Ordinary Sun

by Tyler Martinez

Dave Sanders doesn't look back on his childhood summers in Minden, Nebraska with fondness. When the death of his estranged brother calls him back, he's forced to reconcile the past he thought he knew with the reality he never saw.

Making the reluctant journey, Dave finds unexpected company in a British hitchhiker and a survivor of domestic abuse. Two strangers, each on a journey of their own, becoming the family he never knew he needed.

Told across two timelines, Ordinary Sun is a haunting, tender reckoning with grief, estrangement, and the long road back to belonging. Written with dry humor and deep reverence for the ordinary moments that shape an extraordinary life, it asks whether the distance between who we were and who we become can ever truly be closed.

Some suns burn out. Some just need to be reminded of the light they hold.

For anyone who's ever wondered if it's too late to come back.


Contains mature themes including suicide, grief, and loss. Help is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988.

363 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 5, 2026