Copies of the book In The Shape Of Her, written by Tarkio native Andrew Riley, are now available for purchase. (Andrew Riley photos)

Andrew Riley grew up in Tarkio and graduated in 1987. In The Shape Of Her is his second published novel.

Andrew Riley has written a novel and while he is quick to downplay the achievement, the road from private idea to finished book has been anything but small. Riley, who was raised in Tarkio, Missouri, and graduated from Tarkio High School in 1987, is the author of In the Shape of Her, a romantic thriller with a science‑fiction twist. He describes the book as speculative fiction centered on an ordinary man named Daniel, who meets a woman named Lena in a chance encounter. That meeting leads to dinner, then dating, then a life together – until circumstances force both characters to face difficult truths about themselves.

“At its core, this is a story about two people who love each other facing a strange and impossible situation,” Riley said.

The book also surprised him during the writing process. Though he began with plans for the story, the characters did not always cooperate.

“I was amazed at what Daniel and Lena did,” he said. “I had plans and they ignored them. I’m glad they did, because their story was better than the one I had planned.”

Riley now lives in Petersburg, Illinois, with his wife, Anita, and son, Ben. His roots in Tarkio run deep: his father was Duane Riley, and his mother is Joyce (Jones) Riley. Both of his parents also grew up in Tarkio. Asked what he remembers most about growing up in town, Riley said it is less one specific memory than an entire feeling.

“The swimming pool in the summer, sledding on U.P. Hill until I couldn’t feel my toes in the winter . . . We had the best neighborhood when I was a kid. It seems like we were always out doing something.”

Those memories include riding bikes, playing football at Mr. Lindsey’s lot and wiffle ball in the yard between his house and Mr. McIntosh’s, time spent at the First Baptist Church with his grandparents, and Saturday nights on Main Street.

“It was awesome,” Riley remarked. “You only get to have one hometown and I wouldn’t trade being a kid in Tarkio in the ’70s and ’80s for anything.”

Riley credits much of who he became to the love and support he received as a child, especially from his grandparents. His maternal grandparents were Dale and Virginia Jones and his paternal grandparents, Bill and Georgia Riley, lived in Westboro, Missouri.

“I was very fortunate in that I had really good grandparents,” Riley said. “If there’s any good thing about me, it’s absolutely the result of having so much love and support as a kid.”

That support extended to his love of books. Riley said his family did not have money for everything, but his parents always encouraged his reading. His father introduced him to writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert Heinlein, and Riley also read fantasy novels heavily.

“I’ve always been a reader. Writing came later. I’ve written a lot more than I’ve published and I have more ideas for stories than I have skill or time to write them. Even if I can write one truly amazing sentence in a novel, I will feel like I’ve done something great,” Riley said. “Someday, I hope to do that.”

For Riley, one of the hardest parts of writing was not simply finishing the story – it was letting other people see it.

“Every part of going from idea to holding a physical book in your hand is hard,” he commented. “It’s very solitary, often lonely work. But for me, the hardest part is taking something from inside my head and showing it to other people, which is what writing really is. That is terrifying for me.”

Even so, Riley has now done exactly that. In the Shape of Her is available for pre‑order at andrewriley.net. Riley is also offering a special launch edition that includes the novel, two extra short stories, and a bonus chapter that ties the story together. He said the special edition is intended as something extra for the people who encouraged him while he was writing the book, and it will be limited to a single print run.

As for what he hopes readers take away from the novel, Riley keeps the answer simple. “I hope they’re left feeling like buying my book wasn’t a waste of money,” he said with a laugh. “And if it makes people think about what it means to really love someone, even when it’s impossibly hard, that would be nice.”