My debut novel, Among the Silenced Sacred is available on Amazon in paperback and ebook formats.
I’ve been a writer for 22 years, first getting published as a junior in high school in 1998 when I joined the Urban Newspaper Workshop, sponsored by The Seattle Times and Seattle University. From there, I wrote for local publications, including The Seattle Times, The International Examiner, The Northwest Catholic Progress, Seattle University’s The Spectator, Mirror, and KCPQ (television news).
After working in corporate communications for a year, I pursued a career in education, and writing slowed to a hobby. On rare occasions, I freelance and publish essays, including narratives in Dropping Anchor with Maui Writers Ink, Chicken Soup (Finding My Faith and Inspiration For Teachers), as well as an article in Oregon Coast Magazine. The elusive dream was always to be a fiction writer, something I’ve loved since I was in middle school.
Nearly 20 years after I started writing creatively as an adult, I published my first book on February 5, 2020. The book, Among the Silenced Sacred, took about five years to write, after an enthusiastic eighth grader of mine convinced me to take it off the shelf. After I finished the first draft, I had a few friends volunteer as beta readers, and I hired a developmental editor to offer me insight on my writing. The revision phase was the longest body of work to which I have ever dedicated myself. It felt like a doctorate program, almost nightly sitting with my story, tearing it down, refining characters and their relationships, and revamping the plot. In the end, I self-published my first book, having gone through all the processes to meet that goal – writing, revising, editing, cover design, typesetting, and the act of publishing itself.
Perhaps there are steps I missed. All I know is that people are reading my story, and getting something out of it. I want to do that for the rest of my life.
Currently, I have a first draft of a fantasy novel completed, as well as another dystopian novel just beginning. In addition to fiction, I’m writing a memoir with my former student who helped me write my first novel. I still teach middle school humanities full time. I am available to speak about the writing process to students at all levels. Please contact me if you are interested: mr.jsantos@gmail.com.
Persecuted and persecutor. Fugitive and field agent. Godseekers and Freespeakers. Theresa Torres and Justice Flint fall on opposite sides of each spectrum. In a future America, where all organized religion is outlawed, it takes more than reason and compassion to overcome their differences. It takes a bond as thick as blood.