J. Stanion, the award-winning author of the historical fiction novel “My Place Among Them,” never imagined she would publish a novel after spending 31 years teaching. But driven by a promise she made to her father before he passed away from cancer, she embarked on a labor of love that culminated in a powerful story rooted in her family’s history. Stanion’s passion for writing began early in life, from crafting poetry during high school to capturing the humor of life with her college roommates. Writing has always been her outlet for expressing deep emotions, from anger to love, and organizing her thoughts and dreams into actionable goals.

Now living on a farm with her husband, where they raise Angus cattle and care for an assortment of animals, Stanion continues to draw inspiration from her surroundings. Her love for collecting Pine Ridge Pottery, Lakota Ledger art, and handmade turquoise jewelry is just one of the many ways she connects with the cultural heritage that informs her work. Currently, she is working on her second novel while sharing her journey and insights through her blog at www.jstanion.com.

Stanion’s debut novel, “My Place Among Them,” has garnered significant acclaim, winning the BREW Seal of Excellence, BREW Fiction Book Excellence Award 2023 Political Fiction of the Year, and several other prestigious honors. Her journey as an author is a testament to perseverance, passion, and the power of storytelling.

To know more about “My Place Among Them,” click here.

Read a review of “My Place Among Them” here.

Get to know more about J. Stanion through this interview.

• Listing ID: 25470
• Titles of All Books: My Place Among Them A Novel
• Author's Name: J Stanion
• Your Email Address: jstanion1890@gmail.com
• About the Author: I never dreamed I\'d publish a novel after teaching school for 31 years, but I did. It was a labor of love. Before he died of cancer, I promised my dad I would get it done. I\'ve always loved to write, whether it was poetry about losing the latest boyfriend in high school or funny stories about living with a house-full of crazy room-mates in college, writing allowed me to express my anger in solitude, my love from a long distance away and my thoughts and dreams in a way I could organize them later into goals and actions.
  
  Today, I live with my husband on the farm, raising Angus cattle and caring for nine horses, three dogs, and barn cats in every building around. I enjoy collecting Pine Ridge Pottery, Lakota Ledger art, and hand-made turquoise jewelry. I\'m currently working on my second novel. Check out examples of ledger art and my blog by going to http://www.jstanion.com.
• URL of the book's purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/My-Place-Among-Them-Stanion-ebook/dp/B0C7FFJLK7/
• Awards, reviews, press releases, and other relevant information: 2024 Silver Medal Global Book Award for Cultural Heritage Fiction
  
  2024 Pencraft Award for Best Book for Fiction - Cultural
  
  Finalist, 2023 Laramie Book Awards novel competition for Americana Fiction
  
  Finalist, 2023 Goethe Book Awards novel competition for Post-1750s Historical Fiction
  
  2023 BREW Fiction Book Excellence Awards for Political Fiction of the Year
  
  2023 NYC Big Book Award Winner for Cultural Heritage
  
  2023 Outstanding Creator Awards Top 25 Ranked Non-Fiction Books
  
  Second Place, 2023 Incipere Book Award for Historical Clean category
  
  2023 Historical Fiction Company "Highly Recommended" 5-Star Award
  
  2023 Readers Choice "Highly Recommended" 5-Star Award
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Did you love reading books when you were little? Why or why not?: I loved reading when I was young because it transported a quiet, city girl to worlds where horses were everywhere and riding freely across beautiful wide-open spaces was possible, even if only in my mind.
• At what age did you start reading books? What were your best memories of that time?: I was reading well by the time I was 6 years old. My best memories of childhood were trips to town with my mother who would carry me to the public library and leave to do her errands. Inside, I wandered through the stacks of books until I found a title that intrigued me, pulled it from the out, and slid down the shelves of books into a heap on the wooden floor. There, I would pass the day, reading stories, always involving horses...whether it was Camelot or The Black Stallion or Smokey the Cow Horse. Reading was my escape.
• What was the first book you loved reading? Why?: Little Black, A Pony by Walter Farley. To begin with, it was about horses. The illustrations were phenomenal, I can still see those beautiful drawings in my head. The story is about a boy and his pony who were best friends until a new horse came into the boy\'s life, a much bigger and fancier horse. The boy leaves the pony behind and goes on new adventures until one day, he gets into trouble and the little black pony comes to rescue him. It\'s a great story about friendship and love and loyalty that applies to much more in life than just horses.
• When did you first think about writing your first book? Why?: My father and I often wrote short stories and poems to each other for fun, and I wrote a lot of poetry when I was away at college and struggled to make new friends. The poetry helped me cope with loneliness and I always thought I\'d publish it "on day". But, my first real drive to write a book was when our daughter got a black pony named Molly who she loved dearly and rode every day. They became inseparable, and, over time, the pony helped our daughter overcome her shyness and lack of self-confidence. I wrote a book called "Molly\'s Magic". That was before the era of self-published authors and stacks of pink slips led me to put the manuscript away in a drawer.
• What was the greatest obstacle you've encountered when you were writing your book? What made you overcome it?: For this particular book, the original manuscript that came from my great-grandfather was the greatest obstacle I had to overcome first. It was typed on the back of a car dealership\'s stationary in 1920. The paper was fragile, the Victorian era writing was verbose and repetitive. Many edits had been made in pencil, but the markings were difficult and sometimes impossible to read. My father had put the manuscript onto a MAC computer, but during his battle with cancer, the floppy discs where he might have stored it were lost and the computer aged out of functioning before I could salvage a "computer copy" of the document. I had to start over, typing a new copy of the entire manuscript into WORD. As I worked on it, I also realized that the original story dealt only with John. It included nothing about my great-grandfather\'s life or how he had come to meet John and know the details that were included in the story. So, once transcribed into WORD, the entire story had to be re-written to include the white teacher who befriended John Iron Horse and documented details of life in America on Indian Reservations at the turn of the 20th century. I had promised my father I would publish this story.
• What pieces of advice can you give aspiring authors? What worked for you?: To aspiring authors, I would say:
  (1) hire a great editor and take his/her advice
  (2) follow your heart
  (3) never give up.
  
  I went through a number of editors, some who told me to completely change my story and some who told me it was "almost perfect" as it was. It took me a year to find a good one. Numbers #2 and #3 worked best for me. .
• Who are the authors or what are the books that had the greatest influence in your own writing? Why?: I loved Taylor Caldwell ( The Earth is the Lord\'s and Wicked Angel), James Michener ( The Drifters and Texas) and Lucia St. Clair Robson (Ride the Wind and Walk in My Soul). I also loved Anne McCaffrey\'s "The Lady" and Colleen McCollough\'s "The Thorn Birds". All of these authors created worlds that came alive in my mind as I read, worlds that filled my imagination with details of where the characters were. They also created strong characters who evoked powerful feelings of good and bad as the story moved along, none were obviously evil or good but battled with emotions and desires and worries. These books remain in my memory many, many years after I read them.
• What are your current or future writing plans? What can readers further expect from you?: I would like to write a second novel that includes characters from My Place Among Them, but the story itself continues to change and fluctuate in my head. For now, readers can follow me at http://www.jstanion.com to read about life on a family farm, life with people as the world changes and grows more crowded, and Indigenous history and culture.
• Do you offer a free book copy to interested readers?: Please contact me to discuss.

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