Baby Steps

Amidst a fair amount of chaos this past weekend my niece decided to share one of her firsts with me (and Emrys and her mom). For her birthday she got a walker type toy and spent Sunday night zooming around the house. She was all over the place. They have a lot of open space so she can’t toddle from one piece of furniture to another or anything so she’s a champion scooter but hadn’t made it too far on her little two feet yet.

And Then… on Monday night we were playing with her and realized that she was standing all by her self, closely examining a piece of paper. So my sister in law scooted back and gave here the “come here”. And a step later, she was there! So Lara and I were all excited and made her do it again before she realized what was going on. That time she got up to four steps. She’s going to be all over the place before we know it!

After the first steps she got to eat icecream with Uncle Emrys which was a treat since she'd been pretty "mommy clingy" most of the day.

I’m the proud aunt and really happy to live within driving distance of the little munchkin!

~sjt

Published!

After five long years, the process is complete! My first novel, As in a Mirror, is now available to the world in hardcover, paperback, and download formats. I made the decision to publish through an on-line publishing company who prints copies only after they are ordered by paying customers. While this means that my book has not passed through an established publishing house, it also means that I don't have to pay an editor, and agent, and a publishing house to get my book in print. It also means less work for me: sending my book to Random House, Del Rey, or another publisher would have meant more revisions for me, more changes, more time, and more anxiety.

Since I want to keep writing as a hobby rather than as another line of work, I decided to publish through the on-line world. Thus my book can be available to anyone who wants it, but especially to family and friends. So if you fall into these categories, this book is for you. Enjoy!

If you'd like a copy, go to www.lulu.com. In the search field enter my name (Emrys Tyler), and tell it to search in "books." You will then have the option to purchase one of the three formats. (I'm sorry about the need to form a login ID with Lulu--it's a hazard of the internet world, I guess.) Know that I am keeping no royalties from the sale of these books. Instead, I am taking inspiration from Sara and donating three dollars from every sale to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Since they're one of the vehicles the Lord used to heal Sara of her cancer, I reckon it's good to return a little of the gift.

Thanks to everyone who gave me encouragement and excitement along the way. Following through on a novel was not an easy task for me. But I'm glad the work has finally come to fruition. I'm excited to see what happens to it from here!

Please do let me know what you think of the book; I'd love to hear your responses. In the meantime, I'll be off to work on novel number two!

Shalom,
emrys