Amy Koumis

My daughter, Amy, passed away in 2013 at age 23 just 9 days before her 24th birthday. It took me nine years to finally publish her first novel due to my overwhelming grief. Amy wanted more than anything else in the world to see her book get published but during her lifetime self- publishing was just becoming an accepted form of publication. She wrote three novels and she had two literary agents in her quest to get conventionally published but she never succeeded. I hope that the publication of "Emidrion" fulfills her dream since it is the best that I can do.

Unfortunately, Amy joined the rising numbers of young people who choose to take their lives. She had a promising life in front of her not only as a writer but as an accomplished artist as well. You can see her sketches of some of the characters in Emidrion at the beginning of her novel and her watercolor is the cover art for "Emidrion."

Amy began as a writer during her teenage years and she was part of the writing community of Colorado Springs, Colorado through the Pikes Peak Writers group. She began going to the yearly Pikes Peak Writers Conferences at age 14 where she was the youngest member to ever win an award at their writing contest. She was accepted as a peer member by the Pikes Peak Writers who took her under their wing.

Amy wrote 15 drafts of this novel, "Emidrion", and it even started out under a different title called "Dreamscape". When you read this novel, which was the last draft I found after her death, you may notice plot holes since she may have planned a sequel that was never written. I feel that these plot holes should not be fixed by me or anyone else since they might alter her unique voice.

Amy was also an accomplished cook who participated in cooking competitions such as Master Chef and you can meet Amy by watching her YouTube video where she introduces herself and cooks lavender crème brulee by clicking the QR Link in her book.