Adaptation: A Writer's Journey - Navigating the storms of independent publishing and writing

Unsafe On Any Campus? heads to Barnes & Noble!

09/06/16 / SR Staley / Book Signings, Marketing, Unsafe On Any Campus / Barnes & Noble, book signings, Unsafe On Any Campus

Barnes & Noble has accepted Unsafe On Any Campus? into their system.

Unsafe On Any Campus? has been accepted into the Barnes & Noble system, which greatly facilitates my ability to organize and schedule book events at these stores. In fact, bricks and mortar book stores are great venues for the kinds of public information and education events I want to organize around my book signings.

All a local Barnes & Noble manager has to do is check their system, and they will find Unsafe On Any Campus? This means they do not have to get corporate approval to host an event, and they can order the books directly through their distributors.

The first event will be at Barnes & Noble in Tallahassee, Sunday, September 11, 2016. I will start off with a brief talk at 3 pm on “Six Questions Parents and Students Should Ask College Admissions Staff About College Sexual Assault.” I’ll then open up the floor to Q&A and discussion. Of course, I’ll also be available to sign books!

I hope this is the beginning of a new wrinkle on a national marketing campaign!

If you want to support my effort, here’s the link to the Barnes & Noble order page for Unsafe On Any Campus? College Sexual Assault and What We Can Do About It.

Jason Bourne and visual storytelling

08/31/16 / SR Staley / Film Reviews, Films, Showing vs telling, writing and storytelling / Jason Bourne, matt damon, show don't tell, story telling, visual story telling

I once read in a book on writing screenplays that movies are 80% visual, and this is one reason why movies are so successful at connecting with audiences. Humans are visual animals, and they interpret their surroundings based on sight. All the senses are important, but when it comes to identifying or assessing threats, or devising strategies, we rely on our eyes more than any other sense.

I was reminded of this while watching the most recent Jason Bourne film based on the Robert Ludlum character and novels. The film is a direct sequel to The Bourne Ultimatum, and it’s aptly titled because the story in this movie is really about Jason Bourne trying to uncover his true identity. The entire cast–Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, relative newcomer Alicia Vikander and others–does a great job save for Julia Stiles playing Nicky Parsons (whose performance I thought was rather wooden). The plot is fast paced with two extended car chases, which should be enough to keep teenagers in age and heart more than engaged. In other words, Jason Bourne is an example of a big-ticket action film that’s also well produced on a big budget.

But that’s not what really impressed me.

Rather, the first 15 or 20 minutes of the film seemed like a masterful example of visual storytelling. We must have been five or ten minutes into the film before any meaningful dialogue was spoken by the main characters. Yet the entire story was essentially set up with visual cues and action.

The opening scenes have Nicky Parsons (Stiles) hacking into the CIA’s database to download files on the covert assassin programs run by the agency’s director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones). All she says, in effect, is the password to get into the warehouse were a platoon of hackers is working in a wikileaks manner to uncover dark secrets held by government. We immediately know she is active in trying to identify and expose the covert CIA assassin programs–Blackbriar, Treadstone–when she discovers a new program Iron Hand which is the surveillance programs of all surveillance programs. She also uncovers files that identifies Bourne’s father as a key player in setting up the initial Treadstone program. All this is done through Nicky’s actions–her expressions as she discovers different components, her fingers as she works the keyboard, the computer monitor as files and file folders appears–as movie goers look over her shoulder as she hacks away. She clicks on folders, opens and scans files, downloads them, and then escapes after the CIA identifies the hack and shuts the operation down. Thus, we, as onlookers, put the pieces together. We discover that the CIA is active in its covert program, the agency is more ruthless than ever, Nicky is hot on the trail and scared, and she still is doing a lot of legwork for Bourne. She cares.

In another highly effective exercise in visual storytelling, driven in part because Jason Bourne is a man over very few words, the director (Paul Greengrass) establishes that Bourne is alive and well, but living under the radar. Visual scenes with very little dialogue other than crowds yelling words depict Bourne in underground, presumably illegal, fights in Greece. That’s how Bourne now earns his living–cash in a cash society so nothing can be traced. No words are spoken by Bourne, but we know he is living a gritty, exhausting, meticulously low profile existence. And he’s tough and fit.

These are just a few of the sequences that depict a talented director and filmmaker practicing the art of “Show don’t telll.” For those interesting in film as visual storytelling, and thinking outside the box for ways to “show don’t tell” in narrative fiction writing, studying the first 15 minutes of Jason Bourne is well worth the effort.

Isabella sails into gold at the FAPA President’s Awards

08/10/16 / SR Staley / Awards, Awards, Pirate of Panther Bay, Teen & YA fiction, Tortuga Bay / book awards, coming of age, FAPA, Florida Authors and Publishers Association, Isabella, new adult, pirate of panther bay, pirates, romance, Tortuga Bay, young adult, young adult fiction

Tortuga Bay earned two gold medals in the FAPA President’s Awards

Tortuga Bay continues to generate enthusiasm and accolades as 2016 moves into its final months. Earlier, Isabella and her crew fought their way to recognition as a Category Finalist in the Eric Hoffer Book Awards. Tortuga Bay has also made it into the final rounds of the Royal Palm Literary Awards (final results will be released in October). Now, her crew earned gold medals in two categories of the President’s Award competition hosted by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association.

Both awards came in Young Adult (YA) categories. This first category was Young Adult Fiction, a broad category that would have her compete among many other books and subgenres. The second category was in YA Romance, Coming of Age, and New Adult.

Gold medal certificate for Young Adult Fiction

Tortuga Bay (and the Pirate of Panther Bay series) are showing a broad appeal. While all the results are not in, the story has made it into the RPLA finals under Published Fiction—Mainstream/Literary. That means the novel is competing against a wide range of novels, in and outside the young adult category. In addition, Tortuga Bay made it into the RPLA semi-finals in the categories of YA historical fiction, women’s fiction, and YA romance.

Gold medal certificate for Young Adult Romance/Coming of Age/New Adult

FAPA’s awards have a lot of integrity. Unlike some other competitions, FAPA does not feel obligated to hand out awards to books based on the number of submissions in a category. Each book is judged and evaluated numerically based on a rubric. In order to become a finalist, the book has to meet a minimum numerical threshold from the judges. Specific thresholds are also necessary to qualify as bronze, silver or gold. Some categories, in fact, didn’t have any medalists. Other categories didn’t have any gold medals awarded, and others didn’t have bronze or silver medal awards. So, winners have confidence that their award was based on an absolute measure of quality (although scores are still subjective) that are compared equally across other submissions.

Thus, we are particularly proud to have earned these gold medals.

To buy Tortuga Bay, check out amazon.com or SYP Publishing.

For more on the series and how it can be used in the classroom, check out my website: http://www.srstaley.com/pirate-of-panther-bay.html

Why Florida is a great place to be as a writer

07/23/16 / SR Staley / Keys to Success, Writers & Writing / employment, Florida, ranking, writers

Tortuga Bay has been nominated in categories such as mainstream/literary, women’s fiction, YA historical fiction, YA fiction, and YA/New Adult/Coming of Age

Tortuga Bay has been doing very well in the literary competition race this year in Florida, which prompted a thought: How important is Florida as a center for writing?

This question can be sliced a lot of different ways, but as a social scientist and economist, I thought one way would be to look at employment. Presumably writers tend to locate in places where opportunities to flourish would be greatest. We would naturally expect places such as Los Angeles and New York to be havens because of the concentration of the entertainment industry. But what about states like Texas, or Florida, which are large states but where our industries are perhaps less developed?

So, I went to the U.S. Department of Labor and dug up labor force data by occupation (May 2015, the most recent available right now). For those that are data hounds, the classification is Writers & Authors OES code 27-3043 under the larger classification of Independent Artists, Writers & Performers.

As expected Florida does well.

Overall, the nation employed 43,380 people who listed writers & authors as their primary occupation. The top two states–California and New York–employed one third of the nation’s writers and and authors. Florida ranked fourth, just below Texas. The top six states employ half of the nation’s authors & writers.

	State	Employment	% of Nation
1	California	7,890	18.30%
2	New York	6,710	15.56%
3	Texas	2,340	5.43%
4	Florida	1,770	4.10%
5	Pennsylvania	1,550	3.59%
6	Illinois	1,460	3.39%
7	Ohio	1,250	2.90%
8	Virginia	1,190	2.76%
9	Massachussetts	1,180	2.74%
10	District of Columbia	1,170	2.71%

When broken down by metropolitan area, the dominance of New York and Los Angeles are clear. The New York City metropolitan area alone employs 15% of the nation’s writers and authors. The Los Angeles metro area employs another 12%. Chicago has the next highest concentration with 5.5%. Thus, the top three metro areas employ one third of the nation’s writers and authors. Miami, with 510 writers and authors, ranks well outside the top 10 among metropolitan areas.

This raises an important question: Even though Florida does not have a dominant metro area, what explains the state’s ranking? Quite simply, Florida writers are distributed across several metropolitan areas as the table below shows.

Metropolitan Area	Authors & Writers	% of State
Cape Coral-Ft Myers	40	2.26%
Deltona-Daytona Beach	50	2.82%
Jacksonville	120	6.78%
Miami-Ft Lauderdale	510	28.81%
Orlando-Kissimmee	350	19.77%
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titsuville	30	1.69%
Port St. Lucie	50	2.82%
Tampa-St. Petersburg	350	19.77%

More than half of our states writers and authors are employed in Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Orlando-Kissimmee, or Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area. We are spread out over the state. Unfortunately, data for Gainesville and Tallahassee were unavailable because of their small size, but the pattern is pretty clear: Florida’s authors are spread out geographically, suggesting no metropolitan area has a defined competitive advantage within the state.

In short, Florida is a good place to be a writer. We have one of the nation’s highest concentrations of writers yet geography does not see to play as important a role in where we live and work.

Tortuga Bay advances in Royal Palm Literary Awards

07/22/16 / SR Staley / Books / FAPA, Hoffer Award, literary competitions, RPLA, Tortuga Bay

Tortuga Bay makes semifinals in four cross over categories at RPLA

I am really excited to announce that Tortuga Bay, the second book in the Pirate of Panther Bay Series published by Southern Yellow Pine Publishing, has advanced to the semifinals in four categories in the Royal Palm Literary Awards: Mainstream/Literary published fiction, Women’s Fiction, Historical Fiction (published), and Young Adult/New Adult fiction. These accomplishments simply reinforce the cross over appeal of the Pirate of Panther Bay series, something I had sensed but really didn’t have good evidence to support my thoughts.

This adds to Tortuga Bay’s wins in the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s Awards in Young Adult Historical Fiction and Young Adult/New Adult/Coming of Age. (We won’t know until August 6th whether the book wins a gold, silver, or bronze medal.)

Perhaps the highest profile success so far has been becoming a Finalist in the Eric Hoffer Books Awards.

The next step for RPLA is to wait to see if Tortuga Bay makes it into the finals. If that happens, I’m off to Orlando again in October.

Amazon links to “Unsafe On Any Campus?” are now live!

07/21/16 / SR Staley / Campus Sexual Assault, Interpersonal violence, Sexual Assault, sexual assault prevention, Unsafe On Any Campus / campus rape, campus sexual assault, Southern Yellow Pine Publishing, syp publishing, Unsafe On Any Campus

Unsafe On Any Campus? College Sexual Assault and What We Can Do About It.

I am happy to report that the amazon.com links to Unsafe On Any Campus? are now live! I also discovered that pre-orders have hit #53 in the rankings under political science/public policy/abuse.

Amazon print $14.95: http://bit.ly/UnsafeAznPrint
Amazon kindle ($4.95): http://bit.ly/Unsafekindle

Pre-orders for $3 off are still available through Southern Yellow Pine’s website using the coupon code READ: http://bit.ly/syppunsafe

And, of course, we have an amazing line up of experts for our public forum and launch event at Element3 Church on July 28th, at 7:00 pm.

Tracy Lawson’s “Ignite” piles on action, conspiracy and ideas

07/19/16 / SR Staley / Books, Teen & YA fiction / Counteract, dystopian literature, economics, incite, resist, Tracy Lawson, YA, young adult literature

I have previously reviewed Tracy Lawson’s first and second books (Counteract and Resist) in her dystopian Resistance Series, and I am enjoying how her story is arcing and taking shape.

In Ignite, the third book, the characters are becoming more complex, their personal struggles more nuanced. The plot is not just thickening, it’s becoming more layered. New, quirky characters are added with enough foreboding and mystery to keep us hooked. All these are signs of a series that is maturing and is growing with its readership.

One of the great benefits of science fiction, and YA dystopian literature in particular, is the ability to create worlds that grapple with larger issues that can be difficult to address in contemporary novels. The Hunger Games may be one of the most famous examples, where Suzanne Collins used her novels to explore the effects of violence on children, power, and society. Lawson—winner of the 2016 Best YA Fiction award from the Texas Writers Association—follows in this tradition although her ideas are more straightforward and more clearly embedded in the plot.

Tracy Lawson, author of the Resistance Series

The premise of the series is actually not that fantastical—another trait of good science fiction. Using the threat of imminent terrorist threats, including biological attack, the federal government has developed a serum that inoculates the public against the threat. In truth, public officials use it to control the population. One of the more fascinating subplots is how these public officials seize control of the government apparatus by essentially sidestepping the traditional policy making process. The country still has an elected president, but the real power is in the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense (OCSD). Anyone who has observed the growing power of the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection since the 1970s will have no trouble believing this kind of political ninjitsu (but this is another story for another blog).

Ignite picks up where Resist’s cliff hanger left the reader—the lead character Careen Catecher has been wounded in an explosion that destroyed the student center at the local university (geographically in the Midwest). She is captured, and as a leader of The Resistance she is a coveted prize for the nefarious leader of the OSCD, Madalyn. Meanwhile, Tommy Bailey hides out in the mountains with other leaders of The Resistance looking for his opportunity to rescue her.

While Ignite continues the star-crossed love story of Tommy and Careen—and the most important thread that holds the series together—its role as the literary vehicle that carries the tension and plot of series becomes more clear as the fourth novel ratchets up conspiracies to new levels. The conspiracies challenge Tommy and Careen, but also relationships between families, allies, and enemies.

But Lawson adds a substantive twist to this series and story that is rare in contemporary literature outside of authors such as Ayn Rand—she fuses economic and political commentary into the plot and character arcs. As times become more desperate, the government has seized control of the “commanding heights” of the economy, particularly food production and distribution. The government has banned private grocery stories to prevent price gauging and to ensure fair and equitable distributions of food (and, of course, give the government more control over the distribution of their mind control drug).

But this strategy backfires because Lawson understands economics. She uses basic economic principles to lay the foundation for growing civil unrest, something we’ve seen over and over again in real life. Lawson cleverly uses access to an essential commodity—food—to show the inevitable social and economic dysfunction that arises when policymakers fail to remember that one single entity can’t coordinate the distribution of goods to meet consumer desires and needs efficiently. Inevitably, the product that the central authority—usually the government—attempts to control, becomes more scarce. When policymakers ignore this insight, gleaned from way too much human tragedy in history, shortages result. (Think Venezuela today, but also North Korea or Cuba, or the former Soviet Union.) The masses are deprived of basic goods and services while the politically connected have privileged access. If the shortages persist, civil unrest is often inevitable. The OCSD is not immune from these economic principles, which are robust enough to almost be called laws.

While some of the dialogue tends toward the Randianesque—focusing on content more than action—the tension created by this dynamic propels the plot so the reader gets a healthy dose of ideas on top of emotional tension and conflict. Whether Lawson’s YA readers will grasp this substance has yet to be seen, but so far the Resistance Series has been selling. Regardless, by adding this substance, Lawson adds complexity that reflects a literary evolution of the series that will suit her readers as they mature with the books.

If you haven’t had a chance to read the first two books, Lawson is promoting the third book with a free giveaway of the first two books (in ebook versions July 19-20, buy Ignite: Book 3 of the Resistence Series from amazon (http://amzn.to/295WBYY). Then, send the receipt to tracy@counteractbook.com. She’ll then send you free downloads of the first two books for free.

Book release and public forum for “Unsafe On Any Campus?” event details

07/07/16 / SR Staley / Campus Sexual Assault, Interpersonal violence, Sexual Assault, sexual assault prevention, Unsafe On Any Campus / campus sexual assault, element3 church, interpersonal violence, Ruth Krug, Unsafe On Any Campus

Unsafe On Any Campus? Public forum details for July 28, 2016

Unsafe On Any Campus? College Sexual Assault and What We Can Do About It will be officially released at a public forum and discussion on campus sexual assault at Element3 Church in Tallahassee on Thursday, July 28th. All the details are now set, and the public forum will include an A-list line up of experts on campus sexual assault.

How many students become victims of sexual assault on college campuses?
What can students do to protect themselves and their friends?
What are colleges doing to address campus sexual assault?
What questions should every student ask their college admissions officer?

These and other questions will be answered by participants in a discussion moderated by Sam Staley, author of Unsafe On Any Campus?

Doors will open at 6:30 pm with the program beginning at 7 pm and wrapping up by 9 pm. Red-Eye Coffee and refreshments will be provided, courtesy of Element3 Church and Southern Yellow Pine Publishing. The forum will be highly interactive, maximizing audience input and questions. We will also be running a simultaneous Facebook event so anyone from around the world can participate and ask questions. (Details on this to follow.)

Here are the details on the speakers:

Ruth Krug

Ruth is a certified trauma-sensitive yoga trainer, mindfulness teacher, and campus rape survivor based in the Midwest. She is also a Restorative Justice practitioner who has worked in local public schools at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels. A graduate of Florida State University, she majored in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences with a focus on political science, nonprofit administration and economics. Ruth’s healing journey is chronicled along with other survivor stories and testimonies on her blogs Feeding the Heart and Reclaiming Lost Voices.

Christopher Krebs

Christopher Krebs, PhD

Chief Scientist, Center for Justice, Safety, and Resilience, RTI International

Chris has extensive research experience in the areas of corrections, substance abuse epidemiology and treatment, intimate partner violence and sexual violence, HIV transmission among and associated high-risk behaviors of offenders and inmates, criminal justice systems, and program evaluation. He has led and worked on a number of projects for the National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. He has employed both quantitative and qualitative methods in his research and has extensive experience designing studies, developing survey instruments, analyzing data, and disseminating findings. Dr. Krebs has published and presented numerous research papers on a wide variety of topics.

Jennifer Broomfield, LISW, JD

Title IX Director, Florida State University

Jennifer is a licensed attorney and clinical social worker. Prior to coming to FSU, Ms. Broomfield served as the National Program Manager for the Department of Veterans Affairs Intimate Partner Violence Program. Ms. Broomfield has served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Children’s Legal Services Department of the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Florida where she investigated and prosecuted sexual assault and child abuse dependency cases. Additionally, Ms. Broomfield has been an adjunct professor of social work at undergraduate and graduate programs in New Mexico.

Rose Rezaie, MEd

Assistant Director, Center for Health Advocacy and Wellness, Florida State University

Rose’s main responsibilities include overseeing campus wide initiatives at FSU encompassing sexual violence prevention and sexual health education. Rose received her Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Master’s in College Student Affairs from the University of South Florida. Creating space where students feel empowered to take ownership of their lives through education and skill building serves as the foundation of her work. Outside of FSU, she enjoys attending community events, thrift shopping, and traveling.

Kori Pruett, MS

Power-Based Personal Violence Coordinator, Florida State University

Kori’s main responsibilities at FSU include educating students on the dynamics of sexual violence, the myths that surround sexual violence, ways to obtain and define consent, empowering students through bystander intervention, and informing students about campus resources and support. She is also the Co-Chair of the Curriculum Development Sexual Violence Prevention Sub Committee. Kori received her Master’s and Bachelor’s in International Affairs from Florida State University. In her spare time she participates in community service organizations, enjoys outdoor adventures, and travels to as many new locations as possible.

You can still get your copy of the book for $3 off on pre-orders through SYPP’s website! Use the coupon code READ.

Unsafe on Any Campus? set for July 28th release

06/28/16 / SR Staley / Campus Sexual Assault, Sexual Assault, sexual assault prevention, Unsafe On Any Campus / college rape, college sexual assault, rape, Ruth Krug, Unsafe On Any Campus

Unsafe on Any Campus? College Sexual Assault and What We Can Do About It

Unsafe on Any Campus? College Sexual Assault and What We Can Do About It is set for official release on July 28, 2016, at a location yet to be determined. Books are on sale now for pre-order, including a $3 off discount when purchasing from Southern Yellow Pine Publishing and using the coupon code READ.

This book is an unsparing, uncompromising and unflinching look at today’s campus environments and examines why they pose significant risks to men and women for sexual assault. Ruth Krug, a campus rape survivor who also writes the Forward to the book, says it signals “a turning point in how we address rape and sexual assault in college and university environments.”

The release event is planned to be more than just a book release. We will have experts on campus sexual assault to answer questions and discuss the problem and what colleges and universities are doing to prevent it.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Campus Rape and the Soul of College
Chapter 2. Sex, Rape and Human Dignity
Chapter 3. Sexual Assault and the Failure of Civil Society
Chapter 4. Sexual Assault, Predatory Rape, and Campus Culture
Chapter 5. Experts Talk About Sexual Assault on College Campuses
Chapter 6. Moving Forward: Changing Culture
Chapter 7. Personal Trauma as the Starting Point
Chapter 8. The Path Forward: A Trauma-Centered Approach
Chapter 9. The Reluctant Education of an Anti-Campus Rape Crusader

Read more about the book at campusninjaselfdefense.com.

Read some of my recent blog posts on campus sexual assault at the Independence Institute blog The Beacon:

Totuga Bay makes final round of FAPA President’s Awards!

06/26/16 / SR Staley / Awards, Awards, Pirate of Panther Bay, Teen & YA fiction, Tortuga Bay / FAPA, Florida Authors and Publishers Association, florida writers association, Isabella, pirate of panther bay, RPLA, Tortuga Bay

Fresh off her success in the Eric Hoffer Book Awards, where Tortuga Bay was a category Finalist, Isabella is sailing her ship into the final round of another award: The President’s Awards offered up by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association, or FAPA. This rollicking action adventure through the Caribbean into the Straights of Jaimaica and Port-au-Prince, Haiti qualified in Young Adult Fiction. This means Tortuga Bay will earn either a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal. We won’t know which one until the FAPA annual conference and awards ceremony on August 6, 2016 in Orlando.

Tortuga Bay and the Pirate of Panther Bay series is showing amazing crossover appear. Isabella and her crew are making their way through the Royal Palm Literary Awards, jumping into the semi-final round in two categories: Mainstream/Literary and Women’s fiction. We won’t know if she made it into the final rounds for a few more weeks. Last year, St. Nic, Inc. won 2nd place in the the category of published Mainstream/Literary fiction. The final awards for the RPLA are announced at the Florida Writers Association annual conference in Orlando, Florida from October 20-23, 2016.

Tortuga Bay is available in print and digital editions on amazon, bn.com and other on-line retailers as well as through Southern Yellow Pine Publishing.

Unsafe on Any Campus? Available for pre-order!

06/20/16 / SR Staley / Campus Sexual Assault, empowerment, Interpersonal violence, Sexual Assault, sexual assault prevention, Unsafe On Any Campus, violence and bullying / college rape, college sexual assault, college sexual assault prevention, empowerment, sexual assault prevention, Unsafe On Any Campus, violence

A note left on the stall door of a college bathroom

Available from Southern Yellow Pine Publishing

Unsafe on Any Campus? College Sexual Assault, and What We Can Do About It is available for pre-order from Southern Yellow Pine Publishing with an official release date set for July 28, 2016! The retail price is $14.95. Discounts begin with orders of 5 or more (25%) with orders of 25 or more receiving a 40% discount. Contact SYPPublishing for more details.

Unsafe on Any Campus? is an unsparing and unflinching look into the reality of today’s campus life and why it puts students at risk for sexual assault and rape each year. Sam Staley examines in depth why current strategies that rely on the U.S. court system to achieve justice fall short of achieving meaningful resolution, tapping into the personal stories of rape survivors, recent academic research, and his experience as a self-defense coach to frame a bold strategy for dealing with this ongoing scourge. His conclusions challenge the conventional wisdom of advocates, campus rape deniers, and many in the law enforcement community. Long-term success, he contends, requires a comprehensive plan that builds a trauma-centered framework on four pillars—human dignity, personal and bystander empowerment, accountability for offenders, and a narrow and more effective role for the criminal justice system. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the problem of sexual assault on today’s university and college campuses.

How many students are sexually assaulted each year on today’s college campuses?
Are today’s students victims of a sexually permissive culture, sexual predators, rampant misogyny among fraternities, and insensitive college bureaucracies?
What anti-sexual assault programs really work?
What are the six questions every incoming freshman and parent should ask their university or college administration?
What are the ten proactive steps parents can take to reduce the risk that their children will experience sexual assault and rape when they enter college?

“This book signals a turning point in addressing rape and sexual assault in college and university environments. It is innovative, practical, and empowering. How we address rape and sexual assault needs to change, and this book will take the reader through the process of understanding human sexuality, rape, trauma, and how we can help ground a new approach that will eliminate this scourge on campus life.”

Ruth Krug, campus rape survivor

College rape and the power of words on a bathroom door

06/19/16 / SR Staley / Campus Sexual Assault, Inspiration, Sexual Assault, Unsafe On Any Campus / campus rape, college sexual assault, rape, Ruth Krug, Unsafe On Any Campus

These messages formed a multi-day conversation on the effects of college rape on young women

I still remember the day Ruth Krug came into my office at Florida State University with a pensive look. “I was just in the bathroom,” she said, “and you wouldn’t believe what I saw on the bathroom stall door.” What followed changed the course of my life, personally and professionally.

Written in permanent black marker was a heartbreaking question: “How do you get over being raped?”

Having someone ask the question in person is wrenching enough, but for a young woman to feel the desperation acutely enough to use the anonymity and randomness of a stall door was worse. We were in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, a far cry from any victim support services or law enforcement. For Ruth, a campus rape survivor, the question was rattling enough.

Even for those like me, who had not experienced that kind of soul-tearing assault, could feel the pain, confusion, and emptiness implied in the words and act.

But what happened over the following days was more extraordinary. Other women responded, spontaneously, sincerely, and constructively. Based on writing styles, ink colors and consistency, I estimate that between 14 and 18 women contributed to what became a conversation across the entire door.

At first, women provided information about institutional support: the FSU police department, office of the victim advocate, and emergency numbers were listed. Then, the conversation turned to the human tragedy.

A spontaneous response to a rape victim’s query on how to get over being raped.

In this anonymous, sterile, empty physical space, women provided heartfelt personal support and counsel. “I was raped, as well,” a new contributor to the discussion testified. “Just know you’re not alone sweetheart.” Another inked in elegant handwriting:“Your value and dignity as a woman are unchanged” followed by a heart symbol (emphasis by original author).

And the support kept coming,

“be strong”
“Remember, its (sic) not your fault. You re (sic) perfect, you are worthy. You are beautiful inside and out. Never forget, your sisters are here for you.”
“This does not define you. Look to the future, allow yourself hope and ambition. Set goals, you are amazing.” (heart symbol)

And they still encouraged her to call the police—“Sisters help each other. Making that call is scary”

A rape victim’s response to her supporters on the bathroom stall door

In a powerful statement about to the ability of humans to connect through personal tragedy, the initial victim responded: “You guys are so nice to me. Thank you for that.”

Remarkably, the maintenance and cleaning staff at FSU let the conversation flow and did not clean the door for days (perhaps weeks). Perhaps they sensed the importance of the conversation for the woman who asked the question, the women who provided support to her and other survivors, and for raising awareness about the pervasiveness of the problem and the desperation of women caught in its vortex.

I don’t know if the young woman sought counseling, or took advantage of the university’s counseling services, or ever met the other dozen or so women that provided support to her.

The effect on me, however, was powerful. These brave, anonymous women allowed themselves to become vulnerable, confessing their own soul wrenching experiences while providing unsolicited, spontaneous support for their sisters. No other event showed how important sexual assault and rape were as events that shaped campus culture and the experiences of women on campus.

Prior to this, I had born witness to individual survivor stories. These were personal relationships. As a social scientist and public policy analysis, they were anecdotes. Now they were no longer anecdotes. I saw a pattern. This conversation convinced me that this issue needed a voice that could raise awareness about its depth, grounded in the emotional experiences of survivors, and think through the hard problems of coming up with a solution even if they were controversial.

A woman’s spontaneous encouragement to a rape survivor’s testimony

I don’t know if I am that voice, but the product of my personal revolve to address this problem on college campuses and wrestle with the public policy implications led to blogging and eventually writing Unsafe on Any Campus? College Sexual Assault and What We Can Do About It. The book’s cover incorporates some of the photos of this conversation taken by Ruth, and used with permission, to provide testimony on the emotional toll sexual assault and rape take on young men and women on our campuses.

I want to give a shout out to Judy Williams Kirk for suggesting I figure out a way to incorporate these testimonies into the cover and to Gina B Smith for her provocative and heartfelt cover design.

Read Ruth’s discussion of this event on her blog, Reclaiming Lost Voices.

Read more about Unsafe on Any Campus? College Sexual Assault and What We Can Do About It.

Buy the book at Southern Yellow Pine Publishing. (Contact me at sam@srstaley.com or Southern Yellow Pine Publishing for larger order discounts of 5+ and 25+. Pre-orders can be purchased with a $3 discount using the coupon code READ.

Dystopian literature and the reality of apocalypse

06/04/16 / SR Staley / Teen & YA fiction, writing and storytelling / atomic bomb, dystopian fiction, Hiroshima, hiroshima peace memorial park

SR Staley standing before the iconic image of the atomic bomb’s aftermath: the A-Bomb Dome.

I recently spent some time at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. This is a transformative experience for many people because it’s the first time they connect the horrors of war to their lives in a tangible way. I can’t say I was transformed–I contemplate and reflect on violence a lot in my writing, whether it’s Isabella’s ethical struggles with death and life, Luke’s attempt to combat bullies, or the effects of campus sexual assault–but I found several elements of the peace park sobering and humbling. The atomic bomb truly was horrific in its ability to concentrate power, suffering, and obliterate human existence.

I’ve written more extensively about this on the Independent Institute’s blog, The Beacon, noting,

While many visitors to the peace park see the A-Bomb Dome as the iconic symbol of the horrors of total war, I didn’t find it a compelling image. It’s a building. The real horrors of war on what it does to human beings and our ability to create, innovate, and improve our lives. The Dome represents the destruction of physical space, and indirectly places. Dystopian YA novels get it right: The horrors of war are really human tragedies.

In Hiroshima alone, thousands of children were killed, most instantly, when the bomb blew up. Many of the survivors had to live in a world that is strikingly similar to the post-apocalyptic worlds in which novels such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Fifth Wave are set. In someways, many contemporary dystopian novels are, perhaps, imaginations of a world in which humans failed to show the restraint they did in the aftermath of World War II.

A pirate, a ninja, and a gens de couleur walk into a bar in 1784 New Orleans….

05/29/16 / SR Staley / Characters development, martial arts, Pirate of Panther Bay, Tortuga Bay, writing and storytelling / Caribbean, colonialism, Isabella, Japan, New Orleans, ninja, pirate of panther bay, Shiraishi Island, SYPP, Tortuga Bay

Tortuga Bay, 2016 Eric Hoffer Award Finalist!

A pirate, a ninja, and a gens de couleur wak into a bar in 1784 New Orleans….

The punchline? I think this is my next action/adventure series, probably launching after the third book in The Pirate of Panther Bay series is published by SYPP in 2017. The new series will follow three sets of characters as they branch out on their own at the end of the third book: Isabella and Juan Carlos, Gabrielle and Louis, and the ninja (yet to be named). New Orleans provides a provocative blend of Spanish and French colonial cultures. Adding a Japanese to the mix has the potential to ramp up tension and conflict immeasurably!

At the end of Tortuga Bay, I had decided to take Isabella to the U.S., cruising up the west coast of Florida to St. Marks, then Pensacola, and ending her journey in New Orleans. (I have plans for Isabella and Juan Carlos, there.) I wanted to make the third book a little more fun, however. So, I was thinking about adding a ninja. A Ninja? you (a reasonable person) might ask?

I already had a free black (gens de couleur) added to the cast up Isabella’s daring and desperate escape from Port-au-Prince and Dr. D’Poussant’s henchmen. Why another character? In part, each of my novels explores cultural conflict. The Pirate of Panther Bay series stretches challenges readers on a number of different fronts, both in terms of how colonial powers viewed slavery as well as pirates. Fundamental differences in the value of human life are explored in The Pirate of Panther Bay, as Isabella struggles with her place in the world as an escaped slave under the contradictory philosophy and social psychology in play in Catholic, colonial Spain. In Tortuga Bay, differences between and shifting alliances among France and Spain are central to the story. So, I think the third book is ripe for a new take on cultural differences. Why not add an Asian influence?

The glory days of the Ninja, masters of ninjutsu, were in medieval Japan between 1500 and 1700. Japan was unified in 1700, and the role of the ninja declined precipitously as their services against warring clans where no longer needed. This actually sets up the back story for my ninja pretty well. Since the demand for their skills largely disappeared, a ninja would have little reason to stay in Japan (particularly if the government was trying to shut them down). Yet, their skills would be particularly well suited for pirating, even in the Caribbean.

While the ninja were in decline after 1700, they didn’t disappear altogether. Indeed, their training forms the basis of To-Shin do, a self-defense oriented martial art created by Stephen K. Hayes. Hayes is a member of the Black Belt Hall of Fame and is credited as one of the key figures leading the revival of ninjutsu and introducing it to the U.S. (Also, my black belt is in To-Shin Do, and this marital arts provide the foundation for my novels A Warrior’s Soul and Renegade.)

Shiraishi Island, Japan. This old fishing village will be the boyhood home of the ninja in the third book in the Pirate of Panther Bay series.

The character really came together for me while visiting Shiraishi Island in the Seto Sea. The island would have been a tiny fishing village at the time, but my character will be discovered by a old ninja traveling through rural Japan. The old man will discover the talent of my character and bring him to a training facility in the mountains of the fabled Iga Provice of Japan. Then, he will make his way to the Caribbean. This is all backstory, but this background will be essential as his own series takes off from the Pirate of Panther Bay series.

I am very excited about this new series prospects!

Tortuga Bay Finalist in Eric Hoffer Book Awards!

05/19/16 / SR Staley / Awards, Awards, Marketing, SR Staley, Tortuga Bay / book awards, book reviews, Hoffer Award, Isabella, Tortuga Bay

Tortuga Bay, the second book in the Pirate of Panther Bay series published by Southern Yellow Pine Publishing, is a category finalist in the 2016 Eric Hoffer Book Awards! While Isabella didn’t win her genre categories (in this case Young Adult or General Fiction), the accomplishment is very significant. The award notes that less than 10% of nominees become finalists. I estimate that at least 1,270 titles were entered into the competition. So, this is still an impressive showing for her and her crew.

I am particular excited about this performance in a national book competition for professional and personal reasons. First, the Hoffer Awards are an international competition that has become one of the largest book award programs in the nation, focusing on small and independent presses as well as self-published authors.

Second, on a personal note, Eric Hoffer was one of my late father’s favorite authors and philosophers. Eric Hoffer was a mid-20th century writer and philosopher, often referred to as “The Longshoreman Philosopher,” because he wrote most of his books and other writings while working the San Francisco docks as a longshoreman from the late 1940s until 1967. He wrote several books, but his most widely read one is The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (a book that I think is highly relevant even today). I own several copies, including my father’s marked-up copy.

The Hoffer Book Award was founded “to honor freethinking writers and independent book publishers of exceptional merit.” Indeed, Isabella is free thinking and Tortuga Bay grapples with some of life and society’s most pressing issues of freedom. This is quite appropriate coming from an influential social philosopher with no academic background who wrote his first books (a novel) and articles while living on Los Angeles’s skid row. These experiences gave him “a respect for America’s underclass” according to the wikepedia entry on his life, quoting him as saying it was “lumpy with talent.” He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan in 1983.

More information on Tortuga Bay can be found at the following locations:

Tris Prior is more than just a buff, kick-butt character

04/07/16 / SR Staley / Books, Characters development, Heroes and villains, Teen & YA fiction, writing and storytelling / character arc, divergent, heroines, Isabella, pirate of panther bay, strong characters, Tris Prior, Veronica Roth

I know that books typically have more depth than films, but YA fiction has tended toward the simplistic and straightforward rather than the complex and layered. Thus, I’ve written the last two posts on the Divergent film series, thinking that the books were not that much more complex than the books (see here and here). I was wrong. Or at least I am revising my thoughts based on the first of Veronica Roth’s novels in the series.

I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the book version of Divergent had a lot more going on than than a kick-butt heroine finding herself among the rubble of post-apocalyptic Chicago. Actually, the character of Tris Prior had a lot more going on. I have already written about how Tris is a much stronger heroine than Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games series. My belief if more firmly entrenched now that I’ve read Divergent.

Veronica Roth has given Tris a grand character arc that establishes her female protagonist as a deep thinker motivated by ideas. She just doesn’t want to be brave, she aspires to the nobility implied in selflessness for a higher cause. Hence, she carries the tattoos of both Dauntless, her chosen faction, and Abnegation, her family’s faction (which she never completely leaves emotionally). Indeed, her discovery and reconciliation of these “divergent” aspirations via her romantic relationship with fellow Dauntless faction member Four becomes a primary element of her identity as she leads the rebellion against Erudite. This is a far more subtle and meaningful transformation than that Katniss undergoes in the more survivalist focused Hunger Games.

Seeing Tris on this journey via Roth’s words was an unexpected pleasure, and elevates her to one of my favorite heroines in fiction.

Other heroines worth reading in fiction? Try

Careen in the dystopian Resistance series by Tracy Lawson (Counteract and Resist).
Isabella in the historical fiction Pirate of Panther Bay Series by SR Staley (The Pirate of Panther Bay and Tortuga Bay)

Where do good female characters come from?

03/29/16 / SR Staley / Characters development, Keys to Success, Pirate of Panther Bay, SR Staley, Teen & YA fiction, writing and storytelling / character arc, character development, divergent, Isabella, pirate of panther bay, storytelling, Tris Prior, Veronica Roth

While recently researching blog posts about the Divergent film series, I ran across a 2011 blog post from Veronica Roth, the author of the novels, that also discussed the origin of Tris Prior, her kick-butt female protogonist. Many readers might think that Tris was always the center of the story, but not so! Here’s what Ms. Roth writes:

“…Divergent really happened when a bunch of these pieces of inspiration suddenly coalesced in my mind as I was writing, and I got about thirty pages of a story from Four’s perspective down, and then set it aside because it wasn’t so good. It was only when I discovered Beatrice that I was able to write the full book, four years later.”

The observation that caught my attention was that she had started writing Four’s (Tobias Eaton’s) story, not Tris’s. But it was boring so she stopped, and didn’t get back to it until four years later!

Her experience is strikingly similar to mine when I was crafting The Pirate of Panther Bay back in 2000. At the time, I was writing a young-adult romance about pirates because I thought it would be exciting and different. The protogonist started out as a male. But after about 50 pages (I got further than Ms. Roth), I put the manuscript down because it was boring! My story was just another pirate trolling through the Caribbean for loot. Ugh.

I am not sure how Ms. Roth “found” Beatrice, but Isabella’s “birth” was actually quite analytical. Since I was writing fiction, and story turns on conflict, I asked myself what would happen if I made the pirate captain female? The story became much more interesting, because virtually any plot putting a woman at the center in a leadership position in the 1780s was going to create conflict and tension. This was particularly true on pirate ships where crews were superstitious and almost always banned women on their vessels. For Isabella to get on the boat in the first place, she would have to overcome significant hurdles. She would also have to be strong–she couldn’t be a stowaway or consort, or start out in a typical role. The path to the captaincy of a pirate ship simply couldn’t take that route.

More importantly, the conflicts created a fascinating story line that allowed me to really flesh out Isabella’s character as well as the major male protagonists. Each of the major characters had a dramatic arc and singular journey that would feed of each other. The results have been great, particularly in the most recent installment, Tortuga Bay.

I hope Veronica Roth talks more about the literary beginnings of Beatrice Prior. I found her character to be very similar to Isabella in terms of personality and temperament.

Now, if I can just get The Pirate of Panther Bay made into a major motion picture….

Katniss vs. Tris: Who is the stronger character?

03/26/16 / SR Staley / Characters development, Heroes and villains, Reviews, Teen & YA fiction, writing and storytelling / character, divergent, female characters, hunger games, katniss everdeen, storytelling, strong characters, Tris Prior, Veronica Roth

As the DC Comics superhero clash movie Superman Vs. Batman hits the theaters this weekend, I began to think about some of the stronger female characters in recent young adult action books and films. More specifically, we now have a new heroine to consider with the release of Alligiant, the third movie in the Divergent series: Tris Prior.

We will explore two questions: Whether Tris a strong female character and whether Tris is a stronger character than Katniss Everdeen.

In a previous post, I argued that Katniss Everdeen is not a particularly strong character based on a few key criteria. I believe strong characters, male or female, human or alien, should:

Have strong identities;
Relates to peers as a peer;
Make important choices;
Take personal responsibility;
Exhibit courage.

These characteristics allow the protogonist to influence the trajectory of the story, and I think this is essential for a character to be considered strong, rather than weak (or passive).

Characters don’t have to start out strong in each of these criteria, but they should grow into them or end strong on each characteristics them before the story ends or progresses too far. Katniss Everdeen, despite her reputation among fans, falls short on a number of these criteria. She doesn’t have a strong sense of herself or place and appears emotionally and physically weak among her peers. She does make a few important choices, but even the most important ones–like taking her sister’s place during the lottery for the Hunger Games–are driven by circumstances rather than an exertion of her own free will. She plays defense rather than offense. On a good note, she takes personal responsibility for her actions, and she exhibits a tremendous amount of courage. Nevertheless, in literature and the films, all these criteria need to be met before she can be considered a truly strong character. Courage is not enough.

So, how does Tris Prior, the heroine in the Divergent books and films, stack up against Katniss? I decided to apply the same rubric to test my own framework, and here are the results:

Characteristic	Katniss Everdeen	Tris Prior
Strong identity	weak	Medium-Strong
Relate to peers as a peer	weak	Strong
Make important choices	medium	Strong
Take personal responsibility	strong	Strong
Exhibit courage	strong	Strong

While these comparisons always carry some degree of subjectivity, I think Tris Prior is a stronger character than Katniss Everdeen on a number of different metrics. While she faces the uncertainty of the psychological aptitude test to determine which faction best suits her, she opts for Dauntless even though the tests are inconclusive. She enters her training determined to be equal if not superior to her peers, and she is unafraid to make choices–whether to flee, return to Chicago, or track down her nemesis to kill them to avoid greater tragedies from taking place. She also never flinches from taking responsibility for her actions even when she is unsure of whether she can accomplish the task. She is willing to pursue her objectives even without help. She is on the offense, and doesn’t simply react to events around her; she tries to change the trajectory of those events. Tris, like Katniss, exhibits a tremendous amount of courage throughout her journey. Indeed, this is demonstrated early in the first book/movie when she jumps through the hole in the Dauntless training facility without realizing she would be saved by a net at the bottom.

The biggest difference between the two characters, in my view, is that Tris begins with a stronger personality. She is willing to stand up against injustice,d despite the risks, and she is willing to try to change the trajectory of events. She is not interested in fading into the background. Unlike Katniss, Tris embraces her new skills and identity. While she doesn’t accept the leadership role she creates through her resistance to the authoritarian Erudite rule, she does not try to avoid the responsibility of leadership.

Thus, in the end, Tris is leader and stronger character.

10 elements of a high-performing anti-sexual assault program

03/09/16 / SR Staley / Books, Self Defense, Sexual Assault, sexual assault prevention / college sexual assault, sexual assault prevention, Unsafe

After spending years researching and writing the content for a book on college sexual assault–Unsafe On Any Campus? College Sexual Assault, and What We Can Do About It–people have probably guessed that I have a few ideas about what a high-performing anti-sexual assault program might look like. In my final chapter, I outline some of these features, including several strategies and programs that directly and effectively address sexual assault, including:

A clear and focused mission and vision for their sexual assaultprogram that recognizes the complexity and diversity of modern college campus life while recognizing their duty to lessen the risks and incidence of sexual assault on campus and within the student body.
Comprehensive sexual assaulteducation programs targeted toward freshman that discuss the legal context, student code of conduct, and clearly identifies resources and processes for addressing sexual assault.
Incorporation of human sexualityeducation nested in contemporary college student attitudes and behavior to broaden awareness and empathy for diverse viewpoints and establishing individual dignity and sovereignty as a core value.
Self-defenseeducation and training as primary prevention and risk reduction strategies tailored to the needs of today’s college students.
Comprehensive bystander education and intervention programs that are well attended and reach out to a broad base of the student body.
An effective, timely and efficient process for assessing sexual assaultcharges on a case-by-case basis with that protect and support the victim without compromising the rights and dignity of the accused.
Adjudication procedures that go beyond engaging local law enforcementand the criminal justice system and extending to non-adversarial and more collaborative programs such as Restorative Justice.
Support services that are traumasensitive to assist and support survivors on their healing journey.
Well-defined and mutually respectful relationships between college administrators and local law enforcementagencies with trauma sensitive training and procedures in place.
Active and broad-based participation by student groups in addressing sexual assault, prevention, and risk reduction.

To found out more about how we can make our campuses safer, check out my website CampusNinjaSelfDefense.com.

6 questions to ask college admissions staff about sexual assault

03/04/16 / SR Staley / Sexual Assault, sexual assault prevention, Unsafe On Any Campus / campus rape, college sexual assault prevention, Unsafe On Any Campus

High school officials and parents don’t bare sole responsibility for changing the campus climate, although in a previous post I provided a list of 10 proactive steps they could take to reduce the risk of sexual assault in college. Parents and college students can also become powerful, constructive, and effective advocates for change and accountability. I discuss this in the last chapters of my forthcoming book, Unsafe On Any Campus? College Sexual Assault, and What We Can Do About It.

Among the questions I discuss in the final chapter that parents and student should ask college and university administrators are:

What programs are in place to assist victims, reduce the risks of sexual assault, prevent sexual assault, and hold offenders accountability? What performance measures do you use to evaluate their effectiveness?
How much education programming do you provide to freshman on sexual assault and bystander intervention? What is the participation rate?
Is dorm staff trained in sexual assault awareness, bystander intervention and victim support?
What fraternities, sororities or students groups are active in providing sexual assault prevention, risk reduction, and other training to students on campus?
How does your college or university benchmark its performance among its peers?
How often does your college or university review its sexual assault, victim advocate, and adjudication policies?

Check out more details from the book at my website, campusninjaselfdefense.com.

What parents can do about college campus sexual assault

02/28/16 / SR Staley / Interpersonal violence, martial arts, Self Defense, Sexual Assault, sexual assault prevention, Unsafe On Any Campus / campus rape, college sexual assault, martial arts, risk reduction, sexual assault prevention, Unsafe On Any Campus

Coaching self-defense at Florida State University with members of Global Peace Exchange

Ever since I started writing my book, Unsafe On Any Campus? College Sexual Assault, and What We Can Do About It, I have been asked what are the proactive steps we can take to reduce the chances our kids will be sexually assaulted when they go to college. It’s a fair question, and I discuss some of these steps in the last chapter of my book. For those that are impatient, here are 10 action items that will go a long way toward addressing the problem:

Enroll your children in a martial-arts based self-defense program as early as middle school or ninth grade that includes scenario-based training and situational awareness.
Encourage high schools to include human sexuality in their curricula so that students are at least exposed to professional opinion about sex, intimacy, and human bonding, and why sexual assault and rape can be so devastating.
Encourage high school college counselors to include workshops on the risks and dangers on modern campus life, including bystander roles, responsibilities, and interventions.
Encourage parent groups and associations to hold workshops on campus sexual assault, risk reduction, and prevention.
Encourage adult discussions with teenagers and college-age children about sexual assault and how it impacts their lives and the lives of their friends.
Be open to a wide range of remedies and strategies for addressing sexual assault on college campuses while also insisting on evidence-based accountability in the programs;
Insist that colleges and universities hold offenders accountable, and provide evidence that their programs are reducing risks of sexual assault faced by students.
Read the campus sexual assault policies for the colleges and universities students plan to attend.
Ask for data on sexual assaults, investigations, and the results of those investigations.
Ensure college-bound students are aware of programs and support available to them and their friends at the schools they plan to attend.

You can find out much more self-defense programs and the book at my website, campusninjaselfdefense.com.

A car accident, a broken ankle, and the torn souls of rape survivors

02/28/16 / SR Staley / Campus Sexual Assault, Sexual Assault, Unsafe On Any Campus / rape, sexual assault, trauma, Unsafe On Any Campus

My 1973 Volkswagen Squareback was totaled in a 1983 car accident and was very similar to this one.

I remember three things, snapshots really, from the event that would shape the rest of my life in the early morning hours of frosty February day in 1983.

The first was opening my eyes to blackness. At first I thought I was blind. After a few moments, I realized I was looking up at the vinyl back seat of my volkswagon squareback. I must have said something because I heard my good friend Bill’s voice say: “It’ll be okay, an ambulance is coming.”

The second snapshot wasn’t a snapshot at all. I don’t remember seeing the inside of the ambulance, or the question which must have been “How bad is it?” All I remember is the paramedic–I assumed it was a paramedic because it wasn’t Bill’s voice–say, “You’re lucky to be alive.”

I remember the visual of the third snapshot. I was on a gurney rolling down a hallway in a hospital. I began to shake and cry uncontrollably. Or so I thought. A nurse said, “We’ve got a crier here.” Anger snapped me out of crying. But that’s it. I don’t remember anything else from that day.

Friends and family filled in the rest. The surgeon spent four of the six hours in surgery trying to close up the gaping hole that was the left side of my face. The doctors had to pick out individual shards of glass and asphalt with tweezers, and then figure out how they were going to graft enough skin from somewhere else on my body to sew me up. Every nerve was exposed, but, for the grace of God, none were severed. We still don’t know how I kept my left eye because half of my eyebrow was stripped off and gravel was burrowed deep around the socket. The first few days after the surgery were agony, not so much in pain–medications kept that at bay–as extreme, turbulent discomfort.

The entire episode from the car crash to surgery must have taken hours, but I remember snippets of minutes. My body and brain were shutting down, a natural, defensive state of shock triggered by an extreme loss of blood and physical trauma.

Flash forward 20 years. I am running a loop in a 200-acre wooded wildlife preserve. Just past my turnaround–a mile and three quarters from home–a numbing pain shoots up from my foot as I feel the turn of my ankle on an unseen rock. I hobble out of the woods after crossing two streams using a branch as a makeshift crutch. My dog, on a leash, was no help.

Someone asks me if I heard a “pop”. I say “no,” so we conclude that I sprained my ankle. I Bu Profen and ice packs control the swelling and reduce the pain. Three weeks later, my ankle still hurts, but I’m on a ski trip with my friend Karl in Telluride, Colorado. A “skiers ski area,” I am on the black diamonds. While skiing Giant Steps, a double-black diamond, pain from my ankle keeps me from descending more than a couple dozen feet at a time through the moguls. I am embarrassed. I am a better skier than this. But I listen to the barking ankle, and I bail on the next run, letting Karl ski the black diamond as our last run of the day while I suck up the pain and take the easier blue trails down to the base.

When I return home, I finally visit the orthopedic doctor. A skier, he examines my ankle and asks if I heard a “pop” when I injured the ankle. Again, I say “no.” He orders the x-ray anyway.

When he returns, he gives me the news: I had broken my ankle on the run in the woods. I look at him in disbelief. “Is it a hairline fracture?”

He slaps the x-ray up on a monitor and points to the bones of my foot. “No, it was a clean break.”

He’s right, of course. Even I can see the thick straight line that represents the break in my ankle.

I was lucky. The bone broke but snapped back into near perfect alignment. That’s why I was able to walk out of the woods. It started to heal, but skiing put too much pressure on the break. My ski boots were stiff and tight, acting as a cast to hold the bones in place, but if I had been snowboarding the ankle would have re-broken and the damage far more severe than the first time.

The point to the car accident story is that my body, doing what it does naturally, shut out much of the trauma I was experiencing. I have monstrous gaps in memory on the day of the accident even though I must have been conscious a fair amount of the time.

The point of the broken ankle story is I did not hear a snap. I should have heard a snap. The break was complete and clean. But I didn’t.

In other words, your body and mind does many things to protect you when you experience trauma. Sometimes, it blots out entire memories.

Perhaps it’s these experiences, and my reflection on them, that gave me the courage to step way outside my comfort zone and write my new book Unsafe On Any Campus? College Sexual Assault and What We Can Do About It. I understood trauma in a personal way, so when rape survivors began sharing their stories their memories didn’t have to be complete for me to put the pieces together and recognize the truth of their experience.

One of the most damaging and significant criticisms leveled at men and women who claim they have been assaulted or raped is that their memories are incomplete, and dots between events don’t connect well. Incomplete or uncertain knowledge is one of the primary reasons why rape cases don’t go to court unless significant physical evidence can support the victim’s story. Unless the victim can present an ironclad chronicle of events, the case falls apart, particularly when they are faced with an (untraumatized) accuser who can present a complete, consistent case. It shouldn’t be surprising that only about 10 percent of rape cases end in a conviction on the rape charge.

Total recall of a traumatic event is an unreasonable expectation for human beings. The difference between my traumas and those of a rape survivor lie in the physical evidence, not the truth of the trauma. I still literally carry the scars of my car accident–they become bright red when my body is very hot or cold. I can show people the x-ray of my broken ankle.

What does a rape survivor show? How do you see the scars of a shattered soul? (Hint: Don’t judge and listen to their story.)

25 questions “UnSafe On Any Campus?” will answer

02/22/16 / SR Staley / Interpersonal violence, Self Defense, Sexual Assault, Unsafe On Any Campus / campus rape, college sexual assault, ninja, Samuel Staley, sexual assault, Unsafe On Any Campus

This summer, my newest book, Unsafe On Any Campus? College Sexual Assault and What We Can Do About It, will be published by Southern Yellow Pine Publishing. This journey has been both amazingly personal and one of the most challenging writing projects I have undertaken. I now have a portion of my self-defense website, campusninjaselfdefense.com, devoted to the book. Here are 25 questions Unsafe On Any Campus? will answer:

How serious is sexual assault on today’s college campuses?
Is sexual assault and rape an “epidemic” on today’s campuses?
Who is most likely to be a victim of sexual assault?
What is the connection between sex, sexuality and emotional trauma?
What makes the trauma associated with rape and sexual assault different from other assaults and crimes?
How does modern college culture complicate efforts to reduce sexual assault on campus?
Is sexual assault an inevitable outcome of the “hook-up” culture and sexual promiscuity?
How does miscommunication between men and women lead to higher rates of rape?
Why don’t men “get it” when it comes to sexual assault?
What is the profile of the “typical” rapist?
Why can’t the traditional criminal justice system handle sexual assault and campus rape more effectively?
What alternatives might be more effective in reducing sexual assault than traditional law enforcement?
How can college students and young adults protect themselves and their friends against sexual assault?
What role do bystanders play in stopping sexual assault?
What programs or strategies are most effective in reducing sexual assault and rape on college campuses?
What role can victim-offender dialogue and Restorative Justice play in creating better outcomes than the criminal justice system?
What role does risk reduction plan in solving the sexual assault problem?
Do sexual assault prevention strategies work?
Why do some people minimize the effect of sexual assault and rape on college campuses?
Why are so many women unwilling or reluctant to report their sexual assaults and rapes?
What role does the media play in promoting sexual assault?
Why is the famous “Rocky kiss” really a rape, and why does it matter?
Is James Bond a serial rapist?
What role can self-defense based martial arts play in reducing risks and preventing sexual assault?

Check out this blog and my website for more details about the book and answers to these questions!

The story in “Unsafe On Any Campus?”

02/17/16 / SR Staley / Interpersonal violence, Sexual Assault, Unsafe On Any Campus, writing and storytelling / campus rape, crime, sexual assault, storytelling, Unsafe On Any Campus

Sam Staley talks about writing novels about interpersonal violence and bullying at John Long Middle School in Wesley Chapel, Florida

Oddly, many people, including professional writers, don’t think of nonfiction books in terms of story. This is unfortunate, because any rhetorical work implies the presentation of an idea or perspective, and involves some form of persuasion. Otherwise, why write the book? My Newest book, Unsafe On Any Campus?, is a case in point.

Unsafe On Any Campus has two goals: educate the general public about the character, nature, and extent of campus sexual assault and rape, and provide a practical framework for reducing its prevalence and impact. But the book can’t be just a “brain dump”: a compilation of statistics and studies. It also can’t be what fiction writers call an “information dump,” dialogue or story interruption with the sole purpose of providing story or character background. In fiction (and screenwriting for that matter), every word in dialogue or the narrative is chosen to move the story forward. This is what we mean by “every word counts.”

Nonfiction writers also have to tell a story, and they need to use active voice and tone to move the story forward and keep readers. Like novelists, they need to “show,” not just tell. So, even though Unsafe on Any Campus? uses statistics, these numbers, case studies, thought experiments, figures, and charts are used to move the story forward in a compelling, active way. They aren’t just “dumped” on the reader, hoping they will sort out their importance on their own. Their inclusion in conscious, deliberate, and intentional.

I started thinking about nonfiction as story after my first published novel, The Pirate of Panther Bay, was published. When I co-authored fourth non-fiction book, The Road More Traveled Ted Balaker, a policy book about traffic congestion, I thought about how the argument and story builds to its concluding chapter of policy recommendations. I learned a lot from Ted because his background was network television, and he understood the importance of showing or painting pictures for viewers to illustrate important points. In other words, don’t just “tell” your audience something—show them a picture and let them come to their own conclusions based on the information you have artfully provided.

Ted and I had a structure to the story. We identified the problem, and then showed how different ways of parsing data gave us a different way of looking at traffic congestion. This was just not an information dump. This section challenged our skills to explore the problem and show the reader a different way of looking at it. This new way of looking at the data then organically led to a section that showed how our worldview was different from conventional views—this builds the conflict in our story. Our books final chapters examined the path forward built on our new vision. (The follow up book, Mobility First: A New Vision for Transportation in a Globally Competitive 21^st Century, co-authored with Adrian Moore, was even more intentional.)

This approach to story structure in nonfiction was crucial for Unsafe On Any Campus? because of the controversial and high profile nature of the social issue and the conclusions and recommendations I present in the final chapters. My goal is for readers to look at the problem of campus sexual assault in a different light, cut through the “white noise” of pundits and experts talking past each other, and consider what I believe are practical and effective solutions in a more comprehensive framework.

The book has three parts: chapters that establish why campus sexual assault is an important issue (even if it is not an “epidemic”), how we need to think differently about the problem (contemporary campus young adult culture), and how these first two elements are essential to framing the solution. In other words, each section has its own internal purpose and goal, but they build on each other organically to reach a climatic conclusion in the story of how we address campus sexual assault.

We’ll see how readers, professionals, and pundits respond this summer with the book is released. For more on Unsafe On Any Campus, check out www.campusninjaselfdefense.

Is Katniss Everdeen a strong female character?

11/22/15 / SR Staley / A Warrior's Soul, Books, Characters development, Heroes and villains, Pirate of Panther Bay, Renegade, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc, Teen & YA fiction, Tortuga Bay, writing and storytelling / character arc, female characters, hunger games, hunger games movie, Isabella, katniss everdeen, mockingjay, pirate of panther bay, renegade, St Nic Inc, strong female characters, Tortuga Bay

I have now seen all four Hunger Games movies and read all three books, and I am now doubting whether Katniss Everdeen’s character is worthy of ascending into the pantheon of strong female characters. Well, that might be too strong of an indictment, but I don’t think she makes into my top ten. This is a reluctant conclusion, but as a novelist who features young adults and women in ensemble stories, I think “strong characters” should have at least five characteristics:

Strong characters should have strong identities. Identities evolve, and characters don’t need to start out strong, but they need to end strong. They have to develop a sense of their own place in the world and how they relate to it. Moreover, this identity has to be recognized by their peers.
Strong characters should relate to peers as a peer. Self-doubt, even self-loathing, can be powerful tools for the novelist, and often provides tension that propels story. But at some point strong characters need to break out of their narcissism and begin relating to other characters, either as a leader or as a full-blown member of the team. Characters can be first among equals, but they still must operate on the same plane as those they interact with on a regular basis in the story.
Strong characters should make important choices. Making choices is what defines identity and character. The kinds of choices they make determine the character’s integrity and their honor. The choices do not necessarily have to be the right ones, but the character needs to make them, and they make choices only they can make. These choices propel the character arc and the story.
Strong characters should take personal responsibility. Once these choices are made, the character has to accept the consequences, good or bad, of those choices. These consequences also serve as ways to propel the story, but a key test of a character’s integrity is how they handle the consequences. In most cases, the character has to restore balance, or re-establish some sense of fairness, in the world in which they operate.
Strong characters should exhibit courage. Strong characters are self sacrificing in order to achieve something bigger than themselves. This is again one of the most powerful tools of a character. They can’t lay in hiding throughout the story. Without a doubt, a character can begin weak or cowardly, but they must evolve to a point where their self-sacrifice becomes a defining part of their story. Sometimes, the exhibition can be very small in the context of the story, but it has to be big in the context of the character.

How do I rate Katniss Everdeen along these five characteristics? She never quite achieves a state of self-fulfillment or identity. In fact, she retreats from the world and refuses to engage in it once her tasks are completed. The Hunger Games is very much a plot and setting driven book so the story is very existentialist; the characters are driven to act because of circumstances beyond their control. Thus, the characters are reacting and relating to their environment; they are not manipulating their environment.

Beyond this story-telling constraint, which appears to be intentional by author Suzanne Collins, Everdeen’s character is never in control. Even when it appears to the reader (and viewer) she is in control, she really is not. We never really get the sense that Katniss is her own woman–independent, strong willed, courageous, yes, but she’s not in control of her destiny. Not surprisingly, she plays defense, not offense. Even in a world in which defense is the only option, defensive strategies can be used offensively, but Katniss Everdeen is never that strategic. She leaves it to others to make these choices and take on the risks. In short, her choices do not drive the plot or the broader story. The exception might be in Mockingjay where she decides to go on her own to kill Snow, but even this is a weak form of decisionmaking and commitment. Her quest to kill Snow becomes driven by an existential drive for revenge and retribution, not a reflective choice about outcomes.

Moreover, Katniss’s ultimate goal is to return to her home with her family. When she returns to District 12 without her family, she is essentially forced to cope with the loss, but doesn’t exhibit any of the courage associated with overcoming the scars and wounds of the violence she has experienced. She is depressed, and she has nightmares, but these define her new reality. She never engages in the healing that is necessary to seize control of her life, and she is not challenged after the rebellion finally takes control. We are left with some hope at the end, but we don’t have a real sense she has come to grips with the ugly realities she was forced to confront. We don’t get a sense that her character is stronger or more complete than when she stepped into the Hunger Games for the first time.

So, while Everdeen certainly has several characteristics of a strong female character, she doesn’t exhibit the character or the arc in the story that elevates her to the level of a strong female character or, for that matter, a character that should be emulated or become a role model. Here’s a brief summary of my scoring of Katniss Everdeen as a heroine along these criteria:

Strong Protagonist Check List
Characteristic	Katniss Everdeen
Strong identity	weak
Relate to peers as a peer	weak
Make important choices	medium
Take personal responsibility	strong
Exhibit courage	strong

Just for fun, and because this is a blog that highlights my professional journey as a writer, I thought I would rate my four principal heroines (I have others) along the same criteria. I’ve taken a look at Nicole Klaas, the CEO of NP Enterprises in St. Nic, Inc., Isabella the escaped slave turned pirate captain in The Pirate of Panther Bay and Tortuga Bay, middle-school bully Maria from Renegade, and the strong-willed Lucy who tries to save her friend Luke from bullies in their school in A Warrior’s Soul. Here are the results:

	Nicole Klaas	Isabella	Maria	Lucy
Characteristic	*St. Nic, Inc, (2014*	*Panther Bay/* *Tortuga Bay* (2014/2015)	*Renegade* (2011)	*A Warrior’s Soul* (2010)
Strong identity	strong	medium/strong	strong	strong
Relate to peers as a peer	strong	medium/strong	strong	strong
Make important choices	strong	strong/strong	strong	strong
Take personal responsibility	strong	strong/strong	strong	medium
Exhibit courage	strong	strong/strong	strong	medium

Interestingly, my strongest characters are Nicole Klaas and Maria. Both of these novels won literary prizes. Renegade won second place in the children’s chapter book division of the Seven Hills Literary Competition. St. Nic, Inc. won second place in the Published Mainstream/Literary Category in the Royal Palm Literary Awards. I have taken my own advice to heart, however, and Isabella has evolved into quite a heroine as she takes her crew into the maelstrom of a nascent slave revolt in Port-au-Prince in Tortuga Bay (published in 2015).

While I am disappointed that Katniss Everdeen doesn’t score higher along these criteria, The Hunger Games books remain very engaging reads. I recommend them for their quick pace, anti-violence, anti-war message even though Katniss Everdeen’s character arc is shallow. She is definitely brave and skilled, but she falls short of the leadership qualities and understanding of her own identity that would take her to the top of my list.

Now for shameless self-promotion: get free shipping & handling if you buy any of my books from Southern Yellow Pine Publishing through December 30, 2015! Use the coupon code STNIC.

Five take aways from the Royal Palm Literary Awards

11/11/15 / SR Staley / Awards, Awards, Marketing, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc, writing and storytelling / character development, judging, literary awards, plot, Royal Palm Literary Award, RPLA, setting, Southern Yellow Pine Publishing, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc, storytelling, SYPP

St. Nic, Inc., my re-imagination of the Santa Claus myth through the lens of an action-adventure novel. won 2^nd place in the Published Mainstream/Literary Fiction category of the Royal Palm Literary Awards. This was a great win for a small book (for now) from a small, but rapidly growing press (Southern Yellow Pine Publishing). But what does this mean for my writing?

A Few Notes on the Royal Palm Literary Awards

The RPLA awards have several benefits for writers, including the fact they provide feedback from the judges and they allow submissions into multiple categories. I submitted St. Nic, Inc. in two categories: thriller/suspense and mainstream/literary. St. Nic, Inc. didn’t make it to the semi-final round in the thriller/suspense category, but it nearly took home gold in mainstream/literary. So, this provides an interesting case study of how competition judges evaluate the same material.

The judging in the RPLA competition is based on two rounds. The first involves two judges reading the first 50 pages of a manuscript or book. Judges evaluate the submissions using a rubric that generates a numerical score between 1 and 50. Books need to score at least 80 points (or about a 40 from each judge) to make it into the semi-final round. If the book (or manuscript) makes it to the semi-final round, another judge will read the entire manuscript and score it using the same rubric to determine whether it gets into the final round and in the running for an award. The final judge’s score (also from 1 to 50) is doubled, so the final round submissions are ranked based on a total potential score of 200 points.

Here are the categories, each worth 5 points and scored from 1 to 5 except for overall impression which is scored on a 10 point scale:

Setting
Character
Plot
Story flow/plausibility
Dialogue
Creativity
Mechanics/conventions
Appropriate genre
Overall impression

The Ugly: St. Nic, Inc.’s Uncertain Journey

Here’s the breakdown of the total scores for each judge for St. Nic, Inc. for both categories:

Judge	Thriller/Suspense	Mainstream/Literary
Judge #1	36
Judge #2	35
Judge #3		42
Judge #4		40
Judge #5 (FINAL ROUND)		49
Total Score

I think it’s pretty clear that the judges in the thriller/suspense genre—the one I thought St. Nic, Inc. “fit”–weren’t super impressed. I really wasn’t close to getting into the semi-final round, which means my book probably didn’t make the cut in the top 20% of submissions. (This is my estimate; RPLA does not release numbers of submissions by category.)

Reviewing the comments, neither judge felt the story moved fast enough, thought I devoted too much space to setting and not enough to plot and character development. One of the judges had trouble with the number of characters introduced in the first chapters (too many), and they wanted more “quirks” to make them interesting. On the final category, overall impression, they scored the story identically with a 6.

I appreciated the candidness of the comments as well as their specificity, but I could hardly be encouraged by their evaluation of something I had spent years developing. You need a thick skin if you are going to submit your work to the judgments of others. Fortunately for my ego, one judge wrote that he or she would like to see more work from me. Both these judges in this genre thought the book was in the right category. So, my decision to enter my book in this category was at least validated by the judges with experience in the genre.

Ironically, I’ve always felt that setting was the weakest part of my writing. I consider myself a character-driven author. These judges would clearly beg to differ with my self-assessment.

But this is where the story gets more interesting.

I also entered St. Nic, Inc. in the category of published mainstream and literary fiction. Honestly, I didn’t think it would perform well because I thought it was primarily an action/adventure story (and not really thriller/suspense either). I also thought this would be a more competitive category because many novels can fit under this umbrella. But my fortunes in RPLA this year turned because I accepted the risk of entering the novel into a second category.

As the table shows, however, the third and fourth judges didn’t warmly embrace my novel either. They also didn’t respond well to my emphasis on setting in the opening pages. Fortunately, these judges gave me scores that allowed me to get into the semi-final round where the full manuscript would be read by a fifth judge.

A review of the comments in the mainstream/literary category found that the first round judges also had issues with the plot and the lack of quirky characters. One judge noted it was difficult to determine which characters were the protagonists and which ones were the antagonists. They were also confused about the central setting of the story (which pivots between a hospital and DEA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia as two parallel story lines develop simultaneously). These judges also thought the book could be entered into the action/thriller genres, reinforcing at least my sense of where it would fit in terms of genre. The literary/mainstream judges wanted me to tighten up the action by streamlining the story, and one even suggested I consolidate a few chapters. Hardly a slam dunk into the final round, let alone scores to position me well for a top three placing.

Still, I made it into the semi-final round.

The fifth judge obviously made the difference. After reading the entire book—the only judge to read it in its entirety—St. Nic, Inc. received a 49 out 50. I have very little feedback because the judge liked almost everything in it. This judge also noted that the story could have moved faster, but she or he considered the story imaginative, creative, engaging, and pretty cool. Since this judge’s score was doubled in the final round, St. Nic, Inc., made it into the final round and received 2^nd place.

The Good: Five Take Aways from RPLA

So, St. Nic, Inc. had a rocky ride in the RPLA judging. This was clearly not a cakewalk or an easy win. I also think it speaks well of the process, but that’s another story.

I want to close with a few observations about what this means for me as an author, with several more books in the pipeline. What are my take aways?

You can’t always judge a book by its first chapters. Stories are organic, but judging (no matter how well it maps over buyer behavior) that focuses on the first chapters (or pages) really doesn’t tell you much about the story if it has much complexity. The first chapters are just the hook. While important, they are not the story. Many of the elements of Nic, Inc. that the judges criticized were, in fact, artistic decisions about plot and character development. As long as writers recognize the trade-offs involved, and the potential downside of readers not buying the book or judges appreciating its complexity in the early chapters, writers should note the objections and consider them, but not necessarily use them as a writing guide. Even in light of the judges’ comments, I don’t think I would change the story much.
Stay true to your vision as a writer. Nic, Inc. scores ranged from 35 to 49 on a 50 point scale. At the end of the day, literary competitions, even when they use a rigorous methodology for ranking books, depend on the subjectivity of the judge. Notably, all the judges recognized that the manuscript was technically well written—no mistakes in grammar, syntax, plot development or character development. Their criticisms centered on the creative and artistic aspects of the book, many of which included choices I made as a writer about plot and character. Not all my characters had quirks because in many cases—such as the way I treat little people—I wanted to demonstrate they were normal people in an extraordinary circumstance and setting. Giving little people quirks would have transformed them into munchkins, the exact opposite of how I wanted them perceived.
Judges in literary competition pay a lot of attention to craft. They like a balance of character, plot, and setting, and they are interested in manuscripts that push, or at least give a strong nudge, to pushing against the edges of convention. Good books that are excellent reads may not do well in a literary competition because judges are looking for artistic qualities, and these qualities may not be what readers care about. Paradoxically, genre judges tend to look for stories that fit certain formulas—the one page hook, unambiguous plots, etc. This all makes sense because they are looking for the stand out contributions, so they want to see something different within the confines of their genre.
The book’s hook—the events that start the story off—is critical. As a writer I should not expect a reader (or judge) to be patient. Most people don’t want to waste an hour reading a book or manuscript to see if they are going like it. As a matter of efficiency (and practicality), the hook is essential. And, in the RPLA competition (as well as other competitions) the hook determines whether you can even quality for the subsequent rounds. An excellent hook is a necessary but not sufficient condition for success. This is useful insight in general.
The judges like tight, polished manuscripts. They don’t want to be distracted by formatting, grammatical, or spelling errors. This reflects a lack of professionalism, and they don’t want to bother reading a book when the author hasn’t done their due diligence in producing a book that respects their time and value as a judge. All judges noted that fact Nic, Inc. was free of technical errors and was well written.

This was the third time I have entered RPLA with a manuscript. Notably, last year I submitted St. Nic, Inc. as an unpublished manuscript and it failed to advance to the semi-final round. While the 2^nd place finish was gratifying, the ability to see the book do well in published form and receive excellent comments from the judges will help me frame my future submissions and keep me centered as an author.

RPLA win raises visibility of little people in mainstream society

10/21/15 / SR Staley / Awards, Awards, Books, Inspiration, Interpersonal violence, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc / A Warrior's Soul, bullying, discrmination, dwarf, dwarves, little people, little people of america, lpa, path of the warrior, pirate of panther bay, prejudice, renegade, sexual assault, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc

One of the more gratifying aspects of winning 2nd place in the Royal Palm Literary Competition was that the it happened in October. This month is Dwarfism Awareness Month, and as readers of St. Nic, Inc. know, little people–dwarves–play an important role in the story and plot. I think my fictional characters mirror the roles real dwarves play more generally in our society, even though they are not always recognized or acknowledged. I am pleased that the RPLA award have given greater public visibility to this novel and, by extension, little people.

Someone recently observed that all my novels address a social justice issue of some sort. In the Pirate of Panther Bay series, the stories focus on interpersonal violence and human dignity. In Renegade and A Warrior’s Soul (the Path of the Warrior series), the issue is bullying and sexual assault. In St. Nic, Inc., prejudice and discrimination are critical elements of the plot and storyline. In fact, I can honestly say. without giving too much away, little people are an indispensable element to the story–the story just wouldn’t be the same, and not nearly as interesting, without them. Dwarves are full-fledged, multi-dimensional characters with their own ambitions, courage, fears, skills, and competencies, and their choices as individuals determine the outcome of the story. In no way are they tokens.

Just who are some of these central characters?

Rowdy, the software engineer turned businessman, who company’s revenues power the North Pole to achieve its social mission;
Ron Cutler, the seasoned corporate attorney turned civil rights lawyer
Lisa Patten, the chief of surgery at the North Pole hospital
Fred, a professional nurse who befriends one of a lead average-sized characters

Several other characters play smaller but important cameo roles.

Importantly, St. Nic, Inc. is not a story about little people. Rather, it’s a story about the North Pole, and what it might look like if it really exists. Little people make up about 25% of the North Pole population. Average-sized people play prominent roles as lead characters, but, like all societies, this is an ensemble story with different characters on different paths and arcs.

So, why do little people exist at all? Good question. St. Nic, Inc. was written in part with an eye on broaching a broader discussion about prejudice in mainstream society from a different perspective. I have a lot on my website discussing these issues, and the role of little people in the development of the story as well as their role in the novel, including:

Discussion questions for book clubs
Q&A with me on dwarves in St. Nic, Inc.
An excerpt from Chapter 24
A matrix of discussion topics and classroom guide highlighting chapters and scenes relevant to tolerance, compassion & discrimination.

So, thank you RPLA for helping me bring this discussion to a broader audience!

For more information on Dwarfism Awareness month, click here. Support Little People of America by either joining (here) or buying St. Nic, Inc. through the LPA’s web site (under the section “Fiction with dwarf characters”).

Five expected and unexpected benefits from winning a literary award

10/19/15 / SR Staley / Awards, Awards, Marketing, Renegade, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc / book awards, Inc, renegade, Royal Palm Literary Awards, RPLA, sam staley, Southern Yellow Pine Publishing, SR Staley, St. Nic, wheatmark

By SR Staley

St. Nic, Inc. was awarded second place in the 2015 Royal Palm Literary Awards, and the win was a real confidence booster for me personally. This isn’t the first time I’ve won a book award–Renegade (Wheatmark) took home second place in the Seven Hills Literary Contest and Drug Policy and the Decline of American Cities (Transaction Books) earned 1st place in the Sir Antony Fisher Memorial Prize–but the RPLA award has elevated my fiction writing to a new level of respect among my fellow authors.

With a few more years of experience under my belt, however, I can reflect on the impact of the award and its meaning, personally and professionally. So I put together these thoughts on the expected and unexpected benefits of winning the award.

Professional validation. Perhaps now more than at any other time, authors wonder if their writing is “good enough.” In part, this is due to the tremendous change in the publishing industry. As traditional legacy publishers with integrated national distribution networks consolidate, and smaller presses focus on niches, authors are finding the only practical pathway to publication is often through self-publishing or some form of subsidy publishing. While many excellent books are published through these sources–in fact, Renegade was published through Wheatmark, a very professional hybrid publisher–authors are often left wondering whether their writing is good enough to compete. Winning an award tells us that yes, we can write and we can achieve excellence, at least as measured by our peers.
Reader validation. I didn’t really think about this until I pondered the self-centered nature of a one-star review I received on amazon for, ironically, St. Nic, Inc. The reviewer trashed St. Nic, Inc.–and I mean trashed it–despite a slew of four- and five-star reviews that proceeded it. When our books win a literary contest, we validate our readers and all those who enjoyed our stories and characters. No one who left a good review on amazon.com will ever have to justify their positive review, and, just perhaps, we hold the book snobs and narcissists accountable for their bad behavior.
Raising awareness. Winning an award, or even making it to the semifinals or finals, raises awareness about our work, giving us a needed boost to our marketing efforts. Sometimes, publishers and authors get caught in a cycle of simply generating content and posts on social media just to keep our name visible. But winning a literary award provides real content and is a win-win: Authors benefit because the quality of our work is validated through an external, third-party source and the book awards benefit by marketing their contest, raising the competitiveness and improving the validity of the contest in future years.
Rekindling the joy of writing. Writing is a long, arduous process. As creative as the it can be, we face many periods of slogging through stages we would prefer off load to someone else. I remember when my first book was published–Drug Policy and the Decline of American Cities–its actual publication seemed anti-climatic. So much time had been spent finalizing the manuscript, monitoring the book through the production process, developing the marketing plan, and navigating dozens of other smaller administrative decision points that that joy and wonder of writing seemed completely displaced. Winning the Fisher Award goosed my creative energies (as have the Seven Hills and RPLA wins).
Validating my publisher(s). With nine published books under my belt, I think authors tend to forget the importance these wins have for our publishers. I have become more keenly aware of this since my venture with Wheatmark, a subsidy publisher (but not a true self-publishing company because they don’t take every project), I am more keenly aware of the time, effort, money and resources needed to bring a quality book to press. My publishers–subsidy, self, or traditional–deserve my best efforts to market and sell books for them. Otherwise, they go out of business and our careers stall. In years past, self-publishing was a dead-end for a career. Now, the game is completely different, and publisher like Wheatmark and my current (traditional) publisher, Southern Yellow Pine Publishing, are partners. Winning book awards validates their investment in me as an author.

Many authors are rightly proud of our work when we win an award. But I think the benefits are far broader than we often appreciate. So, this award is not just for me; it’s important for everyone who supports and invests in my career as an author.

St. Nic, Inc. Takes Silver at Royal Palm Literary Awards

10/18/15 / SR Staley / Awards, Awards, Marketing, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc / Darryl Bollinger, florida writers association, FWA, Inc, literary awards, literary competition, Royal Palm Literary Awards, RPLA, SR Staley, St. Nic

SR Staley

St. Nic, Inc., my reality-based re-imagination of the Santa Claus myth, won 2nd place in the 2015 Royal Palm Literary Awards held in Orlando during the annual conference of the Florida Writers Association on October 17, 2015!

St. Nic, Inc. earned its award in the competitive Published Mainstream/Literary Fiction category. First place went to The Clock Strikes Midnight by Joan C. Curtis, and third place went to Passing Through Perfect by Bette Lee Crosby.

The FWA uses a rigorous, anonymous review process to select their winners. Each entry is given a numerical score based on a rubric designed by the committee supervising the RPLA. This provides analytical consistency in what is inevitably a subjective evaluation of the quality of writing. (I have personally used similar rubrics for more than 20 years to discipline my own grading of papers assigned in my classes at the college level.) In order to progress to each successive stage–semi-finalist, finalist, and winner–written works have to achieve minimum scores using the rubric. Thus, in theory, no award can be given in a category because none of the submitted works earn sufficiently high scores. In fact, this has happened. This year was the first time an award was given in every category, although several categories awarded just first or second places (e.g., published romance, unpublished romance, published science fiction).

This year, 378 manuscripts were entered into the RPLAs in 30 different categories and evaluated by 125 anonymous judges. Categories include a wide range of subjects and genres, including published and unpublished books; adult, young adult, and middle-grade fiction; poetry and flash fiction; thriller/suspense and women’s fiction, and several nonfiction categories and others. About 25% of the authors submitting manuscripts made it into the final round this year, and 18% (68% of finalists) won an award–either first, second, or third place in their category. (Six entrants by my count won awards in multiple categories). A full list can be found here.

I also want to give a shout to my fellow Tallahassee Writers Association author Darryl Bollinger, author of the medical thriller The Care Card, for winning second place in the Published Thriller/Suspense category!

Read the reviews of St. Nic, Inc. here.

Watch the trailer here.

Buy the book at amazon here!

Will Tracy Lawson’s novels become this generation’s Ayn Rand substitute?

10/05/15 / SR Staley / Books, Characters development, Reviews, Teen & YA fiction / action, adventure, anthem, ayn rand, Counteract, dystopian fiction, hunger games, katniss everdeen, new adult, resist, resistance series, Tracy Lawson, YA, young adult

By SR Staley

Resist, the second novel in Tracy Lawson’s Resistance Series, picks up right where Counteract leaves off: Heroine Careen Catecher and love interest Tommy Bailey are on the run after the murder of the director of the national Office of Civilian Safety and Defense (OCSD). The OCSD is a federal umbrella agency that has subsumed major bureaucracies such as the FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, and presumably even the Centers for Disease Control. Careen and Tommy have discovered the director of this super agency and his cronies are plotting to use terrorism as a cover to drug the general population under the pretense of inoculating them against biological warfare.

Set in the near future (15 years from current day), the Resistance Series explores the loss of freedom that can creep up on individuals and society through incremental changes that seem small but loom large over time. As Lawson says: “In the Resistance Series, there has been no rebellion, no cataclysmic event. The dystopian world in which they live has been created by fear, engineered by an enemy masquerading as a protector.” The premise is scary enough, and remarkably rooted in modern events and policies, as the controversy surrounding Edward Snowden and leaked classified information on domestic and international spying remind us.

The setting and premise could easily lend itself to an adult thriller by Michael Crichton, but Lawson’s series is firmly rooted in the young adult/new adult genre. The action is faster, and the story carries a syncopated beat that lends itself to the pace of a YA trilogy, not unlike the Hunger Games. In fact, like Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, and Gale Hawthorne, the protagonists are older teens who are simply trying to get on with their everyday lives. Rather than the post-apocalyptic setting of Panem, in which the vast majority of the population lives in servitude to the Capitol, Lawson’s protagonists are recent high-school graduates focused on the normal current-day activities of enrolling in college and participating in sports. Only an unanticipated series of small events leads them to discover the sinister plot to turn the nation into a mass of compliant citizens under the thumbs of politically powerful bureaucrats. In this way, Lawson’s series is very much grounded in another characteristic of the YA genre: everyday young adults forced to make significant life decisions without the luxury of experience or preparation. Not surprisingly, both Counteract and Resist tend to be plot- and setting-driven stories although the characters have an opportunity to flesh out in important ways in the second book.

My review of Counteract compared Lawson’s novel to 1984, George Orwell’s classic dystopian story the coined the term Big Brother and wrestled with government over reach, the tyranny of collectivism, and the implications for freedom. About halfway through Resist, I couldn’t stop thinking about the novels of Ayn Rand, especially her 1937 novella Anthem. In Anthem, Rand tells the story of a Equality 7-2521, a person who lives in a community in which individuality has been purged from the formal institutions of society. A Council of Vocations assigns jobs to people based on what they determine is their Life Mandate. The story follows Equality’s evolution into an individual as he discovers his natural inquisitiveness and intelligence leads him to innovate and produce. Through unregulated exploration, he discovers the word “I” and finds freedom.

Resist, fortunately, is not nearly as abstract as Anthem, making it much more suitable for YA audiences. It’s relentless focus on personal freedom and the right to live independently of the government is strong and tightly woven into the plot, and the action keeps the reader engaged. More importantly, however, as the characters develop, we see in Resist the makings of a trilogy that provokes readers in ways that more popular genre fiction doesn’t. Katniss Everdeen, for example, remains remarkably apolitical through the trilogy despite bearing witness to extraordinary oppression.

Lawson has the refreshing courage to push her characters to act and take responsibility for their actions. They don’t just bear witness. They recognize and accept the responsibilities that come with the knowledge they gain. And they act. Thus, unlike other YA fare, the Resistance Series admirably challenges its readers to ask themselves “What would you do?” and explores the implications of acting on those decisions.

For those looking for an engaging, YA adventure/thriller with strong pro-personal liberty themes, the Resistance Series should have a highly visible place in their book case or on their e-reader.

Tortuga Bay launch set for Barnacle Bill’s restaurant

09/16/15 / SR Staley / Book Signings, Marketing, Tortuga Bay / Barnacle Bills, book launch, marketing, Tortuga Bay

My newest novel, Tortuga Bay, will experience it’s official launch at Barnacle Bill’s seafood restaurant in Tallahassee on September 19th from 1 to 3 pm. Tortuga Bay is already receiving great reviews:

“Isabella sizzles in this swashbuckling sequel to The Pirate of Panther Bay. Her sword slices through oppressors from the first page to the last in an adventure that puts her daring and decisive stand against slavery at the center of a story that shimmers like its Caribbean setting.” Donna Meredith, award-winning author of Wet Work, The Color of Lies, and The Glass Madonna.
“In SR Staley’s sequel to The Pirate of Panther Bay, Isabella once again shows she is made of as much grit as any male pirate captain. The action starts on page one and never lets up.“ M.R. Street, award-winning author of The Werewolf’s Daughter, Hunter’s Moon, and Blue Rock Rescue.
“If you pick up Tortuga Bay you better strap on your seat belt…. He has done a remarkable job of mixing pirates, Royal political intrigue and Haitian voodoo into an entertaining tale.” Col. Michael Whitehead (ret.), author of The Lion of Babylon and Messages from Babylon.
“Tortuga Bay is an exceptionally well-developed story that gives a genuine touch to the theme and puts a fresh spin on the way pirate stories are told. Lovers of the genre will find the Pirate of Panther Bay series a worthy read.” Faridah Nassozi, 5-star review, Reader’s Favorite.

Anyone in Tallahassee or passing through is welcome!

Seven cool and fun things I experienced at this year’s Decatur Book Festival

09/07/15 / SR Staley / Book Signings, Marketing, Pirate of Panther Bay, Tortuga Bay / book signings, Decatur Book Festival, guerrilla haiku, marketing, pirate of panther bay, Southern Yellow Pine Publishing, SR Staley, SYPP, Tortuga Bay

I attended the 2015 Decatur Book Festival with my publisher, Southern Yellow Pine Publishing on September 5-6th. It was a blast, and much more fun than last year. (Check out a gallery of festival photos from the Atlanta Journal Constitution here, including one of our crew here.) I’m a big fan of attending festivals and marketplaces as an author because I learn so much from about marketing and what resonates with readers by talking to fellow authors, book lovers, readers, and buyers. (Oh, yeah, I also like to sell books.)

So, I’ve compiled a quick list of the more fun and exciting things I experienced this year at Decatur, both as a writer fine-tuning my craft and a participant who just enjoys engaging with people and having fun.

Guerrilla Haiku

I’ve always been a bit anxious about poetry, even though I know a lot of people that write it, and I enjoy reading it. On our first day, however, we were challenged by a group of students using Haiku (#haikuDBF) to “promote” discussion and dialogue among strangers. We embraced the challenge, and wrote the following Haiku–three lines, 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables–with sidewalk chalk:

Isabella IS

An awesome pirate lady

who trumps Jack Sparrow

This turned out to do exactly what these teens thought it would do: promote discussion! Many people simply noticed the Haiku, linked it to the sign, and then to the book. In addition to pulling me out of my comfort zone as a budding Haiku poet, it turned out (unintentionally) to be a great marketing tool.

2. Fine tuning my log lines

After talking to several readers and buyers, I realized that Tortuga Bay was more than just a sequel to The Pirate of Panther Bay. The plot and story reflects a powerful new character arc for Isabella, the lead character, and I began to articulate it much more lucidly. The Pirate of Panther Bay is about Isabella’s search and discovery of her own identity, reforged after her escape from the sugar plantation and taking over as captain of her own pirate ship. Tortuga Bay is about Isabella finding her place in the world. As a friend of mine says, she is a “woman beast”!

3. Signing sneakers

Two other young readers were walking around Decatur getting other kids to sign their sneakers. They wondered if authors would sign them, and I’m proud to say that the Southern Yellow Pine Publishing authors were the first on the canvas! (Thank you Ellie and Hannah for providing some inspiration and joy at DBF this year.)

4. Spontaneous video interviews with kids

This year’s festival seemed to attract a lot of families–kids, teens, and young adults. This was great for me because my books are strong cross overs enjoyed by readers firmly within the adult and YA action/adventure categories. (Thank you M.R. Street for making sure I don’t lose my inner teen.)

We also found a lot of kids willing to engage with us and ask us questions. So, we pulled out the smart phone and asked them to pose any question they wanted on camera. I’ve posted them to my (SR Staley) youtube channel (with parental permission, of course) under the play list “Kids on the Street”. This was a great way to engage young readers in our profession. I hope to continue this at other book signings and at Downtown Marketplace in Tallahassee.

Jo Jo’s interview with me can be found here.
Brodie’s interview with me can be found here.
Gunnar’s interview with William Mark and can be found here.

5. My (really big) sign

The one big marketing take away for me this year was the importance and effectiveness of signage. We were able to put up a 6-foot sign advertising Tortuga Bay and the impact was obvious. Of course, we were working with a great cover crafted by SYPP’s Jim Hamer, and that helped a lot. Still, we could see people walking down the sidewalk, see the sign, look over at the book rack, and then step over and pick up the book. (We had similar signs for Robert Burton’s The Burgundy Briefcase and V.L. Brunskill’s Waving Backwards.) The cover design had a huge impact on drawing readers into the booth. Thank you Jim for crafting such a captivating cover!

6. Getting to know my fellow authors

I also really really enjoyed getting to know my fellow SYPP authors Scott Archer Jones (who flew in from New Mexico!) author of The Big Wheel, William Mark (Lost in the Darkness), Roberta Burton (The Burgundy Briefcase), and V.L. Brunskill (Waving Backwards). These are great people and their books are getting excellent press (and winning awards).

7. Selling Books

Of course, I really enjoyed selling my books. Tortuga Bay and The Pirate of Panther Bay did well with the crowd this year, and having two books in the same series made a big difference. Several people bought both books (even though they are stand alone stories). I sold a few copies of St. Nic, Inc. but the Panther Bay Pirate series was the clear winner for the weekend. I doubt I would have been as successful if my books were each one-offs. Thus, this year’s experience is another example of the benefit of series and multi-book authors.

I can’t wait until next year!

Isabella set to take Decatur Book Festival by storm!

08/31/15 / SR Staley / Book Signings, Marketing, Pirate of Panther Bay, Tortuga Bay / Decatur Book Festival, pirate of panther bay, Tortuga Bay

I will be launching Tortuga Bay, the sequel to The Pirate of Panther Bay, in Decatur, Georgia on Saturday, September 5th, and Sunday, September 6th, at the Decatur Book Festival. This is one of the largest book festivals in the nation!

I appeared with fellow SYPP authors Saundra Kelly, Brin Colenda, Scott Archer Jones, CD Mitchell, Ken Johnson, and Brian Smith last year, and it was a lot of fun. This year, because we are launching Tortuga Bay, our display will be even more prominent.

Check us out in Booth #520 on Ponce de Leon Street (Southern Yellow Pine Publishing) both days! I will be officially appearing at 10 am on Saturday and 11 am on Sunday, but I’ll be around both days.

Also, don’t forget that you can get $3 off Tortuga Bay and The Pirate of Panther Bay if you buy from the Southern Yellow Pine Publishing website before the book festival. Use the coupon code READNOW.

Don’t forget to also look for updates on the Panther Bay Pirate series at my website, www.srstaley.com.

Hope to see you in Decatur if you are in town!

Tracy Lawson’s dystopian “Resist” challenges, engages

08/29/15 / SR Staley / Books, Reviews, Teen & YA fiction / action, adventure, Counteract, dystopian fiction, resist, resistance series, Tracy Lawson, young adult fiction

When Tracy Lawson published Counteract, her first novel in the Resistance Series (now with 41 reviews, including one by me!), I let out a breath of fresh air. I think dystopian thrillers are at their best when they are challenging conventional ideas about our role as individuals in society or the role institutions such as government play. (See Claire Staley’s take on the unrecognized depth in young-adult literature here, and my take in the context of The Hunger Games here and my short video here.) These are themes that really play out in my books, most clearly in Tortuga Bay, which will be released on September 5, 2015.

Tracy’s story, featuring college students Careen and Tommy as star-crossed lovers, did a great job, in my view, of really pushing against conventional ideas in thought provoking but entertaining ways. This is a dystopian series for our times.

Set in the “near” future, the Resistance Series, is squarely in the dystopian science fiction genre. Careen and Tommy discover that the government’s plan to inoculate the general public with a vaccine to combat biological warfare is actually an attempt to control the population. They stumble across the plan, and end up joining the resistance. It’s remarkably plausible and right in tune with modern controversies such as the federal government’s secret spying on Americans in the name of national security. My longer review can be found here.

Resist is the second in the series, and it promises to be even better crafted and better paced. In future posts, I will feature an interview with Tracy and provide a more detailed review of the book itselt. In the meantime, check out Resist on amazon. Better yet, buy it, it’s well worth the $3.99. Resist is an entertaining read and, in many ways, more thought provoking and deeper than the Hunger Games and other young-adult dystopian fare.

Here’s what Tracy has to say about the story in the second book:

“Being part of the Resistance presents them with new challenges. Not everyone working for change will prove trustworthy, and plans to spark revolution go awry with consequences greater than they could’ve imagined. Tommy and Careen’s relationship is tested when their philosophical differences and the pressures of interpersonal rivalries and jealousy put a strain on their romance. Can they make time for each other while trying to start a revolution?”

I’ll posting more on this series in the near future. For now, bravo, Tracy Stone Lawson!

Tortuga Bay Launches Isabella into Voodoo and Revolution

08/16/15 / SR Staley / Book Signings, Pirate of Panther Bay, Teen & YA fiction, Tortuga Bay / Caribbean, Caribbean Sea, Donna Meredith, Haiti, Isabella, M.R. Street, Michael Whitehead, Panther Bay, pirates, Port-au-Prince, Saint-Domingue, Santo Domingo, slave revolution, slavery, Southern Yellow Pine Publishing, SR Staley, teen fiction, Tortuga Bay, voodoo, young adult fiction, young adults

The official release date is set for Tortuga Bay, the sequel to The Pirate of Panther Bay: September 5, 2015. We will be launching the book at the Decatur Book Festival (@DBookFestival) in Decatur, Georgia, September 5-6th. We will have a launch event in Tallahassee, as well, but the venue and date have not been confirmed yet. Take advantage of pre-release savings by pre-ordering Tortuga Bay and/or The Pirate of Panther Bay for $3 off the cover price! (Use coupon code READNOW.)

I am very excited about Tortuga Bay. Isabella goes into very different and a very dark place as she grapples with voodoo and a nascent slave revolt on Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti). Lots of swashbuckling action takes place, but I enjoyed working some bigger issues into the plot and character arcs in this version.

It helps that I’m getting great early reviews! Here’s a sampling:

“Isabella sizzles in this swashbuckling sequel to The Pirate of Panther Bay. Her sword slices through oppressors from the first page to the last in an adventure that puts her daring and decisive stand against slavery at the center of a story that shimmers like its Caribbean setting. Unputdownable!” Donna Meredith, award-winning author of Wet Work, The Color of Lies, and The Glass Madonna
“In SR Staley’s sequel to The Pirate of Panther Bay, Isabella once again shows she is made of as much grit as any male pirate captain. The action starts on page one and never lets up. Through exhilarating battles at sea and the start of a slave revolution on land, Isabella fights for the success of her ship, safety of her crew, and survival of her lover, who happens to be a captain in the Spanish Navy — a sworn enemy. At the same time, she is searching for the meaning of the Prophecy given to her long ago by her now dead mother. Staley’s familiarity with ships of war and the history of the region helps readers feel they are part of the action. “ M.R. Street, award-winning author of The Werewolfe’s Daughter, Hunter’s Moon, and Blue Rock Rescue.
“If you pick up Tortuga Bay you better strap on your seat belt because you will be transported back in time to an era of pirates and ships chased by the soldiers and sailors of Spain’s Most Royal Catholic Majesty. Isabella, continuing her role as The Pirate of Panther Bay from the previous book, is an intriguing character. By casting this young woman as a pirate captain Staley launches a frontal assault on all the female stereotypes so prevalent in literature, media and the entertainment world. He has done a remarkable job of mixing pirates, Royal political intrigue and Haitian voodoo into an entertaining tale.” Col. Michael Whitehead (ret.), author of The Lion of Babylon and Messages from Babylon.

Stay tuned for updates as we get closer to the release!

Also, keep track of my comings and goings on my website: http://www.srstaley.com

Pirates, Aliens, and Cats, Oh My!

07/11/15 / SR Staley / A Warrior's Soul, Book Signings, Marketing, Pirate of Panther Bay, Renegade, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc, Teen & YA fiction, Tortuga Bay / A Warrior's Soul, action, adventure, book events, book signings, cats, Chris Widdop, marketing, My Favorite Books, ninja, pirate of panther bay, renegade, science fiction, St Nic Inc, Tortuga Bay

I will be signing copies of the Pirate of Panther Bay, St. Nic, Inc, A Warrior’s Soul, and Renegade at My Favorite Books in Tallahassee on Saturday, July 18, 2015, from 11 am to 1 pm. If you are in town, come out and join me as I talk about these books and others, including the forthcoming Tortuga Bay. June2015-signing

I will be joined by Bruce Ballister, the author of Dreamland Diaries and Orion’s Light. These popular sci-fi novels are great for young adults and adults, and Bruce’s stories are characterized as “science fiction with a southern accent.”

We will be joined by Chris Widdop, author of Velcro: The Ninja Kat and Velcro: The Green Lion. Check out Chris’s blog for insights into popular culture and media, including timely movie reviews. Need I say more?

I’ve not met Chris before, but he lists Edge of Tomorrow, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Interstellar among his top five movies for 2014. I think we’ll get along well.

Don’t forget to visit my updated website for the newest news!

See you on Saturday!

“St. Nic, Inc.” is Royal Palm finalist!

07/06/15 / SR Staley / Awards, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc / florida writers association, Royal Palm Literary Award, Santa Claus, St Nic Inc

I’m pleased to announce that St. Nic., Inc., my contemporary re-imagination of the Santa Claus myth, is now a finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Award Competition hosted by the Florida Writers Association.

St. Nic, Inc. is competing in the mainstream fiction genre.

According to reviewers, St. Nic., Inc. “sparkles like the North Pole on a sunny day” (Donna Meredith) and “a fast paced thriller that explores government overreach, technology’s role in society, and what it means to ‘do good'” (Jim Booth).

Final awards will be announced October 15-18, 2015 at the FWA’s annual conference in Orlando.

St. Nic, Inc. can be purchased at amazon.com or Southern Yellow Pine Publishing.

Fixing writer’s block

06/22/15 / SR Staley / Claire Staley, Keys to Success, writing and storytelling / challenges, claire staley, keys to success, writer's block, writing

As a writer, I am familiar with this common ailment: Writer’s Block. When it attacks it can make your manuscript seem like the worst in the world. It’s frustrating, miserable, and kinda makes you want to throw your entire manuscript out.

Don’t do that. Instead, breathe, and then think about the following.

First of all, keep writing. The most important thing is not to stop and take a break. Set a timer for yourself and keep writing. I don’t care if you write four paragraphs of “la, la, la, la, la…” or “weeeeeeee,” you need to keep putting letters on the page, because if you stop writing you may never return.

Second, my moments of inspiration often happen when I’m neck-deep in other, necessary, work. For example, my most creative inspirations often come while I’m in my calculus II class. I’m so disinterested in what I’m supposed to be doing that my mind finds an alternative, which usually comes in the form of storylines. I am also inspired when I have three tests and two papers that I should be working on.

Funny how that works.

And, for me, I let it flow. Mostly because I’m passing calculus with no problem, so taking some time in my mind to fix my entire plot problem is not an unworthy cause. Listen to your body, your mind, and the little beast inside you trying to sort through millions of plot lines and make it into a seamless story.

Someone once said that what you do when you procrastinate might be what you should do for the rest of your life. Now me: When I’m listening to music I’m thinking about what scene in my book it would go with. When I’m rushing to class I picture myself as my main character running to/from whatever she’s running to/from. I do my homework and I think about if my character’s love interest would need to know it. I read other books and I look for inspiration for plot lines and characters. When I walk around at night I put myself into the scene where my character is sneaking around to spy on someone.

It’s my procrastination. It’s my second world. My split personality. Is it yours?

If not, that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be. But it certainly helps. I don’t know why you are writing a book, story, poem, song, or anything else, but trust that your reasons for starting are good enough to finish.

Game of Thrones and rape as a plot device

06/20/15 / SR Staley / Books, Characters development, SR Staley, violence and bullying, writing and storytelling / character arc, character development, Game of Thrones, George R R Martin, plot device, rape, sexual violence, storytelling

By SR Staley

A virtual firestorm of debate erupted last month over a rape scene in the popular HBO show “Game of Thrones,” a long-running series based on George R.R. Martin‘s weighty fantasy novels “A Song of Fire and Ice.” I haven’t seen the specific episode, or the scene, but the controversy appears to be over a creative decision by the producers & writers at HBO to make a rape scene between two characters a central event out of a minor one in the books. Martin has responded on his blog by noting that creative differences between film, television, and books have a long history. This, of course, is not controversial and we’ve blogged on these differences before (see here , here, and here).

What is more controversial, or at least worth discussing further, is the role that sexual violence and rape play in storytelling. Martin is quoted in the Guardian newspaper as saying “I want to portray struggle. Drama comes out of conflict. If you portray a utopia, then you probably wrote a pretty boring book.”

Does the pursuit of drama and conflict justify using rape and sexual violence as a plot device? Is rape just a plot device? I’ve struggled with this very question because my novels often deal with sexual violence in some form or another. Systemic rape during slavery is an essential part of the backstory for Isabella in The Pirate of Panther Bay, and a motivator for her drive for personal freedom as a pirate. The existential threat to Maria in Renegade is the use of sexual violence and rape to destroy her, physically and emotionally. So, I am very careful to think about how sexual violence and rape figure into the story line and development of my characters. At first blush, I found Martin’s comments flippant and remarkably insensitive.

Of course, rape and sexual violence work as plot devices only to the extent they cause conflict. Ironically, in the value system of Game of Thrones (and most societies before the Enlightenment and emergence of humanism), rape and sexual violence were “normal,” or at least insufficiently deviant to create the conflict that propels story. The fact that readers and viewers are responding to the rape scene in disbelief, anger, and horror because of its depravity is a sign of social and cultural progress. So, in the sense of creating conflict among contemporary readers, rape and sexual violence can be an effective plot device.

But, good stories need more than plot devices. The plot points must move the story and characters forward. This appears to be the essence of the objections to the rape scene in the episode in Season Five of Game of Thrones. On the one hand, rape and sexual violence is a normal part of the story and plot lines. Martin correctly reminds us that his stories are intended portray a medieval world accurately. But this show is not a documentary; it’s a narrative story. The creative question is: Do these scenes move the story and characters forward? Or are they devices used merely to hook viewers through shock?

If they move the characters and stories forward, then rape (and misogyny) serve a creative purpose and are justifiable in the context of the story and storytelling. The decision should not just be about drama and conflict; it should be about story. The writer’s role is to ensure plot points move the characters down the right paths for the story, whether they move into darkness or into light. I can only hope the writers of Game of Thrones have thought through the plot implications, and the system rape and sexual violence isn’t just a plot device to hook viewers through shock.

When it’s time to break the writing “rules”

06/19/15 / SR Staley / Claire Staley, writing and storytelling / agatha christie, claire staley, then there were none, writing rules

By Claire W. Staley

There are specific rules that are almost always followed in fiction, such as no adverbs, show don’t tell, and don’t overwhelm your readers with too many characters at once. Agatha Christie broke all of these rules in And Then There Were None, a mystery novel involving ten strangers with shady pasts on a deserted island. And yet, she is praised as one of the greatest mystery novelists. After reading this novel, she had me question my own past. Was I a murderer, too? Christie,AndThenThereWereNone

The reader is immediately introduced to all ten characters at once, and the reader gets multiple points of view. It’s chaotic, but I kept reading. She uses adverbs all the time, and yet it seems appropriate for the story type. They did not jump out at me as usual. She tells the reader what is happening and how the characters are feeling instead of showing them, but it works because the reader is never supposed to understand the characters to their fullest extent.

There is a time to break all the rules. There is a time to do what feels right instead follow conventional norms. There are times it makes sense to forgo the common, but the decision should be made intentionally. The author should know why he or she chooses to break the rules, and he or she should understand why the rules are put in place. That being said: listen to your gut and remember that writers are artists, and artists are supposed to do whatever they want with their art. Go forth and be free, and write something amazing.

Slytherins Unite! The good and the bad of the “dark side” of Harry Potter

06/09/15 / SR Staley / Books, Claire Staley, Heroes and villains / characters, claire staley, evil, harry potter, Hogwarts, J.K. Rowling

By Claire W. Staley

Hello all you Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins, and welcome to the Slytherin common room, or as I like to call it, this blog post. I am a proud Slytherin, though it has taken me some time to learn to love it.

I struggled to accept the fact that I am a Slytherin, because I wanted to be a Hufflepuff, but I couldn’t deny all the tests I took and retook on Pottermore. I am a full-blooded Slytherin. My heart broke when I learned this; my soul died a little, and I didn’t know what to make of it.

And then I started researching. I reread the Harry Potter series, noticing more about the Slytherin house and who inhabited it, and I became more intrigued. The house with the worst reputation, with the most evil students, and with the most haters, was my house. How could I ever be proud of that?

I detest most Slytherins in the books. I really do. Many of them are vile and horrible, but they are also the ones most visible. They are the ones we’re familiar with, and we don’t really get to know many nice ones. We know who Draco Malfoy is and we know who Pansy Parkinson is because Harry hated them with almost every fiber of his being.

But there are plenty of Slytherins in the background that are not evil. To start off with, there is Severus Snape: though despicable in nature and rather unpleasant, he is not evil. There are plenty that are intelligent, stubborn, kind, and compassionate. Because if there weren’t, Draco would never have had the kind of power he does. Someone with a blacker heart would have stepped up to compete. But to be honest, no one wants to be Draco Malfoy, not even Draco Malfoy.

I find solace in the fact that the kind Slytherins help keep everyone in check. They have to, because they have to balance out the not-so-good ones. All Slytherins are expected to go dark from the very beginning, even by adults, making it much easier for them to go dark. They are surrounded by people telling them they’ll be evil. People judging and hating them because of the house they are a part of, and this comes from fellow students and adults. Imagine what it would take to combat that and fight to be good?

So to those kind and compassionate Slytherins, you fight a hard battle. You fight to be good when no one gives you the chance.

I think the Slytherins can be pretty amazing.

Knowing Terror

06/06/15 / SR Staley / empowerment, Inspiration, SR Staley / empowerment, inspiration, life experience, redtide, SR Staley

By SR Staley

I now know why people die in riptides. And the experience was my first confrontation with sheer terror. I have known for a while that I am not a strong swimmer, but I thought I had taken all the appropriate measures to protect myself in the surf. In fact, I had swum safely in similar waves numerous times that day (and the day before) under the same conditions. What made this experience different was a wrong step–literally about twelve inches–where I unexpectedly found myself in water over my head.

The swimming in the ocean–just 30 feet from shore–seemed so normal. I didn’t realize I was caught in the riptide until several minutes later when I tried to swim back to the beach. After several minutes, I realized I wasn’t making any progress. This riptide had the effect of keeping me in place. All those tips about letting the current take you out to sea until it releases you, and then swimming toward shore? No help here.

That’s when I panicked. The waves were breaking over my head and I couldn’t touch the sand below. I was tired because I hadn’t recognized I was caught in the riptide until after several minutes of vigorous swimming. My wife was less than 10 feet away, but I couldn’t call to her thinking at the moment that I would just pull her into the same quandary. The lifeguard was easily a football field away–watching the busier parts of the beach. In these moments, I suddenly realized one poorly timed gasp of air, or one unexpected break of a wave, would send saltwater gushing into my lungs. I wouldn’t be able to cough it out. I would go under, and there was nothing I could do. I would drown. I was going to die.

Obviously, I survived. Why am I here? It’s not because I became a miraculous swimmer, or experienced a surge of adrenalin that gave me super human powers. And it’s not because others recognized I was in severe trouble, or I was saved by a lifeguard. I did not experience the direct hand of God, or an angel. In the moment, I foolishly thought no one could help me.

No, I’m here for other, more mundane reasons far more relevant for a life that is not so terror stricken:

1) I recognized that I was trouble and resolved to do something about it,

2) I recognized that I was panicking, and took mental steps to calm myself. I owned my mental state, accepted it for what it was, and resolved to move forward. I was quite surprised at how simply acknowledging that I was in a panic actually helped calm me down and settle my mind. Acknowledging and embracing my emotional state gave me clarity and rationality because I could compartmentalize it.

3) I stopped using the strategy that didn’t work–swimming toward shore. Instead, in a move that probably saved my life, I decided to go nowhere by treading water. This bought myself time and allowed me to physically regroup.

4) I remembered what all that life saving advice from the educational flyers about riptides. Even though it would have been a lot easier to be in a riptide they described–one that was taking me out to sea rather than the one I faced that kept me in a perpetual state of high water–I understood the principle. I stopped fighting the tide. I paid attention to the waves and the direction of the surf. I used this knowledge to rise with the breakers and claim inches that seemed like millimeters toward the shore and safety.

The entire episode probably didn’t take more than five or ten minutes, but I have never felt the level of intense, overriding fear that I experienced in those moments. I believed Death was literally coming from underneath to grab me and pull me from this life. I have experienced extreme, even life threatening physical trauma in the past, but I have few memories and no feelings from it because my brain shut down. I have learned that this is normal for trauma survivors and it’s part of the defensive mechanism of the human body.

Terror is different, I have now discovered. It’s so visceral, so overwhelming, that it sticks to your insides in a way that reshapes your body and mind. I doubt that feeling of being overwhelmed by nature, of helplessness, will ever leave completely. But having survived this trial gives me a confidence, self-awareness, and personal strength that makes me stronger and, with a little luck, wiser. (Note to self and others: No more swimming when the red warning flags are up, no matter how many people are in the surf!)

St. Nic, Inc. Makes Royal Palm Literary Award Semi-Finals!

06/04/15 / SR Staley / Awards, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc / florida writers association, FWA, north pole, Royal Palm Literary Award, RPLA, Santa Claus, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc

I am pleased to announced that St. Nic, Inc., my reality-based action adventure about the North Pole, as been named a semi-finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Awards! The next step is for a judge to review and score the manuscript to determine if it makes it into the finals.

This is the furthest one of my novels has gone in this competition, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. RPLA’s award competition uses a rubric for scoring the manuscripts. Manuscripts that reach a certain threshold in overall scoring make it into the semi-finals and finals. The award winners are determined by a panel of judges.

Reason magazine has called St. Nic, Inc. a “comic thriller,” and award winning author Donna Meredith writes:

When the talented SR Staley tosses DEA agents, moles, computer whizzes, and a multi-national CEO into one action-filled plot, you get St. Nic, Inc., a story that sparkles like the North Pole on a sunny day. St. Nic, Inc. offers a fresh vision of what modern tools like the Internet and high-speed delivery services could accomplish in the hands of the right Little People. This heart-warming re-imagining gives us reason to believe—and fall in love all over again with our most cherished time of year.

Does Sexism pervades storyline of “Avengers: Age of Ultron”?

05/31/15 / Claire Staley / Characters development, Claire Staley, Films, Heroes and villains, writing and storytelling / age of ultron, avengers, black widow, bruce banner, character development, clint barton, female characters, feminism, hawkeye, heroes, heroines, hulk, marvel comics, natasha romanov, sexism, thor, tony stark, villains

By Claire W. Staley

Black Widow, or Natasha Romanoff, is a spy in the Marvel Comics universe and, most recently, in the film Avengers: Age of Ultron. She is not the typical super hero, but she’s not a villain, either. She’s someone with both good and bad clearly etched into her character. She doesn’t pretend either way, and she takes the world at full force. She is a goddess of war and a champion of not-so-hero-heroes. She’s the one with the past we know is sketchy but we just believe, deep down, she’s on the good side.

She is not, however, a mother. Parenthood is a large issue for most of the Avengers because Hawkeye (aka Clint Barton) has a family in the film.

But not Black Widow. While Black Widow’s inability to have children highlights the fact that having children inhibits women’s careers across all fields, the way it was handled was disappointing. Barton, as a male, had a family at the same time as being a superhero. This was not an option for Romanoff, as she is a woman, and she is not allowed to have those kind of attachments to children or accept the kind of bodily change that comes with pregnancy. So the choice is removed. The other guys are allowed to flirt and have children without being called into question if they so choose.

But not Black Widow. This can be paralleled in modern society, as having children almost always inhibits a woman’s career. More and more women, however, are deciding not to have children for various reasons, including to focus more on their careers. Women are constantly being called “slut” and “whore” as they exercise their choices involving their sexuality. Meanwhile, men are not impacted by their choice to have a family, have sex, or flirt, as Barton, Stark (Ironman), Thor, and Rogers (Captain America) are not inhibited by it.

Black Widow is the only female Avenger in the group at the outset in the movie, and her character’s personality is incomplete without the ability to have children. Being a superhero, having decent romantic and platonic relationships, and saving good people from death is just not enough. She has to have kids and a house and a family, despite the fact that Stark and Thor are quite content not having kids.

Captain America is the only other superhero who might be interested in settling down, but we don’t see him complaining about his lack of offspring. Actually, it seems hard to believe he would put people he loves in danger. Moreover, it seems hard to believe that any of them would bring families into the world when they could die at any moment, or their families could be used against them.

Black Widow, in contrast, wants a family like Barton. She doesn’t care that it isn’t practical or it would be dangerous. It doesn’t matter she’s almost always about to die. Her womanly role has been taken from her, leaving her to console the self-loathing Hulk (Bruce Banner) like a child. She’s always picking up after the boys, as she states, and she’s the one with enough feminine touch to bring Banner back from his monster state using various methods of motherly speaking and lullabies.

When Banner tells her he can’t have children, Romanoff tells him she can’t either. It is the most haunting part of her, that she can’t have kids. In fact, the Scarlet Witch uses this to distract her from battle. Her inability to produce offspring literally gets in the way of her saving the world. Isn’t her ability to save the world independent of her sexuality, like the other male superheroes? Apparently

Marvel and the movie’s producers reduced Black Widow’s role and personality to someone who only believes she’s worthy if she can give birth. We needed her soft side, her broken side, but we also needed her to understand that her fertility has nothing to do with her ability to be a hero and save people. We needed her to not be given the womanly role of child-bearer for once. We needed her to be a champion because she is a champion, and we needed that to not be put in jeopardy because of her sex.

Traveling Episodes: Caye Caulker, Belize

04/17/15 / SR Staley / Claire Staley / adventure, Belize, Caye Caulker, claire staley, college life, scuba, skiing, social norms

By Claire W. Staley

I adore island countries. They remind me of something that many people forget: taking it slow is okay. As a college student, I’m surrounded by many driven, career-oriented peers who can have a tendency to be judgmental. I am also familiar with people who elected not to go to college, and instead plant themselves somewhere and get a minimum wage job while they enjoy the nearest ski resort or coral reef. And it astounded me that these ski bums and island creatures really bother some of my friends. “What are they doing with their life?” they ask. “They’re going nowhere. Why didn’t they go to college and study something?”

Perhaps it comes from insecurities almost everyone has about their futures. When someone works so hard at school and they still face an uncertain future, maybe it feels unfair that someone who didn’t “work as hard” could be completely fine.

Others are jealous and wish they had a lifestyle like that. I know I do. I could easily see myself working at a dive shop in the Caribbean for minimum wage. But this stigma our culture has about education makes me stay in college. (Ok, maybe I really like learning through books and classes as well).

Does every person have a deep-seated need for adventure? Surely the ski-bums are living an adventurous life on the border, rebelling against society norms. Sitting in chemistry class three days a week doesn’t always get the blood rushing. The SCUBA diver in Costa Rica is probably marching through a jungle and discovering great things. Having an adventure.

Some talk about those people and say this: “It’s fine, I mean do whatever you want, but what are you DOING with your life?” And then they huff, pout, and sigh about people who have no drive or sense of future. That’s a lot of energy to put into someone else’s life, especially someone you might not even know.

In truth, at least to me, these people are neither here to be admired nor disliked. They do not want nor need the approval or opinion of those they do not know. They simply are living the best way they know how, and perhaps they have the right idea when it comes to life paths. Who knows? Instead of worrying so much about the future, perhaps we shouldn’t worry about anything at all for a bit. And if that means chilling out for a bit in Africa, it’s really none of my business.

“You do you, and don’t forget to go slow,” as they say on Caye Caulker, Belize.

Taking on book snobs: A manifesto for readers

04/04/15 / SR Staley / Books, Claire Staley, writing and storytelling / benefits of reading, book snobs, character development, reading, tolerance, value of books, value of reading

By Claire W. Staley

In my literary exploits, I have been confronted with many people who disagree with the kind of books I read. This is a wonderful thing. However, I sometimes find that they transfer this distaste to me as a person, and I suddenly find myself placed in a small box and dismissed.

You, my good sir or m’am, are a book snob.

And the fact is, no kind of book is better or worse than any other, and here is why:

That person you just placed judgment upon? They are buying books, which benefits authors and publishers alike, and thus benefits readers. More buyers, more books. It’s simple.
You never know what someone is getting out of a book. Stop expecting everyone that reads 50 Shades of Grey to be desperate and unimaginative. Plenty of smart, intelligent, well-rounded people read those books, and plenty of not so smart, intelligent, and well-rounded people read them as well. Just like with every book, every reader finds something different in a book. If someone connects with the characters of 50 Shades of Grey, crushing that connection not only undermines the book industry, but you as well.
Others might not enjoy the kinds of books you enjoy. How would it feel if someone put you down for that? The Golden Rule from kindergarten still applies in reading and book loving social etiquette.
Most people who get made fun of for what they read really don’t care what your opinion is. I adore Harry Potter, but do I force anyone else to join me on my fangirling? I do not. And yet people still scoff and make fun of me for loving it. But I can assure you that your opinion of me doesn’t change my love for it, because I gained a better understanding of myself and the world through reading those books.
You are basing an entire person on one choice they make. For instance, I love fantasy and sci-fi. I am immediately grouped with the nerds and the wallflowers–happily grouped with them , I might add–and others look down on me for it. That is not my entire personality, and while I recognize that I have many facets to my personality, being placed in a box and dismissed can cause some frustration.
I am a Twilight fan. I read all the books and loved them. I’ve read them multiple times, actually. I have people telling me in real life and on the Internet that they are stupid and vapid and anti-feminist, and by extension everyone who reads them are as well. But something about Bella helped me feel not so alone in the world. To degrade something like that, and make me embarrassed about it, is to make someone else feel more alone in the world and destroys the connections and discussion that can come from books.
You take away magic when you degrade books and those who read them. The stories we believe in and the characters we love are invaluable. If someone said that your boyfriend or girlfriend was stupid or embarrassing, you would probably punch them, right? Well that’s how lots of people, including myself, feel about books and characters. We have found something to love in them, and just because others cannot see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Just because I don’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t true for you and vice versa. There may be value, even when it isn’t obvious.

8. You’re missing out on valuable discussions. Try “I’ve never really gotten into that genre of books. What do you like about it?” or “I’m not familiar with that story.” Then share what you like to read. But don’t snub others because of their choices in books. They most likely love to talk about books, no matter what kind, and that’s a wonderful thing. They are expanding their minds. They are traveling to other places with incredible people. Maybe, if you’re nice, they’ll bring you along with them. Wouldn’t that be a treat?

Narcissism and the one-star amazon review

03/28/15 / SR Staley / Marketing, Reviews, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc / amazon, book reviews, St. Nic Inc

By SR Staley

I received my first one star review on amazon.com a couple of weeks ago, my first in 47 reviews of my fiction. While I know my books won’t appeal to all readers, a one star is quite deflating. But then I looked at the larger picture, and I realized how narcissistic and impulsive the person posting the one-star review must be. Let me explain.

“Big Bad John”–yes, that’s his on-line handle–posted his review with the title “Save Your Money!” and basically trashes my newest novel, St. Nic., Inc., in four sentences. (He also didn’t buy the book from amazon.) I have no doubt this is his honest opinion of the book. And he is entitled to his opinion and post it on amazon.com. I have no objection with that.

But here’s the context: Big Bad John’s review was the 17th review. The lowest review before his was a 3 star, and these unenthusiastic readers wrote that the book was a “good seasonal read” and “a nice way to pass the time.” St. Nic, Inc. has 10 five-star reviews, seven of which were “verified” purchases from amazon.com. All the four and three-star reviews were verified purchases from amazon.com or the kindle store. So, BBJ has to either ignore all the other reviews, or believe his lone opinion was so superior to the others that potential readers should put aside everyone else’s views except his. I think this pretty much defines narcissism in the world of book reviews.

My biggest disappointment, however, was not BBJ’s displeasure although I do care what readers think. In fact, I incorporate their feedback–positive and negative–in my writing all the time. Rather, it was BBJ’s complete lack of content in his criticism. He had an opportunity to be constructive, but chose simply to trash talk the book.

Fortunately, I doubt Big Bad John will have much effect on my book sales. My book is better than he thinks, and I know that because the vast majority of the reviews on amazon are by people I don’t know. I have also won awards for my fiction.

I guess BBJ doesn’t want to be put on my Christmas card list.

The unrocognized depth of the Divergent Triology

03/26/15 / SR Staley / Claire Staley, Heroes and villains, SR Staley, Teen & YA fiction, writing and storytelling / culture, divergent, dystopian fiction, insurgent, teen fiction, Veronica Roth, YA, young adult

By Claire W. Staley

Popular books often become the target of criticism simply because they are popular. The dystopian, young adult novel Divergent by Veronica Roth seems to have fallen into this camp. Now that Roth’s books have become popular movies, earning more than $300 million worldwide, they seem to be the subject of even more criticism: Some say it’s just a story about a boy and girl who fall in love while they fight an oppressive regime. Some say it is too violent.

However, before denouncing Divergent and shoving it aside, perhaps it is more important than previously believed. This young adult novel taught me many things about life, and understanding this might change a society that looks down upon YA fiction novels. Here are just a few of my “takeaways” from these novels:

Tris and Four, the lead characters, are equals. They support, love, and challenge each other in equal measures and they stand side-by-side. There is no love triangle (though I have nothing against these if done properly), and their relationship problems come from within themselves. This gives this particular book diversity from many other books.
The enemy is constantly moving from one person to the next, from one group to the next, and from the good guys to the bad guys. Everyone is up for game and no one is completely innocent. Everything expands and retracts, gets larger and smaller, until you have no idea who is the actual problem and who is the solution. It challenges your critical thinking and frustrates you to no end- helping you realize that nothing in life is secure. Things and people change, and people aren’t always who you want them to be.
Both Tris and Four are incredibly strong and real. They are role models because they make the hard decisions. They make the choices they must, and they learn how to deal with that and move on. They learn for to forgive-each other and themselves. And sometimes they have to put aside their personal ethics to do what has to be done. And it never gets easier. They do not get used to killing others. They understand and accept that they must make choices with no good outcome. When they are allowed to make choices that protect their hearts, they do. That makes them strong.
People can change. And anyone can influence one to do so in positive or negative ways. Once you believe that no one can change, that no one can make different choices than those they made in the past, hope is lost, as is compassion. Love and understanding thread through the characters, even between enemies, and that makes a difference.
People in power do not always make the right choices, and it’s okay to forgive them for making mistakes, but they are not always virtuous. They do not always make the right choices for the right reasons. They can be bad. They can be good. And the people are stronger than the government for a reason. Because the people are mostly good, and they thus are expected to uphold that. Everyone has an honor to themselves and to the people they live with. That honor must be upheld or chaos reigns.

Perhaps Divergent is really an educational novel, capable of teaching readers about, love, life, and people, and perhaps it is not just another book to read for fun. Divergent, like many YA books published these days, can be much more than light entertainment if readers give them the space to fulfill those aspirations.

The social value of dystopian literature

03/22/15 / SR Staley / Books, Characters development, Heroes and villains, Teen & YA fiction, writing and storytelling / divergent, dystopia, dystopian fiction, ethics, heroes, rights and wrong, Veronica Roth, villains

by Claire W. Staley

After discussing dystopian literature with a wide variety of people, including college students and college professors, I have reached a conclusion: this genre is extremely important to our culture right now.

For one, it’s trending. From The Hunger Games to Divergent to Matched, it’s selling fast, which means people are buying. Why are we fascinated by this kind of literature? Why now?

With increased globalization bringing our world closer together, and smaller in the process, we are constantly being asked big questions. Significant questions. Questions that we may not be prepared to answer. Governments around the world are coming closer to home, and with them corruption and conflict. More than that, corruption and conflict within our own government is becoming publicized with increasing vigor by the media.

What does this have to do with dystopian literature? I don’t know about you, but I’m plagued by this question: what kind of governing body, if any, is the best pathway to a healthy and happy life and world? Do we believe in our own governing body, and thus try and implement it around the world? Or are we secretly Jeanine Matthews from Divergent by Veronica Roth, trusting our beliefs so much we are willing to sacrifice much more important things? I saw a quote the other day from Tom Hiddleston, the actor who plays evil Loki in the Marvel Comics Avengers movies, who stated that every villain is a hero in his own mind. Where do we draw that line?

Perhaps that is what dystopian literature is really about. Figuring out who is the hero and who is the villain, and if the two can even be separated. Maybe because, in this world where everything is so accessible, the lines between hero and villain are being blurred. Or perhaps we have just begun to question what we’ve always been told- perhaps heroes don’t have to be dressed in all white, and perhaps villains don’t have to be dressed in all black. Or perhaps we’re trying to figure out if we are, in fact, the villains after all. If we are the villains, perhaps reading these books can show us the pathway to heroism.

Why I believe in magic and fairytales at age 21

12/25/14 / SR Staley / Books, Teen & YA fiction, writing and storytelling / adulthood, adults, benefits of reading, books, claire staley, fairytales, fantasy vs real world, fault in our stars, harry potter, Isabella, john green, magic, pirate of panther bay, reading

By Claire W. Staley

When one turns 21, as I did recently, one is expected to indulge in the “adult” practices of alcohol, practicality, and business meetings. After all, I am no longer a teenager (which brought on a brief existential crisis at 20), and I am far beyond the time when I believed fairies existed under each flower petal and mermaids swam in the oceans (although I’m still not prepared to give up the latter). I am a fully functioning college student beginning to understand financial aid, cooking, and her own bedtime…sort of. The fact is, Santa Claus isn’t real, my pet dragon is actually imaginary, and true love’s kiss won’t break any spell.

What confuses me most is that I barely noticed these changes as birthdays passed. I can’t pinpoint the moment when my dolls became plastic instead of people, when I stopped looking for faerie circles in the woods, and when creating my own elven language lost it’s thrill. They just faded away, and I miss the sense of adventure they brought to my life. I miss the way it made anything exciting and created a world that only I could see. Something I could understand.

And now I have term papers and tests and loud dorm mates that make me question my belief in not killing people. My willpower against the latter prevails.

However, as I was rereading Harry Potter for the umpteenth time, I realized something. Perhaps my way to find magic had just changed. There was certainly magic in these books, because the magic was happening inside my head and I was living it. And that is real. It is a tangible thing to be captivated by a book, to be so entrenched in the story and the characters that you cry and laugh and mourn them, to feel the real and powerful sadness that comes with a certain character dying, to love Isabella in The Pirate of Panther Bay like a sister, and to feel as in love with Augustus Waters as Hazel Grace is (in The Fault in Our Stars).

Perhaps, as an adult, magic has just changed. And who knows, really, if there are fairies underneath flower petals. They wouldn’t let us see them anyway, so does it matter? Perhaps I should just remember that not everything in the world needs or wants an answer. And perhaps I am quite happy with filling that space with this particular kind of magic.

It’s way more fun for the world to have magic in it anyway. So who cares if there is or there isn’t any. I’m happy just believing that I can be flown on a dragon to a pirate ship in another world.

Round 2 of modern fiction for the modern classroom

12/23/14 / SR Staley / Books, In the classroom, Teen & YA fiction, writing and storytelling / claire staley, crank, ellen hopkins, fiction in the classroom, james patterson, maximum ride, reading, reading in the classroom, scott westerfield, teaching English, teen fiction, uglies

By Claire W. Staley

Earlier posts have discussed why incorporating modern fiction into the modern classroom is essential for promoting reading among today’s teens and the beginning of a list of novels that every teacher should consider (starting with John Green, The Hunger Games, and Divergent). Today’s post focuses on three more books that teachers should consider adding to their required reading lists and classroom discussions.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins. A good girl gone drug addict? This is totally relevant to teenagers today. Going beyond the physical and mental effects of addiction, this book could open discussions of rape, sexual assault, and their effects on a person. Discussions of how parental influence affects children, how and why a person chooses to love the people he or she does, and how to look forward again, can be used in classrooms. This book reminds me to take a look at where I want to be in the future and really think about how each of my choices are going to get me there.
Uglies by Scott Westerfield. In a universe where a medical procedure makes everyone beautiful when they turn sixteen, two teenagers will figure out their place in the world. Corrupt governments, outlaws, and insiders collide to provide a cast of characters that are inspiring and different in a world of perfection. This is a roller coast dystopian YA novel that tests the characters strengths, fortitude, and courage constantly.
Maximum Ride by James Patterson. This book attacks the whole “scientists were so preoccupied with if they could they didn’t think about if they should” problem. A group of kids go on daring quests to discover their pasts, their futures, and their purposes. Since beginning to read this series, I’ve convinced myself that the main character, Max, is a wonderful role model and her qualities of compassion, courage, and never giving up are a large part of deciding who I will be in the future.

I like to pick the first book in a series because if a student loves the first book they immediately know where to go for another one like it. If we would like children and teenagers to read more, perhaps starting them off with a first book in a series will help. If they liked the first, they have more to read, and from those books they can look for more. The domino effect is powerful, and in this case it might lead to a revolution in reading. For someone to read a complicated piece of literature, they must first enjoy the act of reading itself.

Modern fiction for the modern classroom: Round 1

12/21/14 / SR Staley / Books, In the classroom, Teen & YA fiction, writing and storytelling / divergent, fault in our stars, hunger games, john green, novels, reading, Suzanne Collins, teaching, teaching fiction, teaching reading, teen fiction, The Road, Veronica Roth, YA, young adult

By Claire W. Staley

In an earlier post, I discussed why today’s students have a distaste for reading and why incorporating more modern fiction into the classroom would be a tremendous step forward in promoting reading among teens. Today’s post includes a few of my suggestions for modern books that can be used in the classroom. Perhaps, if more teachers took into account these next books, kids and teenagers would have a new outlook on books.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Even teenagers who hate reading are reading this book. The Fault in Our Stars is a story about overcoming the vastness of the universe, finding your place in an unpredictable and unfair world, and finding happiness for those around you despite the horrible things that happen in the world. It’s modern, edgy, clever, and filled to the brim with enough symbolism and discussion points to keep teachers happy for weeks, if not entire semester. Plus, it’s well written, thoughtful, and has a good story with likable characters.

Positive role models: Hazel Grace, Gus, Hazel’s parents, Gus’s parents, Isaac, and etc…

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. A brilliant work of literature that delves into the worst parts of humanity with hope, inspiration, and intelligence. Unlike The Road, which is also post-apocalyptic and shows the worst of humanity, this story has hope in it. Collins, despite the horrific lives these people lead, infuses her words with a chance at a better future. She writes to illuminate and change, while creating compelling characters we can root for.

Positive role models: Peeta, Finnick, Rue, Prim, and Katniss (though I’m not convinced her literary job is to be a role model)

Divergent by Veronica Roth. Tris, the main character, taught me to be strong, courageous, to make a change, to believe in oneself, and to never give up. She battles rivals close to her and far above her, the entire time with kindness, compassion, and a clever head that is capable of making tough choices as well as loving her family and friends. I aspire to have some of her strength and her ability to adapt quickly and positively.

Positive role models: Tris, Four, most of the Dauntless initiates minus Peter, Uriah, and etc…

Next post? Round 2 in my suggestions for incorporating modern fiction into the classroom!

The case for modern teen & YA fiction in school classrooms

12/19/14 / SR Staley / 1 Comment / Books, In the classroom, Reviews / artemis foul, characters, claire staley, classroom, divergent, eragon, fault in our stars, fiction, harry potter, hunger games, john green, novels, reading, storytelling, teaching, teaching fiction, teen fiction, young adult

by Claire W. Staley

Some people tell me that they wish they read as much as I do, but they either don’t have the time, or they don’t enjoy it. The way teenagers or college students see reading confounds me, especially when their faces are like most children’s when they are told to eat vegetables. Most students look at reading as a requirement for class, and most don’t even read those books. And yet, they want to read.

My friends believe they should read, and even have a desire to do so, but they haven’t had an experience with reading that makes them act upon this.

To enjoy reading, teenagers think they must enjoy all types of books, or, even worse, that they must enjoy the classic literature they are force fed from eighth grade onward. If students are not getting good books at home, the only experience with literature comes from school. I’m sorry to say that A Christmas Carol—or any other book by Charles Dickens for that matter—has done nothing to inspire me to pick up books and read them. And it has not inspired anyone else I know, either. If teachers honestly expect students to be avid readers after reading Shakespeare I think they are quite mistaken. I am not saying to this cut Shakespeare (or Dickens) out of the curriculum (I, for one, adore Shakespeare), but perhaps infusing it with modern YA books would create a new generation of readers.

Harry Potter got me started on books in fourth grade. The books taught me about the values of kindness, courage, intelligence, wit, reflection, loss, love, fortitude, standing up for my beliefs, and the power of a single individual. This is only a fraction of what I could say about Harry Potter, but there are a multitude of books that students love and are usable in the classroom. Divergent, Eragon, Artemis Foul, anything by Tamora Pierce, The Hunger Games, and countless others have created powerful role models that changed my life. When I have a problem I look to them. I look to Hermione, I look to Tris, I look to Peeta, I look to Percy Jackson, and I look to Hazel Grace. They always provide me with answers and support. They have never let me down, and I wonder why these characters aren’t a part of my education experience at school.

To pretend that John Green (The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns) is just teen fiction and has no basis in a classroom because his books are not “old” or about certain subjects is to deny every student and what they love. It reinforces the idea that there are good books to read and bad books to read, and that only one kind has value. Once teenagers find books with relevance to their lives and are well written, then they will read.

My next blog post will explore this concept even more as I discuss different books that I recommend for classrooms.

Reason magazine reviews “comic thriller” St. Nic, Inc.

12/04/14 / SR Staley / Books, Reviews, St. Nic Inc / DEA, drug cartel, drug enforcement agency, Jesse Walker, little people, Nicole Klaas, NP enterprises, Reason magazine, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc, toy distribution, toys

Books editor Jesse Walker reviews St. Nic, Inc. in it’s January 2015 issue of Reason magazine (on p. 60), calling the novel a “comic thriller.” Walker writes:

If Santa Claus existed, the feds would probably mistake the operation for a drug cartel. So goes the premise of St. Nic, Inc. (Southern Yellow Pine), S.R. Staley’s comic thriller about a Drug Enforcement Administration operation that nearly takes Christmas down.

Staley, a frequent contributor to reason, teaches economics at Florida State when he isn’t writing novels. He draws on both careers when describing NP Enterprise, an Arctic software firm and toy distribution network run by one Nicole Klaas. Nicole, the fourth Klaas to run the family business, relies heavily on the skills of the world’s little people, for whom the company’s polar community is a haven against the discrimination they face down south.

Their cash transactions catch the government’s eye, and soon a federal agent is convinced he’s found a nest of narco-traffickers. He hasn’t spotted any actual drugs, but the pattern looks unmistakable. And then a bona fide War on Christmas begins.

Pirate of Panther Bay: “A Thrilling Caribbean Ride”

10/20/14 / SR Staley / Pirate of Panther Bay, Reviews, Tortuga Bay / Caribbean, Haiti, Isabella, pirate, pirate hunter, pirate of panther bay, pirates, plantations, slavery, Spain

An excellent review of The Pirate of Panther Bay by award-winning young adult author M.R. Street appeared recently on one of the Tallahassee Democrat’s community blogs. M.R. Street, author of The Werewolf’s Daughter and Hunter’s Moon, recommended readers find “a hammock swaying in a balmy breeze and hold on for this thrilling Caribbean ride.”

The review is quite extensive and appeared on the TWA blog. I think this is the essence of her take on The Pirate of Panther Bay,

“Staley’s swashbuckling adventure takes place in historically accurate settings. His research into the Caribbean region and time period (1780) encompasses the political dynamics, attention to detail of ships of war, and sailors’ superstitions. The battles at sea are breathtakingly realistic, with cannon balls whistling by and swordfights that require both skill and psychology. Staley deftly creates a lead character with multi-layered texture: a scared former slave girl who at a young age has lost her first love; but who is, at the same time, a self-assured young woman with military cunning and skill. As I read The Pirate of Panther Bay, I flinched each time Isabella was whipped in her cell in El Morro. Why doesn’t she just give up? She is beaten mercilessly, emotionally and physically. But her will to survive is fueled by her mother’s prophecy. Before Isabella was even born, the spirits told her mother what Isabella’s future would hold. To Isabella, the prophecy is a promise that this is not how she is meant to die.”

View the Official Book Trailer here.

Buy The Pirate of Panther Bay here.

Why Little People are Central to “St. Nic, Inc.” (No spoilers!)

10/15/14 / SR Staley / Books / discrimination, diversity, elves, fairness, fantasy, fantasy vs real world, little people, little people of america, lpa, north pole, prejudice, Santa Claus, social justice, St. Nic Inc, tolerance

All my novels grapple with the problems of diversity, tolerance, ethnicity and social justice in some substantive and meaningful way, although always in the context of the story; they are not lectures. In The Pirate of Panther Bay, for example, Isabella is an escaped slave who captains a pirate ship. She has to deal with her own identity and coming of age as a women in a violent, male dominated profession (pirating) and the racism that pervaded the plantation and extraction economies of the world during the 18th century.

So, as I continued to think through the mythology of elves and Santa Claus for the back story in St. Nic, Inc., I began to reflect on little people and dwarves. For some reason which I still don’t completely recall–writing is a process, not a moment in time–I became particularly annoyed by the fact little people were almost always depicted in stereotyped roles in popular culture, particularly movies–munchkins, elves, what have you. But I knew that little people have the same abilities and capabilities as average-sized peopled. Why didn’t we see more of that? So, I began to revise my thinking about little people and elves and thought this might be an opportunity to address issues such as inclusiveness, fairness, prejudice–social justice–through my story. So, the book has several passages that directly confront conventional stereotypes about little people and contrast them with the “reality” of the North Pole in St. Nic, Inc. I am particularly fond of a coffee shop scene in Chapter 10 between an average sized person and a little person, and a very poignant dialogue between two average-sized people on dwarfism and human dignity in Chapter 24.

Read more about the role of little people in St. Nic, Inc. by clicking here:

For more on little people, check out the Little People of America (LPA) website here.

To watch the St. Nic, Inc. trailer, click here.

To buy St. Nic, Inc., click here and help out LPA at the same time!

How dwarves ended up in St. Nic, Inc.: An unexpected journey

10/10/14 / SR Staley / Characters development, St. Nic Inc, writing and storytelling / character development, dwarves, elf, elves, little people, little people of america, mythology, north pole, Santa Claus, St. Nic Inc, storytelling

Little people figure prominently in my newest novel, St. Nic, Inc. Moreover, the climax hinges on the role of little people. In popular culture, little people are commonly associated with elves of myth, and some people have wondered if this why I included them as characters. Ironically, the mythology surrounding little people and elves is one of the reasons they didn’t end up in the story at all!

I completed the manuscript in 2000, and I didn’t know any little people personally at the time. St. Nic, Inc. is intended for a mainstream audience. So, as I began mapping the Santa Claus myth over the contemporary, reality-based world I was creating, I was trying to create practical analogues that would also be consistent if a North Pole operation actually existed. I purged fantasy elements from the back story. Elves didn’t figure into it, in the same way that the story doesn’t have reindeer, or flying sleighs, or a rotund Santa Claus (who is sometimes referred to as a “jolly old elf”). So, the early drafts tried to avoid little people altogether because I thought little people and elves would be conflated, detracting from the contemporary and reality-based setting I wanted to create.

For more on little people, check out the Little People of America (LPA) website here.

To watch the St. Nic, Inc. trailer, click here.

To buy St. Nic, Inc., click here and help out LPA at the same time!

St. Nic, Inc: “quirky, fun and very clever.”

10/09/14 / SR Staley / Books, Reviews, St. Nic Inc / book reviews, jack magnus, nicole klass, peter peary, readers favorite, St. Nic Inc

A 5-Star review is in from Jack Magnus at Readersfavorite.com! (I have added the emphasis in bold.)

“St. Nic, Inc, is an action and adventure thriller written by SR Staley. Peter Peary is a washed-up explorer in his early twenties. He excelled in school, graduated on a fast track and was making waves as the consummate explorer until the fateful trip to Mount Everest where a squall claimed the lives of his group as well as his mentor and father figure. The trip up to the North Pole with his friend Sheila Livingston was hard to fund as no one wanted to trust him anymore, but Sheila was finally able to procure sufficient funds for their sled and dog team. When Peter regains consciousness, he’s in some sort of hospital room, and his head is throbbing. His nurse, Jeff, is kind and considerate and is, Peter notices, rather short. Quite a few people in this hospital, or medical facility, are little people. Peter has difficulty remembering the circumstances that led his being here, and his attempt to leave the facility leaves him totally confused and under guard.
SR Staley’s action and adventure thriller, St. Nic, Inc. is quirky, fun and very clever. Peter, descendant of the famed Arctic explorer, finds himself embarking on a grand adventure indeed, as he attempts to understand just what he’s landed himself in this time. Nic Klaas, the driven CEO and computer genius, is a great foil for Peter, and I enjoyed watching as the two damaged psyches work at establishing rapport. I’ve never read anything like this book. You know where it’s going based on the modern mythology, but Staley takes you there via a marvelous and exciting thriller that has some pretty unpredictable turns. I enjoyed St. Nic, Inc. It’s especially bound to appeal to those of us who’ve never quite gotten the hang of growing up, and it’s highly recommended.”

Why Write a Reality Adventure About the Santa Claus Myth?

10/08/14 / SR Staley / SR Staley, St. Nic Inc, writing and storytelling / action novels, adventure, adventure novels, Santa Claus, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc, storytelling

My newest book, St. Nic, Inc., takes on one of America’s most cherished children’s myths, Santa Claus, and places it into a fast paced adventure that readers have compared to Tom Clancy or Clive Cussler. (Watch the trailer here.) Many people have asked what prompted me to write this book, so here’s my answer:

My story’s origin begins with the question every parent dreads: Do you believe in Santa Claus? As parents, we worry over how our children will react to the “truth” that Santa Claus is a myth. The overwhelming majority of our kids, of course, do fine. They may feel a period of betrayal and a sense of injustice, but they get over it. I think, however, many people underestimate how difficult this conversation is for parents and adults. We perpetuate the myth because we believe in its spirit and the core value of giving as an unconditional act of generosity. In this way the values are very secular. We are afraid that if our children realize that the myth is not real, the value of the principle is somehow degraded. I believe strongly in the importance of unconditional giving and charity. I think its a critical element of any sustainable society or community. As a novelist and storyteller, I wanted to reinvigorate this idea for adults. That’s why St. Nic, Inc. is not a children’s book. It’s a story with characters that gives us the space as adults and parents to believe if we choose to believe.

“St. Nic, Inc.” and Dwarfism Awareness Month

10/01/14 / SR Staley / St. Nic Inc / dwarf, dwarfism, dwarfism awareness month, little people, little people of america, St. Nic Inc

October has been designated as Dwarfism Awareness Month, and Little People of America (LPA) has kicked off a series of activities geared toward raising the profile of little people. Of course, little people are critical to the plot, setting, and story of St. Nic, Inc., so we have created a few pages to help in the effort. So head over to www.srstaley.com and check out these pages:

An overview of dwarfism;
Q&A with SR Staley on little people and their role in St. Nic, Inc.
An excerpt from Chapter 24 in St. Nic, Inc. where a key character learns a who new dimension to the complex economy of the North Pole.

You also can help out the efforts of LPA by buying St. Nic, Inc. from their website. It’s the first book listed under “Resources” and “Fiction with dwarf characters.” LPA gets a cut of every purchase made at amazon.com starting from their website.

Over 30,000 people in the U.S. live with one of the 200 types of dwarfism. Read St. Nic, Inc. and you just might kindle a new belief in Santa Claus through the little people that make this story so interesting.

“St. Nic, Inc.”, “Pirate of Panther Bay”, top amazon rankings

09/30/14 / SR Staley / Marketing, Pirate of Panther Bay, St. Nic Inc / amazon.com, ebook, kindle, pirate of panther bay, rankings, St. Nic Inc

Southern Yellow Pine Publishing ran a special on the kindle e-book versions of St. Nic, Inc. and The Pirate of Panther Bay on September 11th and 12th, and the results were phenomenal! Both books climbed to the top of amazon’s kindle ebook rankings in their respective categories:

Both books reached overall rankings in the low and mid 30s for action adventure.
St. Nic, Inc. reached #5 under “suspense” and #6 under “thriller/adventure” in the kindle ebook rankings.
The Pirate of Panther Bay reached #1 under “sword & sorcery” for children kindle ebook rankings and #5 for “action/adventure”.

Thank you to everyone who made this promotion so successful!

(Now, feel free to write a review at amazon.)

What “The Equalizer” film told me about character development

09/28/14 / SR Staley / Films, writing and storytelling / character arc, character development, denzel washington, film, film making, movie reviews, movies, plot, storytelling, The Equalizer

I often gauge a movie’s value by whether it stimulates my thinking as a writer and storyteller. The Equalizer, the action film starring Denzel Washington, provided a welcome and unexpected opportunity to explore this. I’m a fan of the action/adventure genre anyway–all four of my novels fall into this genre, most recently St. Nic, Inc.–but I’ve become somewhat jaded by recent superhero (e.g., Superman, Wolverine, Lucy), super monster (e.g., Godzilla), and martial-arts action films (e.g., Ninja Assassin, 47 Ronin), that showcase special effects and gore over storytelling and character development. This is not the case with “The Equalizer.” Indeed, I saw just the opposite on the silver screen.

This movie, unlike other blockbusters, folds character development into the plot and at least tries to strike a balance between the two. (This is good because the plot–hero avenges injustice–is a bit tired.) But, for me, this film stood out for three reasons:

The production values were very high. Sweeping vistas of Boston (one of my favorite cities), artistic camera work focused on characters and action, and the attention to the human aesthetic of the plot were top notch. This wasn’t all computer animated action. Time was spent to frame shots creatively and in ways that help tell the story. In fact, the opening sequence of shots itself does a fine job of providing important initial backstory to the lead character as an unassuming loner.
Denzel Washington. Need I say more? Well, yes. A lesser actor would have made the lead character–Robert McCall–two dimensional and predictable. Even though we know how the movie will end, the character evolves at key points, and empathy is established early. Given the graphic gore level in the film, this is critical for keeping a good story flowing; we (as viewers) cannot be overwhelmed with the blood and mayhem or we lose site of the story.
The producers and director. They didn’t let the genre or familiar cinematic tropes swamp character development and story structure to create suspense. They also made sure they didn’t waste the talents of Mr. Washington. While I still believe the gore was a bit too much, the bloody mayhem is important to understand McCall’s evolution as a character and how, in the end, he retains his humanity. The deaths of the bad guys have meaning, even if the gore seems gratuitous as times. We see how McCall’s own past changes the way he relates to the people he must eventually dispatch in pursuit of a higher good. This isn’t just a revenge flick, a familiar trope for these types of movies.

At the end of the movie, I found myself wanting to go back to Boston, one of my favorite cities, despite the blood and mayhem.

In the end, the producers and director recognized how the visually oriented medium of film could be used to convey character development. Audiences are brought into the story through character and then the plot is paced well enough to keep us involved.

Thus, “The Equalizer” is a rare example of a film that allowed me to think about my own approach to interweaving character development with plot can enrich the story and keep the pace moving quickly.

I think I see a new, distinctly American franchise in the future. We need a working class hero, with working class methods, a haunting and exotic past, and the maturity of someone who has seen and reflected on the world. Now, if Denzel just used more Akido, Judo and ninjutsu (or To-Shin Do), we’d also see why age isn’t as important in neutralizing threats as many people may think.

A Nature of “Selling” and Why Authors Should Care

08/31/14 / SR Staley / Keys to Success, Marketing / keys to success, marketing, selling

Authors generally have a difficult time selling their books and other writings. While some have reconciled themselves to the reality they have to market their work in order to become successful, a surprising number are uncomfortable with this activity and really would prefer some else do this “dirty” work. I’ve lost count of the number of times an author has said “Shouldn’t my publisher market my book?”

Of course, the answer is yes, but it’s a rare book ends up selling well without the active, committed and ongoing investment by an author to market their work. Moreover, any publisher would be consigning itself to unprofitably and economic doom if they signed on an author who does not not want, or is not willing, to market their work.

I think this reluctance to market our work is rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of what marketing and selling is. A “sale” is one of many outcomes that results from marketing. Marketing is the strategies, tools, and tactics used to raise awareness about your work and present it to people who might have an interest in reading it (or perhaps selling it to others). Not everyone will want to read our, but we don’t know who those readers are. So we use marketing tools and techniques to discover the interests of readers and identify specific (often niche) markets (or categories of readers) that will be interesting in our work.

Marketing isn’t about the hard sell. In fact, while I’ve heard people talk about successful sales men and women (and I’ve known many) as if “they can sell anything to anyone,” this isn’t true. A good sales person has to be an effective marketer, and a successful marketer identifies customers that are interested and willing to invest in their product because it serves the interests of the customer. A good sales person will invest in a potential customer (with the hope of getting a sale), but he or she will accomplish this only if they know the customer’s wants, needs, preferences, and values. So, these sales people that can “sell anything” are really people that invest in getting to know potential customers so they can match the right product with the right preferences. More often than not, good sales people are perfectly happy to send a customer to someone else if they don’t have a product in their portfolio that meets the customer’s needs. If you discover a reader likes fantasy, but you write action/adventure, a good marketer will send the potential buyer to a good fantasy book, not try a hard sell to convince the reader he or she really likes action/adventure. This also helps build a long-term relationship, which can pay off more literally in a future sale.

So, authors should think about marketing as getting to know readers, current and potential. We use our marketing hooks and pitches as a way of discovering what interests that motivate potential buyers to read our books. The more we know our customers (readers), the easier it is to match the goods (books) and services (perspective, insight, advice) to our readership base (who are also often aspiring authors). A long-term investment in marketing and readers–current and potential–also builds our readership base, and this is what will turn us into commercially successful authors as well as craftspeople and artists.

Marketing can be fun…if you approach it as discovery.

St. Nic, Inc. Makes It to Audio Book!

08/11/14 / SR Staley / SR Staley, St. Nic Inc / audio book, Santa Claus, SR Staley, St Nic Inc

Southern Yellow Pine Publishing has announced that St. Nic, Inc. will be issued in an audio book format. So, for all those people that spend a lot of time on the road–in cars, on trains, and in planes–there’s not excuse for not reading my newest novel!

What Would Happen If the Legends Were True?

08/10/14 / SR Staley / Uncategorized

St. Nic, Inc. Official Book Trailer

Lessons in Writing Styles: Cussler vs. Clancy vs. Staley

08/10/14 / SR Staley / A Warrior's Soul, Books, Keys to Success, Pirate of Panther Bay, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc, writing and storytelling / a warriors soul, action novels, adventure novels, clive cussler, hunt for red october, new adult, path of the warrior, pirate of panther bay, renegade, SR Staley, St Nic Inc, tom clancy, writing styles, young adult

One of the great benefits of Beta Readers–those brave souls willing to read drafts of your work before presenting it to the world or a publisher–is their insight into your writing style. Sometimes we resist these comparisons–as happened in this case–but they often yield a useful perspective that helps us define our own style and gives us a marketing angle as well.

This came home to me recently while my Tallahassee-based critique group was reading an early draft of St. Nic, Inc., my fourth novel released in August 2014. After reading the opening chapters, critique group member and aspiring novelist Emily Timm said “Your book reads like a Clive Cussler novel.” After a few chuckles from the other members, she added, “and I mean that in a good way.”

Now, at this point, I was a bit embarrassed. I had never read a Clive Cussler novel, although I knew he had sold a lot of books. In fact, he’s sold millions, and his books have been on the New York Times best seller list twenty times. But this information was really useless to me as a writer, and I didn’t know how to process it. I wasn’t sure if this really was a good comparison.

Then, another reader (but not a critique group member), Mark McNees, said St. Nic, Inc. “artfully combines the action of a Tom Clancy novel with the insightful social commentary and multiple levels of experience as George Orwell’s Animal Farm.” Two more great cites. The contrast in writing styles between these now deceased writers was potentially significant: Orwell wrote in a class literary tradition while Clancy wrote action-adventure-technology thrillers.

While I am very familiar with Orwell’s work, I wasn’t well versed in Tom Clancy’s, except for watching a few movies based on his novels. Tom Clancy was a genre buster and one of the few writers to have their inaugural novel (The Hunt for Red October) shoot to best seller status. Still, I understood the genre pretty well, and I was curious how my writing style compares to Clancy’s.

The only way to find out was to read their books. What I found was quite revealing.

Of course, my writing style is different–neither Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, or George Orwell. In part, this is the result of my focus on writing for young adults and middle school readers for the first three novels. St. Nic, Inc. is written for the general fiction market although it is accessible to young adults. These readers want fast plots, plenty of action, and a gripping story. The rule is the less description, the better. In this way, Clive Cussler’s style, although he is geared toward adult markets, is well suited to my approach.

But I also included layered characters with arcs that peak at different times based on the trajectory of the main plot and subplots. Thus, my stories aren’t as straightforward as Cussler’s, and my characters experience significant life changing events that influence how they view the world. Like Clancy, I strive to make my fiction authentic. The Pirate of Panther Bay attempts to stay true to the real world of pirates and the historical context in which the characters live. The Path of the Warrior series attempts to ensure the martial arts self-defense skills are authentic and realistic, set within the context of middle-school bullying and violence. These values permeate the stories and books.

So, where does St. Nic, Inc. fall? Of course, it’s a little bit of each. I admire the lean writing style of Clive Cussler even if it won’t earn him accolades from the literary elite. (Of course, readers love it.) While I would like a little more flourish when reading Cussler’s novels, the action and pace keep me engaged, and I’m not sidetracked by subplots or thinly disguised attempts to be classic fiction. The characters and stories are straightforward, and that suits his fans (and publisher). These are very easy reads, the epitome of escape literature. I like Clancy’s commitment to keep the adventure-thriller grounded in reality and the characters more layered and complex. This also has turned out to be a highly successful strategy, and it probably reflects his own personality as a writer. While still escapist in its approach, Clancy’s novels require a bit more patience and enjoyment of the journey.

Based on the comments I’ve received from readers, St. Nic, Inc. seems to reflect a happy evolution of my writing style, one that embraces a lean writing style with layered stories. I am pleased to embrace comparisons to all three highly successful (for different reasons) literary giants. I’m not sure I would have made these connections, and become more confident in my own writing style, if hadn’t been for the prodding and candid observations of my beta readers, friends and critique group.

St. Nic, Inc.: Book Trailers, and Other Cool Links

08/08/14 / SR Staley / Books, SR Staley, St. Nic Inc / book launch, Inc, St Nic Inc, St. Nic

With the launch of St. Nic, Inc. just days away, managing the anxiety surrounding the launch of my fourth novel it becoming more difficult. (I’ll just have to rely on my ninja training.)

A few critical links to the book and promotional material can be found here:

Official book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-YFLKDsWfU
Endorsements: http://www.srstaley.com/St.html
Sam’s author facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/srstaleyfiction
Sam’s official SNI bio: http://www.srstaley.com/uploads/SRStaleyBio_StNicInc2.pdf

Pre-orders available from:

Southern Yellow Pine Publishing: http://www.syppublishing.com/st-nic-inc/
Amazon.com link: http://www.amazon.com/St-Nic-Inc-SR-Staley/dp/194086920X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407423884&sr=8-1&keywords=sr+staley+st+nic+inc
Barnes & Noble (bn.com) link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/st-nic-inc-sr-staley/1120036909?ean=9781940869209
Books-A-Million link: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/St-Nic-Inc/Sr-Staley/9781940869209?id=6074240341243

New Novel, “Counteract,” Asks What We Would Do to Preserve Our Freedom

08/05/14 / SR Staley / 2 Comments / Reviews / book reviews, Counteract, dystopian fiction, fiction, personal freedom, Tracy Lawson, young adult

My friend Tracy Lawson is launching her newest dystopian thriller, Counteract, the first of a series, on Wednesday, August 6th, and we’ve got a sneak peek! Tracy’s book is a fast-paced adventure examining how we might act in a world in which terrorism has defined every element of our relationship with the government.

CounteractBookCover

With the population under tight restrictionssupervised by the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense, the government uses the threat of bio terror via chemical weapons to keep us under their control via an “antidote.” Would you have the courage to resist? Is it too late to recapture our freedom?

Win chances to win in her special giveaways by leaving a comment on this blog post or clicking here!

Here’s the press release:

Ripped from the headlines…The year is 2034, and the United States as we know it is no more. In thefuture, the concept of “Big Brother is always watching” has taken on new meaning.

NSA drone flyovers and government surveillance of citizens’ emails and phone conversations are the least of anyone’s worries. With the rampant threat of terrorism a constant presence, the government has had to take extreme measures to ensure the public’s safety.
The Office of Civilian Safety and Defense (OCSD) has been enacted as an offensive against terrorist attacks. And make no mistake, attack is imminent. Citizens in 2034 now live in carefully monitored quadrants, with regulations governing food distribution, driving, entertainment, and much more. For college student Careen Catecher, and recovering accident victim, Tommy Bailey, life is far from carefree and easy.
Anyone who loves a good dystopian thriller will find a new favorite in Counteract. Lawson joins the ranks of authors like Aldous Huxley, and his Brave New World and George Orwell’s 1984, as she questions whether the government should be allowed to usurp personal freedoms under the guise of doing
what’s best for the people.
Readers will find themselves eagerly turning the pages as Careen and Tommy uncover the enemy in their own backyard and discover just how far they are willing to go to fight for a freer way of life.

Tracy Lawson launches new book

08/04/14 / SR Staley / Books, Reviews / Counteract, dystopia, dystopian fiction, fiction, free will, freedom, liberty, Tracy Lawson, young adult

On Tuesday, August 5th, novelist Tracy Lawson launches her new novel Counteract. Check out this blog for an interview with Tracy about her writing process and the importance of her new novel.

As prelude, here’s a quick bio:

Tracy Lawson knew she wanted to be a writer from the time she could read. While working toward her Bachelor’s degree in Communication at Ohio University, she studied creative writing with Daniel Keyes, author of Flowers for Algernon. After short stints as a media buyer and an investigative analyst, she settled into a 20-year career in the performing arts, teaching tap in Columbus, Ohio, and choreographing musicals. Though her creative energies were focused on dance, she never lost her desire to write, and has two non-fiction books to her credit: Fips, Bots, Doggeries, and More, winner of the 2012 Ohio Professional Writers Association’s Best Non-fiction History Award (McDonald & Woodward), and Given Moments (Fathers Press). Tracy’s love for writing new adult fiction is sparked by all wonderful teens in her life, including her daughter Keri, a college freshman. Counteract is Tracy’s first novel.