Yes, this is another post about Finding Home! Why? Because I’m hoping curiosity and over-saturation will prompt a few of you to look for the book on January 9^th. That happens to be my mother’s birthday. She passed away last year. Anyone who has lost a parent knows that there is a gap in their life, like a missing tooth (which also happened to me last year incidentally). Every once in a while I take a bite and I’m so aware of the missing tooth. Same with my mom. Little gaps make themselves known—a phone call I want to make, but can’t; a flower she loved; a phrase she always said comes to mind without warning. I’m hoping that the launch of my first book will add new significance to that day.

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Tyler wants a simple life—a hands-on job to pay the bills and a home to call his own. He doesn’t want a family yet, definitely not his family. But then his four young half-brothers need “looking after”. He can’t escape going back to his hometown where he faces not only his beer-guzzling stepfather and a bitter ex-girlfriend, but also a family history his mother doesn’t want him to know.

Finding Home- Tyler’s Story Book One: New Adult/81k words/ Contemporary Literary

Launching on Amazon (approx.) Jan 9, 2026.

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Here’s the excerpt for today:

I’m surprised we don’t get kicked out of Walmart as soon as I walk in with my gaggle of dirty ducklings. I wasn’t about to make the boys take baths, but we’re getting looks even from the Walmart people.

“Can we get this?” 7-year-old Clinton says, holding up a huge bag of chips.

“Put it back,” I say. I’m just getting the basics, cheap stuff that will go far. I skip vegetables. They won’t eat them, and I’m not their mama. Just as I’m hoisting a gallon jug of milk into the cart, I hear a scream of delight.

“Tyler, is that you?”

I’m not glad to see Linda. She looks good though. She put on some pounds, but her pretty face is healthier with it. There’s a baby blowing spit bubbles in the cart seat and a toddler in the cart with a chocolate bar half-melted across her cheeks.

“What are you doing here?” She cries out. A few people look our way. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to town? I would have had you over for dinner.”

She’s joking, right? We haven’t talked since the phone call I hung up on. The one when she was about to tell me she was with someone else.

“Mom is in the hospital. Boys need looking after,” I say, but I feel like I’m talking about someone else’s life. I’m not a family guy. I left. My life is not about “dinners” and “looking after” kids. I don’t belong here.

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Be sure to come back tomorrow for another excerpt!

Did you miss the last two? Check them out:

Diving into Self-Publishing: My Journey with ‘Finding Home’

Beyond the Dream

Have a great day, Clare