Sterling author completes first novel a decade after starting

STERLING HEIGHTS — To write a novel about time travel, author Steven Templar had to grapple with the passage of time himself.

Templar’s first completed novel, “Memoirs of a Lyrical Man,” was published in November 2023, and it is meant to be the first part of a broader Tapestry of Time series.

The story is over a decade in the making. Templar, which is the pen name of Steven Latawiec, 39, from Sterling Heights, said he started writing the book in 2011.

“It sat dormant for a while,” he said. “Just recently in the last seven months, I picked it up, started editing and polished it and released it in November.”

According to Templar, the book is a thriller full of time travel and adventure. The protagonist, Jay Hagaki, is an actor and musician who is thrust into dealing with threats, secrets and love.

Templar said it’s “hard to pin down a genre” for his book, but landed on it being a mix of science fiction, urban fantasy and historical fiction – the last being due to part of the story taking place in ancient China.

Templar’s wife, Amy Latawiec, said it “kind of felt like out of nowhere” for her husband to return to his writing and wrap up the book.

“But it was really cool,” she said. “It was really nice to see something that was written over a decade ago, to have another lens on it, from a perspective of growth.”

Latawiec said her favorite story arc in her husband’s book involves one of the main characters, Olivia.

“I selfishly want him to write a whole book about her,” she said.

Templar said the influences and inspirations for his writing come from all over, including real life.

“Sometimes they come into my mind even when I’m falling asleep,” he said. “I’ll think of something, and I’ll write it down or on my phone.”

He encouraged new writers to read and study lots of books, and then “learn as you go.”

“Keep reading and just keep writing,” he said. “Your first draft, it’s probably not going to be the best, so keep typing away. … Just get your first draft out there. You’ll have plenty of time to polish it later. As long as you keep coming back to it, it’ll happen.”

Templar recently entered his novel into a contest, The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. He said he found out about the contest a few months ago, adding that it’s run by a UK organization that’s geared toward indie authors. He said he entered it for a chance at publicity — and learned a few weeks ago that he has became a finalist.

“Part of it is being able to say that you won it,” he said. “Honestly, that’s what I’m looking for.”

Templar said he hasn’t done much marketing for “Memoirs of a Lyrical Man,” aside from some TikTok videos and Facebook ads, though he said authors tend to get more popular once they have more books under their belt. He said his second book should be coming out by late spring or early summer.

“I wrote it much faster than the first one,” he said.

Learn more about “Memoirs of a Lyrical Man,” by Steven Templar, by visiting amazon.com/Memoirs-Lyrical-Man-Tapestry-Time/dp/B0CLV1YT13, or by visiting amazon.com and typing “Memoirs of a Lyrical Man” in the search bar.