to completion. After that, she moved on to writing another one. 鈥淚 spend a lot of time enjoying the act of writing,鈥� says Tytko with a laugh.

She was not going to be one of those people who throw away their first novel, however, since she had put countless hours into perfecting hers. 鈥淚t was certainly difficult to stop writing it,鈥� says Tytko, who explains that she would write from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. and then wake at 6 a.m. for her day. 鈥淢y vacation for years was working on my novel.鈥�

For the second book, Tytko has learned to write outlines for each chapter so that she knows the ending early on and can avoid complete rewrites. This next book is a biography of Hattie Gray, the founder of the famed Hattie鈥檚 Chicken Shack in Saratoga Springs, New York, who was known as much for her restaurant as for her support of neighbors and the community. 鈥淚 greatly admire her generous spirit,鈥� says Tytko. 鈥淚 learned about Hattie when I was doing research for my novel. I was looking for someone who lived in the Capital District and was known for their extraordinary kindness. In my book 鈥淣ight Air,鈥� Penny is given a 鈥渉and up鈥� by Hattie.鈥�

When she was learning how to write a novel, Tytko, the associate dean for liberal arts at Siena College in Loudonville, New York, was also learning about herself. 鈥淚 learned to respect my own intuition and skills,鈥� she says, adding that she put the book out for the public only when she thought it was ready.

鈥淭he education I received at Excelsior really did make this novel much richer,鈥� says Tytko. As a graduate student, she incorporated liberal arts concepts into a research paper titled 鈥淵ou Do Better When You Know Better.鈥� These concepts also appear in her novel. 鈥淭here is so much available to us to make our decisions, so many viewpoints out there.鈥�