Paying It Forward -- Free Book Offer

I am deeply grateful for the continuing heartfelt response from the dyslexia community to my debut novel, Farmer's Son. Copies have sold around the world.

I would like to humbly give back.

So, if you are a public or private school with teenage students who are reading-challenged, or a tutoring outfit, or a camp, after-school organization, church, library, charity or other group that serves these very deserving but underserved young people, write to me on my contact page and I will supply free copies of Farmer's Son at my cost, including postage.

And, if you are a teenager with reading challenges, write me 100 words on why you would like a copy.

Why am I doing this? Because in Indiana a dyslexic teenager told me that Farmer's Son had changed his life. He suddenly stood up in English class when he learned who I was on my visit, and he put his hand on his heart to tell me with tears in his eyes that he didn't read, he never reads, but he had read my book, the first one he had ever read all the way through. He said it was about him. He told me he was Bobby.

So many men and boys have told me that they are Bobby McAllister. Each of you is an inspiration.

Just please pass the book along once you've finished it.  Give it to someone you think would also be encouraged by reading it.

Building Structure in Farmer’s Son

I’ve been asked how I structure plot.  Not so much how I make characters cause the effects that advance the drama but how I choose the framework to tell the story.

In Farmer’s Son, I announce it.  Each section begins with a page that tells the reader the season, the year, and the point of view character.  Every scene then occurs within those narrow months of that given year, with each being driven by that particular POV character.  Bobby, our lead, appears in every scene of the first section, to establish his voice and stakes and motivation.  His father Garrett drives each scene of the third because by then we need to hear from a character so hated.  Not every reader notices this explicit structure, but that’s good (I tell myself), for that means the shifts aren’t clunky.

Why did I do it that way?  Because I wanted to dip into the subjectivity of each of the four leads, dwelling for a time within their unique personal lives distinct from each other.  And I didn’t want to spend a hundred pages doing it each time.  Rather, I wanted more of a drop-in, a capture of what mattered, and then a moving on, which I hoped would also mesh the individuals into a family.  I hoped with this structure that, when the climax came, the reader would intuitively understand where each of the four leads was coming from, why they each have to do what they do, and how their actions so tragically impact the others.  At the end, I wanted the reader to feel and see all the facets of a troubled, loving, fighting and eventually redeeming family.

I had no template for this, no model, no one to tell me that you just do not build a climax with four characters.  Actually five, if you count catalyst Cora.  That’s way, way too many people with conflicting stakes in the outcome.  But I’m told the climax works.

I built Alternate Endings differently because the story required an entirely different approach, which I’ll describe in my next post.

Thanks for reading!  

Reddit Made My Day

Two days ago, a reader posted Farmer’s Son on reddit for the first time.  http://reddit.com/r/dyslexia

Since then, people from all over the world have found the book and this website, and they have stayed to learn more. Farmer’s Son is being up-voted as I write this. It is the top-listed entry on the dyslexia subreddit right now. Wow.

I admit I’m a dinosaur. “Up-vote” is a new verb for me, as are nouns like “subreddit,” “analytics,” and “conversion flow.” I’m learning about this new landscape. What truly matters, though, is that through all the great technology people everywhere still seek out stories that touch their lives. If Farmer’s Son can encourage someone in Portugal (or Scotland or South Korea), I am very grateful.

The novel’s themes are universal.  How many of us took too long to grow up?  How many had colossally bad parents?  How many families have kept secrets for generations?  These are just some of the themes in Farmer’s Son.   

Why I Write

I spent an extraordinary morning at Fortune Academy last Friday. It is truly a remarkable place. I met amazing parents, teachers, and administrators devoting their lives to young people with learning differences. These committed adults are making bright futures for all the talented students at this remarkable school. It’s obvious why children apply from all over the world to Fortune Academy.

One young man, though, made me cry.  As I was touring the school with its marvelous founder, Janet George, we stopped in an English classroom at the high school. When Ms. George introduced me, saying I was the novelist who had written Farmer’s Son, a teenage boy suddenly stood to speak. The class fell silent as the surprised teacher looked on.

He addressed me, telling me he had something to say.  He said he didn’t read. Full stop.  But... he had read Farmer’s Son. It had taken him two weeks, but he had done it. He then went on to tell me how much the book meant to him, how much of a difference it made for his life. He put his hand on his heart as he spoke.

I realized that I was listening to a modern-day Bobby, just as challenged as the 1970s protagonist in my novel, and I realized that Bobby’s story in Farmer’s Son had reached out to help this young man.

I teared up as he kept speaking. I looked at his English teacher, who was crying too. We both looked at Ms. George, standing next to me, and she had puddled up as well. When the boy finished, the class all clamored to read the book. I offered to return to Indianapolis to discuss it when they were done.

Why do I write?  That boy is my answer.  If I can encourage one hard-working child, if I can support one loving parent in this daily fight, if I can provide one devoted teacher a new resource, then I have succeeded. If I can create work that reassures people they are not alone, that their stories are worth telling, that they count too, then I have achieved my dream as a writer.

Thank you Janet George and Fortune Academy and everyone I met for a morning I will never forget. Thanks to that earnest teenager for the rare gift of his words, which I will forever carry with me. He has encouraged me on this writing path more than he can ever know.

Fortune Academy Welcomes Farmer’s Son

Fortune Academy in Indianapolis is throwing a Coffee & Conversation about Farmer’s Son on Friday, November 18, at 9 a.m.

This marvelous school educates and empowers young people with language learning differences. Janet George, its visionary founder, has championed Farmer’s Son since before it was published. I’m so grateful to her for allowing the book to touch the lives of her extraordinary students.

I can’t wait!  The cost is free, but do RSVP to 317-377-0544.  I hope to see you there!-- N.E. Lasater