R.A. St. James
author
As you have probably guessed by now, my name is R.A. St. James, and I’m an author! I’m an African-American and have lived in California most of my life. I became interested in books and reading at a very early age. As a shy kid I lived inside books and devoured them on a weekly basis, to the point that I won several awards for the student that read the most books during the school year! Fun, right? Way to insure that I’d never be popular! lol.
In the 4th grade we were given an assignment to write a short story and we had all year to do it. I loved it, and by the end of the year I had written a story 3 times as long as everyone else’s (they were not happy, having to listen as I read it in class – but now you know where my long-windedness comes from!). I decided then and there that I would become a writer when I grew up. But life happened and before I knew it I had hit my fifties and still hadn’t written that book. But I finally got it together and at the ripe ‘young’ age of 55, published my first novel, ‘A Darkness Unto the Dawn’.
‘A Darkness Unto the Dawn’ was born out of my grief and frustration from reading headline after headline detailing the latest black person gunned down by police officers for having a broken tail-light, reaching for their wallet or refusing to drop a screwdriver quickly enough. It’s the story of a group of vigilantes that have also had enough of seeing these same horrors and witnessing these police officers get away with no punishment whatsoever and so decide to dispense their own brand of punishment. It’s a controversial, polarizing storyline, but one that I have tried to tell with balance and understanding on both sides. It’s also a long story, at about 235,000 words. One of the reasons it’s so long is that I didn’t want to just tell the story of a bunch of people that go after police officers. I also wanted to delve into some of the differences between being black in America and being white in America and to touch on some of the historical and political elements that have helped shape our current African American culture.
Some detractors may think (without actually taking the time to read it) that ‘A Darkness Unto the Dawn’ is a treatise on anarchy, but nothing could be further from the truth. It’s a story about justice – about justice denied and justice delayed. It’s also a story about bringing some sense of hope and equilibrium to communities across the country that have been lacking it for generations.
‘A Darkness Unto the Dawn’ is the full, 235,000 word, story. But, I’ve also broken it into a three-book series, for those that might want to read it in sections. The three books are: ‘Black Moon Rising’, ‘Raging at the Sun’ and ‘Beyond the Midnight Sky’. I hope that you enjoy this story, and I welcome all comments, discuss and feedback, both positive and negative. Your reviews on Amazon (and other retailers) are also very welcome, as reviews are what allows new readers to see (and decide to buy) my books, which helps ensure that I can continue writing. Please sign up for my newsletter if you’d like to be notified of new releases and free bonus content. Thanks for your time, and have a safe, blessed day!