avg_rating: 3.86
name: Stuart L. Scott
about: About the AuthorThis collection of short stories is an outgrowth of Stu Scott’s endeavor to deal with a PTSD issue through journaling as suggested by a VA counselor. After returning from the Air Force he worked as staff in a juvenile detention facility, moving on to adult probation and finally to federal probation and parole. Simultaneously, in 1980 he returned to the military as a reserve agent with the Army Criminal Investigation Command. Born and raised in the San Francisco bay area, he has lived with his wife in Moscow, Idaho since 1981. Believing that we only go around once in life and that one job is never enough, his other careers include: professional winemaker, college instructor, director of a school for disabled children and stai About the AuthorThis collection of short stories is an outgrowth of Stu Scott’s endeavor to deal with a PTSD issue through journaling as suggested by a VA counselor. After returning from the Air Force he worked as staff in a juvenile detention facility, moving on to adult probation and finally to federal probation and parole. Simultaneously, in 1980 he returned to the military as a reserve agent with the Army Criminal Investigation Command. Born and raised in the San Francisco bay area, he has lived with his wife in Moscow, Idaho since 1981. Believing that we only go around once in life and that one job is never enough, his other careers include: professional winemaker, college instructor, director of a school for disabled children and stained glass artist.  Comments or questions for Stu? sls@turbonet.comHow do I go about the process of creating a story?All the books connect to my life or the lives of my extended family. Remember events or places, allows me to picture scenes as I set down on paper, the mental images in my head. For example, as described in “Spirit Lake Payback,” I can still remember what the inside of the Aryan Nations Church compound looked like when I interviewed the Reverend Richard Butler.I also rely on skills developed in different phases of my life. What do I need to read, to keep my stories historically accurate? The use of experts. For example, I visited the Naval Undersea Museum at Keyport, Washington. With the invaluable help of the museum’s librarian, I got a map of the installation as it existed in 1942, pictures of Building 72 and the town of Keyport as it had looked. She told me about the animus between Newport and Keyport stations about the Mark 14 torpedoes.To write my short story, “The Easter Massacre Mystery,” what I had learned from a member of the Posse. Then I spend weeks reviewing material at the Whitman County, Washington Historical Society. How to plan and conduct a productive interview. Preparing a starter list of questions. Not being limited to those questions. One answer from the subject can suggest other questions. Interviewing itself: listening first, then writing notes, and finally repeating back the key information for confirmation that I got it right. For example, I interviewed my Uncle Warren Scott about his WWII service as one of the starting points for my book,” Prisoners of War”. He was a machinist for the Western Pacific Railroad when drafted in 1942 and sent to work in the torpedo factory at Keyport Washington. I learned about how American industry was harnessed to support our war effort. Continental Can Co. made the calendrical torpedo bodies. Singer Sewing Machine Co. made the gears and control components for torpedoes. The Hudson Motor Car Co. cast the bronze turban bodies and blades that he ground to balanced perfection. His quarters, a converted chicken coop, and he worked in Building 72.For “The Two Wars of Red Black,” I stated by interviewing my Uncle Bill about the chronology of his military career. Growing up on a chicken farm in Stockton. When and where did he enlist, train, become part of an aircrew? What did he recall about wartime missions and finally the experience of being shot down, crashing and surviving on the ground, in enemy territory? What stories could he recall? What planes did he fly or fly in? Where was he stationed, in WWII, between wars, during the Korean War and after? Places I’ve been and seen myself. For example, Virtually all the places used in “Prisoners of War” and the North Idaho locations in “Spirit lake Payback.” In “The Last Ghost Dance,” Deeth, Elko and Lamoille Canyon. In “The Two Wars of Red Black,” the Stockton locations.Experiences I’ve had. Military basic training and getting a ‘Dear John” letter from a woman I loved. Being one of two virgins who gave their onetime gift to a lover in the front seat of a car. Growing up in San Bruno with Tanforan race track, Golden Gate National Cemetery and the Po ...more