“Mr. Purvis and Tiny” is Brian Eckert’s first published book. — Standard-Radio Post/Richard Zowie
By Richard Zowie
Growing up on a ranch near Fredericksburg, Brian Eckert wrote a lot of what he calls “cowboy poetry.”
These writings have gone on to inspire Eckert’s first venture into fiction, a new children’s book “Mr. Purvis and Tiny.”
WestBow Press published the book in November.
Inspired by true stories, this book is about a cowboy rancher named Mr. Purvis and his Brahman bull named Tiny.
“He’s an old cowboy who’s got a problem on his ranch,” Eckert said, describing Mr. Purvis. “He tries to take care of the problem without being mean or ugly, but just kind of in a fun, cowboy way. He deals with problems in his own way.”
Specifically, Mr. Purvis uses humor, wit and a “Tiny” solution to protect his favorite fishing hole from unwanted guests.
“My wife, Mary, encouraged me to make the cowboy poetry into a children’s book since they were very fitting with what kids like to chuckle at and have a good time with,” he said.
It took Eckert two months to write the book. The rest of the process, including illustrations by Michael Goodwyn and the publishing process, took about two years.
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