From novelist Willy Vlautin to grammarian Mignon Fogarty, many up and coming authors call Reno home. Author William Robinson will join this group of budding authors Jan. 10 with the publication of his first action adventure novel "The Search for Excalibur."

"It's kind of an Indiana Jones type of book," Robinson said. "Any age group can enjoy it. It's based off of some of the folklore myths of King Arthur and his sword, the Excalibur."

The main character in the book is an adventurer named Quincy O'Rourke. He goes on a quest to see if the Excalibur really exists and as Robinson describes, is "thrown into a spiral of a lot of action and a lot of danger. He's hired to find the sword and if it does exist, he can bring it back for a hefty price from the university he works for."

For Robinson, the publishing process was a long one.

"I submitted the book to two literary agents," Robinson said. "They submitted it to a wide variety of different publishers and went that didn't work I went on my own without a literary agent. I when through Publish America by myself and they offered to publish the book."

There has been an increase in authors who write for children and young adults in recent years, which could be due to the success of authors writing for these audiences.

"There's a big target right now for children's books," Robinson said. "Ever since books like the Harry Potter series came out, a lot of authors are trying to publish these types of books."

Robinson was inspired to write the book while on his honeymoon. "My wife and I went to the Excalibur casino in Las Vegas, which I really liked because from the time we walked through the doors, it felt like we were in a different era," Robinson said. "I started thinking about the myth of the Excalibur and realized that there haven't been many stories written about it, so I decided to write one."

"I've always been a writer," Robinson said. "Ever since high school, I've loved to write. I've written a lot of short stories and haven't finished a lot of the stories I started a long time ago."

Robinson is currently working on his second book, which is a love story. Depending on the reaction to "The Search for Excalibur," Robinson will write another book revolving around the Arthurian myths.

"I really enjoy writing action adventures," Robinson said. "I learn a lot through researching and have a lot of fun writing them."

The book is available through www.barnesandnoble.com, www.amazon.com, www.target.com, www.borders.com and other local retailers.