Growing up in Marlborough Township, amid a centuries-old farmhouse with wide open spaces, Katelyn Detweiler had room to roam and a boundless imagination.

        It enabled her to build elaborate worlds and storylines with her friends, but also to explore something else – many of life's what-ifs.

        "Obnoxious hypothetical questions stimulate my brain," she said, matter-of-factly with a laugh.  "When I was younger I would always ask what if this or what if that."

        And it was one of those hypotheticals that swirled around her brain during a long car trip with her mom, Carol, which eventually led to the premise of her first book.

        "I asked her if she would believe me if I told her I was pregnant and a virgin and she paused for a moment and then said 'yes,'" Detweiler said in a phone interview from her Brooklyn apartment.  "You see so many retelling of fairy tales, mythology, Shakespeare, Jane Austen…it begged the question what would people say in this modern day?" 

        "Immaculate" was born.  In the book, which debuted May 26 through Penguin Random House, Detweiler offers an intriguing look at how the biblical story could play out in this day and age.  Seventeen-year-old Mina, whom the author describes as a "nerdy but endearing overachiever," finds herself pregnant despite never having had sex. 

        "How do you deal with that?" Detweiler said, noting Mina's orderly world collapses. 

        "Almost nobody believes her claims of virginity. Her father assumes that her boyfriend is responsible; her boyfriend believes she must have cheated on him," a teaser for the young adult book says.  "As news of Mina's story spreads, there are those who brand her a liar. There are those who brand her a heretic. And there are those who believe that miracles are possible—and that Mina's unborn child could be the greatest miracle of all."

        Detweiler said people shouldn't be overly concerned that the book is religiously based or put it into an 'angels versus demons' box. 

        "It's not limited to a single set of beliefs.  There is something for everyone in it.  It's about people finding that middle ground; believing in the people we love and trust.  Maybe there are things we can't explain with science," she said.

        The 29-year-old, who coincidentally wrote the book long before the recent debut of the CW network's show, "Jane the Virgin," said the whole process of becoming an author has been a roller coaster.

        As a student at Upper Perkiomen High School, she was a bit torn between trying to pursue a degree in English or going into the field of science, which she deemed more practical.

        She credits several teachers, including Ernie Quatrani, with urging her to take a chance to do what she loves.  Detweiler went on to study English and Women's Studies at Penn State before moving to New York City, where she now works as a literary agent.

        And how did it feel to finally see her own words, her own name in print?

        "That's a crazy moment," she admitted.  "I wasn't expecting it for a few weeks when it arrived.  I just sat there staring at it with some of my colleagues."

        Detweiler held a hometown book launch and reading at the Upper Perkiomen Valley Library in Red Hill June 6.

        About 90 people packed the library's community room to support her and learn more about the book, including former teachers, classmates and friends from Upper Perk's writing club along with family, friends and fellow professionals. 

        "It was the most beautiful thing ever," Detweiler said of the event.  "It felt like almost everyone I ever knew in life was there.  People seem to love it [the book]."

        There, Detweiler and her mom read an excerpt from the book and she fielded questions from the audience.

        "It's quite an accomplishment for Katelyn; she always brought a lot to the table," Quatrani said.  "Getting a book published is really difficult.  I admire her perseverance.  I'm very proud of her."

        Detweiler said she has plans to come back to the area in the fall, to speak in the Upper Perkiomen School District and for an event at the Indian Valley Public Library in Telford.  In the meantime she is busy with readings, festivals , panel discussions and "meet the author" events at bookstores and libraries in New York and Washington DC.

        She is also busy penning a sequel to "Immaculate," which can be read as a stand-alone, set 17 years after the birth of Mina's baby.  That book, still untitled, is set to come out next year.

        While in New York, Detweiler said she likes to visit Prospect Park and does yoga to stay sane.  But although she thoroughly enjoys the great food and cocktails her new hometown has to offer, she still comes back to her Hoppenville Road, Marlborough home once a month to unwind.  She said it's her favorite place to write.

        "It's an escape for me," she said, noting a tattoo of Hoppenville in her mother's handwriting adorns her forearm.  "It's where I came from, my story."

        For more information on "Immaculate," visit katelyndetweiler.com.