Biology Professor and Wife Team Up to Pen Novella

The burden of mediocrity – that is a heavy cross to bear. Jonah Emery is ready to shed that burden and begin to live deliberately, determined to define his future.

Dr. Tyler Moore, Assistant Professor of Biology, and his wife, Rachel, have collaborated to bring their central character Jonah’s story to the page in “Thinking Makes It So,” a novella written by the pair chronicling Jonah’s efforts to live his best life.

“It's about somebody who is tired of mediocrity, just living a boring, nothing life and deciding to live deliberately and find his purpose,” Moore said. “It’s about the notion of trying to do something grand with your life.”

Doing something meaningful with your life is a topic that Moore knows more than a little about. In his role as faculty at Bellevue University, Moore has had the opportunity to impact hundreds of students, preparing them for successful careers in such fields as biology, chemistry, and medicine. He’s also conducted and facilitated significant student research, most recently being awarded a $5,000 grant by Nebraska’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). Moore’s project, which will focus on anti-viral response (get more info from him) will attract and benefit Bellevue University undergraduate student researchers.

Moore met his co-author and wife, Rachel, during his studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. While he earned his bachelor’s degree and his Ph.D., Rachel earned her bachelor’s degree in English. While he was focused on completing his degrees, Moore was encouraged by one of his undergraduate professors to also spend one hour a day doing something creative.

“I think it really helps people who are in an analytical field,” Moore said. “It keeps your mind open to new ideas and new thoughts. I’ve tried to do that ever since whether it’s playing music, writing or whatever.”

Off and on for years, Moore had tried to convince Rachel to collaborate with him on a writing project, but his subject matter generally veered toward the macabre. Until he came up with the idea for “Thinking Makes It So.”

“I came up with something that was interesting enough or normal enough that she'd be willing to work on with me,” he said.

The pair started working on the book a little over a year ago.

“I first started writing a little something and let her look at it. She said it was terrible and gave me some ideas on how it could not be as terrible,” Moore said. “We ended up bouncing ideas off one another as we were writing it. It started out as this little short story and ended up growing longer. We thought about making it a full novel, but we got to a point where the story was finished.”

The back cover copy describes “Thinking Makes It So” as a “story of dreams, second chances, and the challenge of living a single life amongst infinite possibilities.” Something to be aspired to without doubt.

Published Feb. 23, 2019, the book, a 143-page novella, is available in both paperback and in the Kindle electronic format and can be purchased on Amazon.com.