Contributors to “American Roulette.”
From top: Jody West, Andy Carey, Cheryl Dunn Bychek, Cheryl Woodruff Brooks, James Dodds, Matthew Best, Phyllis Orenyo, Sherry Knowlton, Robert Bradshaw, Pat LaMarche.
“Matthew and I are notorious for grabbing an elephant and saying, ‘I can eat that!’” said Pat LaMarche, writer, homeless advocate and executive director of the Carlisle-based Charles Bruce Foundation.
She’s referring to the recently released “American Roulette,” which features eight local authors who combined their talents to write a book about the crisis of mass shootings in America.
In this case, Rev. Matthew Best, pastor at Christ Lutheran in Harrisburg and executive director of the health ministries there, is the fellow elephant-eater, the one who presented the idea to LaMarche.
“American Roulette” combines qualities of a mystery and a social impact novel, featuring characters who eventually find themselves involved in a mass shooting.
Fatigued by the predictable “cycle” that often follows such events, Best wanted to use the novel form to humanize the issue.
“People have a debate about the abstract issue of guns, talking past each other, without any resolution whatsoever, with no intent of having a resolution,” he said.
LaMarche pulled in her network of writers to collaborate on the book. Why eight?
“If Matthew had to write the whole thing all by himself, this could take years, because he’s got a real job,” she said.
Can’t Un-see
Eight authors working on the same book, using the same timeline, which will end in the same place, presented many challenges. Cheryl Dunn Bychek was brought into the project to edit and help keep the timeline and story straight.
The group met regularly via Zoom to work out all of the details. Authors were asked to write to a certain point in the novel’s day; then they would meet and talk about it. One might think that combining eight authors’ work would be like wrangling cats, but the process was surprisingly smooth.
“Everybody’s story is pretty much intact,” Dunn Bychek said. “A lot of what I did was polish up the timeline and try to tighten up some of the narrative.”
The authors brought their particular expertise into the project, including Andy Carey, a counselor and former co-editor of the Pennsylvania Counseling Association Journal who lives in Shippensburg. He didn’t immediately say “yes” when invited to participate.
“My whole being pulled back from the idea of doing it when Pat asked me, partly because I like writing uplifting things,” he said.
But, after some thought and consideration of the book’s goal, he reconsidered.
“I felt like my contribution to the novel would be of insights into the dynamics that are built into situations,” he said. “I felt like, if anything, it could actually help people learn about dynamics that often lead to these kinds of situations.”
Each author wrote a character, and to avoid any possible spoilers, they won’t be divulged here. However, Best did write the pastor character.
“I needed to start with something familiar,” said Best, who was making his first foray into fiction writing.
The pastor and all the characters avoid the stereotypes often conjured when talking about gun violence.
“There was a lot of intentionality and conversation around not allowing any of these characters to move into the realm of caricature,” Dunn Bychek said.
Best added that he treated the book like one of his sermons.
“Sermons are designed to do two things—to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable,” he said.
What does that mean?
“It’s kind of like when I first learned about homelessness in the area, at especially the truck stops,” he said. “I had driven by truck stops, I don’t know how many times, and once you learn about it, you can’t un-see it.”
Call to Action
The “who done it” aspect of the book will leave readers wondering.
“It’s also a great mystery book,” LaMarche said. “And what makes a good book is when you realize who the killer is going to be. When was it? Was it two hours early? Were you halfway through the book?”
Unlike the typical mystery novel, all proceeds from the book will support anti-gun violence groups. The first checks will be cut to the Brady Campaign and Orange Ribbons for Jamie.
Writing with the group was much less turbulent than the book’s topic.
“I’m thrilled with the company I keep,” LaMarche said. “I am so impressed by the other authors. Everyone did a great job, and nobody’s ego was ever bigger than the project.”
She believes that the way the book is written creates a learning opportunity for students to read about an important issue and to participate in the storyline.
“This would be a great assignment for an English teacher to tell their kids, ‘Write another character for that day,’” LaMarche said. “Then I want you to put a character in the timeline.”
Best and LaMarche did indeed take the last bite of this elephant, producing, with their fellow authors, a humanity-driven mystery book, a mystery book with a call to action.
“I’m just amazed that I had this idea a year ago and here we are,” Best said. “There’s an actual book that I can hold in my hands. That’s just amazing to me and it could not have happened without the authors and Sunbury Press.”
To order “American Roulette,” visit www.sunburypress.com, www.americanroulette.vip or Amazon.com.
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