books – Phil Slattery, Writer, Publisher

The Value of Discussing Catcher in the Rye Beyond the Classroom

I believe it [Catcher in the Rye] should be taught in high school because these are the issues teens face or will face once they go to college, just as Holden did. Once in college, students will learn how phony the world is, if they haven’t already.

[The following is a comment I made today to a post on Catcher in the Rye made by Colorless Wonderland published four years ago.]

Excellent presentation and discussion! I am going to play the age card here and say that I recently turned 68 (born in 1957, 6 years after Catcher in the Rye was first published). The culture I grew up in was only a few years after the culture shown in Catcher, ergo, not much difference. I disagree with your opinion that Catcher should not be taught in high school. It definitely should be taught in high school, but not for the usual reasons that communities have for banning this book or for the reasons you state.

I believe it [Catcher in the Rye] should be taught in high school because these are the issues teens face or will face once they go to college, just as Holden did. Once in college, students will learn how phony the world is, if they haven’t already.

This is a coming-of-age novel, at a point in which many teens START discovering the phoniness of the world. However (somewhat in agreement with you), high school teachers should not be the ones discussing Catcher with students. Teachers will only teach what the local school board says they should teach or they put their jobs on the line, and a lot of communities still, even in 2025, want to teach the idealized American Dream, which is a textbook example of phoniness.

The people with which students should be discussing Catcher are a) other students or b) their parents (ideally). High school students need to prepare themselves for encountering the phoniness that lies ahead for them and which they will be encountering for the rest of their lives, as I have for 68 years. Of course, many parents will just try to teach the ideal American Dream or sugar-coat the future, but the honest ones, the good parents (or friends) will honestly prepare their children for what lies ahead. So, while the “teachers” may present the local school board’s view of what teens should learn, the student’s friends and family will teach the down-to-earth, worthwhile lessons.

The great thing about literature which is most valuable for the reader is not reading something and then discussing it with the teacher the community hired to teach its values, but discussing the material with classmates, family, and others, i.e. getting a lot of opinions and then having to decide, based on experience, which are the opinions worth considering, which are the most valuable, which are the most truthful and accurate, and deciding what one should take from them to help oneself prepare for the coming future.

Update: November 21, 2025

I have been feeling the need to resurrect Rural Fiction Magazine. I have been thinking about this a lot and there is something I love about publishing, particularly publishing something that is intended to help people, and RFM is intended to help people relax and avoid stress during these trying times for not only the US but also for nations around the globe.

Publishing RFM is something I really love to do.

I will need to find a way to make money from it, and that is not easy for a literary magazine whether just in print or online. But, as I have learned so often in life, I will just have to (as Clint Eastwood said in one of his movies – I forget the name – in it he was a Marine gunnery sergeant invading Grenada in the 80’s. “…Improvise, adapt, and overcome”, which actually is sort of an unspoken principle of the Navy, where I spent my time in the Service. It is a very good principle and is actually reflected back throughout military history as far back as Sun Tzu’s The Art of War in the fifth century B.C.E.

So, I may not resurrect RFM soon; this will require substantial planning, but I think in the long run it will be worthwhile, if not financially, then perhaps spiritually, because it is something my subconscious demands of me.

If my writing seems erratic, itis because I am on my third White Lady (equal parts gin (in this instance Tanqueray), orange liquor (in this instance Cointreau), and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

In any case, please follow the leader’s guidance (unclorius) , and subscribe to our channel and like our videos. When Friend look we are peformane

Stay tuned as this story develops…

I have some ideas to oldearmacy

as to how to bath.

[Addendum: the first few paragraphs above are honest opinion, the ones after the word “gin” — well, what can I say other than White Ladies are really good? Updated December 3, 2025 at 1:20 am (CST) after a couple of gin and tonics.]

Samples of My Writing

Looking over my website tonight, I realized that … there are no samples of my fiction on this site. Ergo, I decided to correct that.

Looking over my website tonight, I realized that although I mention on my Published Works page where to find the few small books I have self-published so far, other than the non-fiction articles I write for this website, there are no samples of my fiction on this site. Instead, I recommend on my Published Works page that you can easily find them by Googling my name and “fiction”. Making you go that extra mile is not fair to you.

Therefore, I have developed this page as a quick shortcut to some of my works online at Fiction on the Web, a site located in England. Charlie Fish, the publisher and editor of Fiction on the Web has been gracious enough to publish several of my stories. Although the site does not pay, I do like to be published there, because Charlie’s readers are good about commenting on stories published there, and I have received some excellent comments on my works.

Here are links to each of my stories at Fiction on the Web. Instead of writing up my own synopsis of each, I will use each of Charlie’s taglines to entice you into reading each. These are in italics. I will also make a brief comment following each of Charlie’s taglines each of which will be followed by my initials thus: -PS.

The Scent

Phil Slattery’s lyrical vignette about the scent of an absent lover.

I based this story on an actual experience I had one evening, which is described almost exactly as it happened sometime around 2000. -PS

Murder by Plastic

Alan Patterson wakes up to find past indiscretions have caught up with him in Phil Slattery’s crime short.

I based this bit of flash fiction on a report that I once heard about a mobster’s (maybe John Gotti) son who was killed accidentally by a hit and run driver. Sometime later two big guys pulled up alongside him in a van one day, rushed him into the van, and he was never seen again. This is my fictitious account of what followed, but I also add a twist. -PS

Letters

An exchange of letters between a man and a woman who had an intense relationship two decades ago, and have not seen each other since; by Phil Slattery.

I had been reading something about the definition of the literary subgenre of dark romance and decided to try my hand at it. -PS

Bye-Bye

A former naval officer tells a stranger a story of young love from his time on Aircraft Carrier USS Enterprise; by Phil Slattery.

This is based on something I witnessed on the docks at the French port of Toulon when I was on board the USS Enterprise for a deployment in 1986. I took what I witnessed and carried a few steps further to what this couple’s future may have held. -PS

The Slightest of Indiscretions

A national park guide in New Mexico has lustful urges for a Vietnamese visitor with a domineering husband; by Phil Slattery.

Once again this is based on something I witnessed. This happened when I was working at Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument in New Mexico during the summer of 2002. Once again, I expand this story into what might have happened. -PS

Decision

In early 1970s rural Kentucky, Travis, son of a cruelly racist mill worker, is forced into a moral dilemma.

I grew up in a time and area of Kentucky where there was some bigotry and prejudice against African-Americans, though nothing on the scale of what is described here. -PS

A Tale of Hell

Phill Slattery’s chilling vision of hell.

I was once thrown out of a bar in a situation similar to this. Again, I postulate what might have happened had the situation turned extreme. Don’t worry. I never saw the bartender again after I left the bar that night and, so far as I know, the jerk is still alive and kicking. -PS

Dream Warrior

Phil Slattery’s powerful revenge epic about a man who visits his Mexican grandfather for spiritual guidance after a violent crime results in the death if his fiancée.

I once read about how Aztec sorcerers believed they could kill people by entering their dreams somewhat like Freddy Krueger, but 500 years earlier. So, I developed a scenario showing how this might be done today. -PS

A Good Man

On the day before her death from lung cancer, Christopher’s mother tells him a secret about his father that may change his perception of his parents forever; by Phil Slattery.

It always fascinated me how someone could be a kindly grandfather, like my own, and yet have a dark past. Note this is pure fiction and my own grandfather was never in such a situation as far as I know. -PS

Please let me know what you think of each of these stories and maybe provide a brief critique in the comments, if you would. I am open to criticism. I believe just and fair criticism helps a writer grow.

I have collected a few of these along with others of the horror genre into A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror. It is available through print-on-demand from any major bookstore along with a few of my smaller collections.

Until next time, take care and stay grounded.

Slattery’s Tao of Writing, Part 2: the Allegory of the Stream

Thalia Muse of Comedy and Bucolic Poetry Illustration by Arash — Thalia
Muse of Comedy and Bucolic Poetry
Illustration by Arash

This is a reprint of a previous post from several years ago.

Once in a while, I come across some gem of the writer’s art that almost strikes me breathless with its beauty. The poems of John Donne are one example. The poignant first chapter of A Farewell to Arms is another. Recently, I began reading Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles and every time I pick it up, I am nearly struck breathless with his simple, understated eloquence that touches one’s very core. Today I read a post at winebbler.wordpress.com and her simple, fun voice and flowing, relaxed style combined with playful use of the English language made for very entertaining and enjoyable reading beneath which I thought I could sense an undercurrent of growing artistic beauty.

That article made me start to think about what makes a work of writing aesthetically beautiful. After some thought, I reached the conclusion that every work of literary beauty has the same qualities as a powerful but smoothly flowing mountain stream: clarity, power, and an uninterrupted flow. But unlike a stream, a work of literary beauty must also be reasonably brief.

In every literary work I consider beautiful, the first universal characteristic that comes to mind is that the author uses a simple voice comprising simple, everyday words that anyone can understand. Writing is communication. Communication is one person disseminating ideas to others by using words, which are collections of sounds representing ideas. By using simple words everyone understands easily, the writer makes his ideas easier to disseminate. Why use a word that few can understand, when you can use a simpler word with the same meaning that everyone can understand? Therefore, our stream must be crystal clear and free of mud or anything that would hinder insight and perception.

If ideas equate to the water in our allegorical mountain stream, the precision of the component ideas, the words, give the stream its force. As I mentioned in my post “Slattery’s Tao of Writing, Part I”, words chosen for their precise meanings have power. As I said earlier in this article, words are ideas. Precise words are precise ideas. Precise ideas are powerful ideas, powerful emotionally and intellectually. Like all other forces in the universe, powerful ideas become more powerful if combined and organized with one idea leading logically, flowingly to the next. This facilitates understanding and the reading experience.

When my stream of thought is uninterrupted and powerful, I become immersed in the work. I can be swept away and can lose track of time and of everything happening around me. To my mind, every writer should aspire to instill this experience into his readers. When this happens, the writer has made an emotional and intellectual connection with his reader and the reader is grasping the writer’s ideas.

If organization is lacking, ideas are scattered like boulders in the stream and on the banks, creating rapids and breaking up the smooth flow. A powerful, disorganized stream is a torrent, destructive of everything along its banks, stiking out at random, benefiting no one. In communication, disorganization is the source of misunderstanding, the antithesis of understanding. The stream becomes destructive.

If a writer uses words his readers do not understand and they have to turn to a dictionary to find out what the writer intends, the clarity of the ideas is lost and the reading experience is muddied. Furthermore, the reading experience flows even less smoothly. Even if the reader can reason out the meanings of the words from the context, the stream of thought is still disrupted and muddied, even if to a lesser degree. The words will also lose much of their power, because the reader cannot appreciate the nuances of what he or she does not fully understand.

Lastly, every beautiful work has been reasonably brief. Reading anything exasperatingly long becomes tiresome for everyone. When readers become weary (word-weary so to speak), they can lose focus on what the writer is trying to communicate. This detracts from the reading experience just as if someone who enjoys swimming in a mountain stream can no longer enjoy their swim if they become overly fatigued with exertion.

That said, I will now close tonight’s blog before I wear you out with my ramblings.

Thoughts? Comments?

Updates to YouTube Channel, Dec. 15, 2024

Today, I changed several of my playlists (Classical Music, Books, Fleur-de-Lis, Dark Ambience, Poetry, General Relaxing Ambience, Authors, and Plays) from private to public on my YouTube channel @philslattery1241. The subjects of each are obvious, with the exception of Fleur-de-Lis, which is a soundtrack I am developing for inspiration as I finish up a novella set in February 1986.

Update for December 14, 2024

A lot has transpired for me personally in many ways since my last post and my disappearance from the Internet. I apologize sincerely for mine and The Chamber’s and RFM’s sudden departure from the Internet so long ago, but it could not be helped. Life intrudes sometimes.

I do not know if I will bring The Chamber back. I loved doing it, but it required a lot of time, and I was not making enough money to justify continuing it considering all the other time commitments I had. Once I retire, maybe I will bring it back. I would love to. It was a wonderful, rewarding time in my life and one of the best things I have ever done. I regret deeply having to shut it and RFM down.

However, once I work out a business plan, I am considering resurrecting RFM. I hope to retire soon, so I will have the time to devote to it. The trick will be to have an effective, efficient business plan. I learned a lot about business in general and about the online magazine business in particular during my days as a publisher. I hope to put those lessons to good use soon and once again venture into publishing.

For now, I am focusing on my own writing. I have not published anything in a while, but I am not determined to finish some novels and plays, one or two of the latter I have recently drafted. That is why I am posting this note now, so that you can keep abreast of my writing as it develops, and I start publishing some serious works soon.

Hasta luego.

A Quick Updates for September 11, 2020: Publicity, Marketing, and My Novel

First of all, my heartfelt condolences go out to all the families who lost loved ones on 9/11. That tragedy and its consequences, both direct and indirect, changed the US and our society forever. We will be feeling the repercussions of that day for decades, if not generations, to come. It awoke us to the dangers of an rapidly morphing and unpredictable world in the 21st century. Although at a great price, it taught us to be always vigilant and not to take our peace for granted. There are those, both in and out of the country, that would topple us in an instant if given the chance. In these challenging, divisive times, it is critical for us to remember when facing adversities of all types the seasoned adage “United we stand; divided we fall.” Stay woke! Stay alert! Remember that our strength through unity is unconquerable if we can overcome our differences and work together for the good of the nation. Truth will prevail.

Now, for my update:

I continue to work on Shadows and Stars as much as opportunity affords. I am now at 147,000+ words and still completing the first draft. I have recently made some critical headway in coming up with two good ideas to fill out a couple of plot holes. I have a few more to go, though they should not be as challenging.

Shadows and Stars cover 2 — Coming hopefully soon.

I am also working on how to best publicize my works and am studying marketing strategies to use once Shadows and Stars is on its way to publication. I will be publishing this via traditional methods not via Amazon or another self-publishing platform. I will no doubt need an agent first, which will take time to find. Once he has a publisher lined up, it may be awhile before Shadows and Stars goes to print.

As part of putting my name before the public to facilitate marketing prior to the publication of Shadows and Stars, I am trying to resurrect some old concepts/drafts I have for short stories. This is taking a little time away from Shadows and Stars, but not a lot. The ideas for these stories are coming to me rapidly. A few bits of micro fiction will be coming out between Halloween and the new Year. I will keep you informed on those.

I have renewed my membership to the Horror Writers Association and I intend to take maximum advantage of their marketing and publicity opportunities. I am currently an affiliate member, but I hope to meet the requirements soon to be an “Active Writer”, which is the top membership rank. There are several way to do this, but the one I am shooting for is to have three stories totalling at least 7,500 words published at professional rates, which is 6 cents.word and up. I intend to write three stories of at least 2,500 words each and find a publisher for them. One story, called “A Semblance of Normalcy” is at 2,006 words now, but I can easily add another 500 and keep the writing concise. I have started two others and each is about 1,000-2,000 word range currently. These are drafts I have had in my files for a few years, but I am now making a sincere effort to finish them up.

Whatever stories are published I will include in either a new edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror or come out with a second volume of horror with a different title.

There are a lot of other developments and plans, but I will discuss those at a later date. I have other goals to accomplish now.

Don’t forget that Click and Alien Embrace are free on Kindle today.

If you don’t have Kindle, don’t fret. I have almost all my works in paperback. Check for those when you visit Amazon. If it isn’t in paperback currently, it will be soon.

Amazon distributes via print on demand to many bookstores and libraries. If you don’t want to deal with Amazon, ask for my works at your local book outlet or library.

Hasta luego.

Don’t forget to like, comment, and follow.

Photoshopped painting of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci wearing a medical face mask to prevent spreading COVID-19/Coronavirus — Prevent the spread of the Coronavirus/COVID-19.

World Book Day and Other Holidays

If you want to expand your book sales, one way is to increase your online audience by expanding your promotions to overseas.

In a previous post, I talked about timing your posts to reach overseas audiences by posting them at times appropriate for your target overseas audience. For example, I live in New Mexico, which is Mountain Standard Time (MST). If I want to time my posts, so that they post on the most populous part of Australia (the east coast), I have to first consider, when the most likely time Australians might be up, moving about, and looking for something to read. On social media, a common hashtag for book promotions is #FictionFriday. This is when a lot of people look for books to read over the weekend. Therefore, I might want to time my posts when everyone on Australia’s east coast, which is Australian Eastern Daylight Time is rising and getting ready for their day. Assuming they have to be at work at 8:00 a.m, I may want to time my posts to hit there at 7:00 a.m. 7:00 a.m. Friday in Sydney is 6:30 p.m. in Albuquerque. So, I post at 6:30 p.m. Albuquerque time. You can find lots of articles and maps on the Internet to calculate the time difference, but iPhones and other gadgets enable you to monitor the time in several locations at once.

However, now I want to discuss promoting your books/posts by using holidays, international and national.

There are lots of international holidays with which to time posts or promotions: Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, New Year’s Day, etc. Everyone knows these. Many of these are religious holidays.

There are also a lot of lesser known holidays that you can use to target an audience depending on its topic, of course. One example is World Book Day, which is generally celebrated on April 23rd. Calendarlabs.com provides a good list of international holidays such as these.

Then there are the national holidays celebrated by your target country. Assuming you want to promote your book to English-speaking countries, the five major English-speaking countries are the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. English is spoken world-wide, so if you target these countries primarily, you will probably reach the vast majority of the English-speakers as well, though you may be a time zone off here and there. Of course, you can find exhaustive lists of holidays for each of these countries scattered around the Internet, but here are a few you may want to consider (the links are to a list of each country’s holidays):

United Kingdom

Spring Bank Holiday, May 28, 2018

Boxing Day (in most English-speaking nations), December 26, 2018

Canada

Victoria Day, May 21, 2018

Canada Day, July 2, 2018

Labour Day, September 3, 2018

Remembrance Day, November 11, 2018

Australia

Australia Day, January 26, 2018

ANZAC Day, April 25, 2018

Queen’s Birthday, June 11, 2018

Boxing Day, December 26, 2018

New Zealand

Waitangi Day, February 6, 2018

ANZAC Day, April 25, 2018

Labour Day, October 22, 2018

Boxing Day, December 26, 2018

Remember that the UK consists of England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, so you may have to consider the holidays in each of these separately. Also, some states and provinces may or may not celebrate national holidays in the same way or on the same date as the rest of the nation as well as having their own holidays.

As mentioned, these are only a few, actually a very few of the holidays celebrated in English-speaking countries, but I hope it gives you an idea of what is out there that you may want to incorporate into you posting and planning.

Important Upcoming Dates in 2018 Relating to Books and Literacy

I have been surfing the Internet and came across some upcoming dates that might interest bibliophiles and writers. These are international holidays celebrating books, literacy, or book-related topics that will of interest. Mark these on your calendar. I will be giving away books on each in commemoration/celebration of the event, though which books is yet to be determined. I have also noted one that is already past, so that you can be ready for it in 2019 as well as for the others.

International Mother Language Day: February 21, 2018

World Poetry Day: March 21, 2018

International Children’s Book Day: April 2, 2018

International Special Librarian’s Day: April 17, 2018

International Innovation and Creativity Day: April 21, 2018

World Book Day: April 23, 2018

World Press Freedom Day: May 3, 2018

Universal and International Infinity Day (celebrates philosophy): August 8, 2018

International Literacy Day: September 8, 2018

World Teacher’s Day: October 5, 2018

International Internet Day: October 29, 2018

World Television Day: November 21, 2018

World Book Day and Other Holidays

If you want to expand your book sales, one way is to increase your online audience by expanding your promotions to overseas.

However, now I want to discuss promoting your books/posts by using holidays, international and national.

There are lots of international holidays with which to time posts or promotions: Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, New Year’s Day, etc. Everyone knows these. Many of these are religious holidays.

United Kingdom

Spring Bank Holiday, May 28, 2018

Boxing Day (in most English-speaking nations), December 26, 2018

Canada

Victoria Day, May 21, 2018

Canada Day, July 2, 2018

Labour Day, September 3, 2018

Remembrance Day, November 11, 2018

Australia

Australia Day, January 26, 2018

ANZAC Day, April 25, 2018

Queen’s Birthday, June 11, 2018

Boxing Day, December 26, 2018

New Zealand

Waitangi Day, February 6, 2018

ANZAC Day, April 25, 2018

Labour Day, October 22, 2018

Boxing Day, December 26, 2018

Important Upcoming Dates in 2018 Relating to Books and Literacy

International Mother Language Day: February 21, 2018

World Poetry Day: March 21, 2018

International Children’s Book Day: April 2, 2018

International Special Librarian’s Day: April 17, 2018

International Innovation and Creativity Day: April 21, 2018

World Book Day: April 23, 2018

World Press Freedom Day: May 3, 2018

Universal and International Infinity Day (celebrates philosophy): August 8, 2018

International Literacy Day: September 8, 2018

World Teacher’s Day: October 5, 2018

International Internet Day: October 29, 2018

World Television Day: November 21, 2018