Stuart L Scott

Stuart L. Scott is a writer because of his endeavor to deal with a PTSD issue through journaling as suggested by a VA counselor. After returning from the air force he began working as custodial staff in a juvenile detention facility, moved 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.

His writing is an outgrowth of the "journaling" he was taught as part of Veterans Administration PTSD counseling. All of the novels or short stories are based on his experiences in three law enforcement agencies. Also, his having been involved with the Aryan Nations Church in Northern Idaho, his family experiences in Deeth, Nevada, his being engaged to marry the daughter of a suspected spy or his Uncle Bill's military career as a flyer during WWII and the Korean War.

How do I go about creating a story?

All the books connect to my life or the lives of my extended family. Remember events or places, allow 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? Using 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.

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 Posey Parade.

Finally, and most important are my memories of people I’ve met, who inspired characters I’ve created.

In “Prisoners of War,” Beatrice Sakai is a combination of two women. My first interracial love and the beautiful oriental women whom I was engaged to marry. Only after you read “Prisoners of War,” can I share with you the real identity of the Beatrice character’s father.

My Uncle William ‘Red’ Black, who inspired me to serve and with whom I shared the silent personal war of PTSD. I only wish he might have opened himself up to receiving help, as I finally could do. I also hope, his daughter knows how much I appreciate her help.

In “Gritty, Grisly and Greedy,” multiple individuals who I investigated, interviewed or supervised, inspired by their quirks, story characters. Here are just a few. The shop owner who traded drugs for gold in “The Tooth Fairy.” My bank robbers in “Pinky and the Piper.” The female bank robber who appears in both “The Grand Tetons” and “The Happy Endings Retirement Home.” Karl and Sally Roxanne in “The 288 Club.” In “Spirit lake Payback,” the bigamist Randall. Stanley, who cut his aunt’s throat. The pornographers in “Idaho Catch and Release.” The bank robber, the Organized Crime figure and the arson as portrayed in “The Duck and the Weasel.”

I am currently involved as a 'Mentor' for our local Veterans Court. This courts offers vets who have become entangled with the law, a way out of the criminal justice system. I also am involved with a local community based substance abuse center as a volunteer counselor.

Please feel free to contact the author with comments, questions or visits from long lost friends. sls@turbonet.com