The Devil Writes Heart-warming Romance Novels While Targeting with Hate

Internet trolls started targeting Mr. Stanek because his Robert Stanek books were highly successful self-published, in print-on-demand and e-books at a time before self-publishing, print-on-demand and e-books were widely accepted. It’s really that simple. Robert pretty much ignored them and that should have been the end of it except the trolls were actually friends of several direct competitors who were traditionally published, largely unsuccessful and rather desperate to make their own names off someone else’s hard work. 

Several actual self-published, print-on-demand authors jumped on to try to legitimize themselves at Robert's expense. Basically, so they had someone to point fingers out and send the mob after so that their books were left alone. Emily and I (Cathy) here have named two of them and will continue naming names until all the harm done Robert is undone. M.F. in 2018 and C.A. in 2022.

Since 2018, when Emily and I (Cathy here) added M.F. to the list of authors targeting Robert Stanek, we’ve received several dozen comments directing us to blogs and places written about her targeting of other authors, her using fake writing awards, her using fake reviews, her using fake ratings, whatever. We understand some of the sites mentioned are important. 

Yes, Fiverr Report was the first to expose all the paid reviews written by Fiverr businesses and resulted in Amazon.com suing 5,000 paid review businesses who were responsible for some 50,000-100,000 fake reviews a day (millions a month) going up Amazon.com, Goodreads.com and whatever. 

Yes, Amazon Report, was the first to expose more and got Amazon.com to take more action against thousands of other fake review businesses. No, we won’t be posting your links. Yes, we appreciate you taking the time, but please stop. 

Yes, we understand M.F. has around 500,000 mostly fake reviews and ratings between Amazon.com and Goodreads.com. 

Yes, we know how ludicrous, given M.F. has as almost as many reviews and ratings as J.K. Rowling on those sites on 1/100,000th the number of sales. 

Yes, we are aware money can buy just about anything if you throw enough around. We were part of the Read Indies team covering the U.S Justice Department's prosecution of a massive fraud scheme involving Amazon employees targeting people like Robert with fake negative reviews, using their inside access to Amazon's network to suspend accounts and product listings, remove favorable reviews and commentary, post spurious comments to intimidate victims and drive away customers, and more. 

In his article, Justice Department Identifies Ten Amazon Staff Accepting Bribes, Writing Fake Negative Reviews, Targeting Products for Take Downs, Robert was one of the first to cover this before Amazon.com buried the news. @ https://robertstanek.blogspot.com/2020/09/doj-ids-corrupt-amazon-employees.html

Read Indies covered it as well: Amazon Employees Caught Red-Handed Yet Again Using Fake Negative Reviews to Spam Rivals @ https://readindies.blogspot.com/2020/09/amazon-employees-caught-red-handed.html

The DOJ announced the indictments in September 2020 and there have been four trials since resulting in the Justice Department proving their case all four times. Amazon.com buried the news of all four cases, which involved Amazon employees 

• Targeting people like Robert with fake negative reviews
• Using their inside access to Amazon's network to suspend accounts and product listings
• Using their inside access to Amazon's network to remove favorable reviews and commentary
• Posting spurious comments to intimidate victims and drive away customers
• More

Emily and I take full responsibility for listing M.F. in the list of those who have publicly and privately targeted Robert Stanek because M.F. did. 

M.F. was added to the list in 2018, and otherwise no mention of her or her work has or was ever made by anyone here or by Robert himself, except in a snarky post in his Around the Town Books blog read by 42 people so far (and probably all M.F. herself) since November 2013. So how exactly did Robert deserve it? Did he time travel?

Emily and I re-iterate and underscore this to counter what M.F. has been saying since she started all these hate activities directed at Robert in the mid-to-late 2000s and is saying still to rally people to support her work and target Robert.

M.F. being supposedly bullied is a constant theme since her friends created STGRB nearly twenty years ago. Stop The Good Reads Bullies gushed on and on about how M.F.  and several others were supposedly being bullied at Good Reads when if anyone looked and lots of us did, no such reviews existed ANYWHERE targeting the two main people (M.F. and another) let alone Good Reads.

The real reason STGRB was created was to rally support for M.F. and that other person who were supposedly being bullied and to get others to write reviews of and support their work. It worked tremendously well for M.F. and that other person, not so well for the ones listed who were actually being bullied. Meanwhile M.F. was actually the bully or one of the bullies. One of her targets at the time was Robert. M.F. got her friends who created STGRB for her to even list Robert as a supposed fraudster, so that the people supposedly protecting M.F. from bullies became bullies and targeted Robert with hate-filled negative reviews. 

This is a repeating pattern with M.F. If you read Robert’s blog or any of the related posts within Read Indies, you know: Robert is blamed for something, so whatever is done is supposedly retaliation, only Robert has never done anything except defend himself in a few blog posts, written in his own blogs and here within Read Indies.

M.F. targeted Robert Stanek for a multiple of reasons:

1. Robert's a white male in a publishing world dominated by white males. Emily and I understand the frustration M.F. must have been feeling back in the early-mid-late 2000s being unsuccessful as a self-published author. How terrible it must have been to see yet another greatly talented white male be so successful when M.F. couldn’t even give her books away. No, no, no, no, no one DESERVES to be harassed because they are a successful white male author. Robert paid his dues, earned his place just like everyone else.

2. Robert's Bugville Critters books were mentioned in a nominating for an award on Kindle Boards where M.F. was an active daily member, just as Emily and I were at the time. So let us get this straight, only the magnificent M.F. can be mentioned or nominated for any awards and anyone else becomes a subject for harassment? And yes, we were there at Kindle Boards when M.F. instigated and had you know who send the mobs after Robert claiming he was a fraud and all the reviews on his books were fake. Yep, all few hundred of them across more than 50 RS books. Gosh, there were a few that even had 11 or 12 reviews. Oh how horrible it must have been for M.F. to read real reviews when all hers were fake.

3. Robert’s a veteran, a combat veteran. Emily and I don’t understand or condone targeting anyone because they served in the military. Millions of men and women in our country have served in the military, and then also targeting someone for harassment and vilifying because they served in combat or claim that a medal from their combat is stolen valor when you know otherwise because you saw their combat memoir at Amazon.com along with the extensive professional review from the Journal of Electronic Defense? Our response is what-the-f*ck. And then not only go after someone claiming these things but then to get others to join in? There are no words and it beggars belief. And yes, we were there at Kindle Boards when M.F. instigated and had you know who send the mobs after Robert claiming stolen valor and lies about his military service.

4. Robert's Bugville books were mentioned in The Wall Street Journal. How that must have bruised M.F.’s ego because as Emily and I saw M.F. went all out after Robert within Kindle Boards claiming it was all lies. We read the posts as Robert explained his Bugville books in audio were written about. The real issue: M.F. was unsuccessful at the time and couldn’t get her books into audio. Audible was only accepting professional books from successful authors at the time. The result? M.F. got mobs to flood Audible and Good Reads with negative reviews, which piled on top of the fake negative reviews from internet trolls and instigated you know who to create a site targeting Robert and his work. A site she still contributes to.

Here is horrible, horrible things written about M.F. (sarcasm, it’s not) from Robert’s sole commentary ever about M.F. We put it here in entirety along with notes as M.F. has been claiming Robert wrote such horrible, horrible things about her that she had to defend herself and that’s why she did what she did. Important to point out as we said before that M.F. started all these hate activities directed at Robert in the mid-to-late 2000s, and Robert's post is from November 2013. 

Incidentally, if you read Robert’s blog or the posts here within Read Indies, you know how that works: Robert is blamed for something, so whatever was done is supposedly retaliation, only Robert has never done anything except defend himself in a few blog posts, written in his own blogs and here within Read Indies.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Attention All Authors You Must Now Have M.F. Explicit Permission Before You Publish Or Promote Your Works!

Snark ahead...

Henceforth and retroactively to the beginning of time, all authors must have M.F.’s express written permission before publishing any book, article, short story, or any other creative work. Before discussing or promoting your work by any means or in any form, you also must have M.F.’s express written permission.

If you are or claim to be a bestselling author, henceforth and forever (and retroactively to the beginning of time and after getting express written permission from M.F.), you must explicitly state all details regarding such matters. Specifically, you must state that you are “A _(Insert Name)_ Bestselling author For _(Insert Date/Time)_ for a _(Type of Work)_ work called ________, which appeared on the _________ bestselling list in the # ______ position.” You must then link to screenshots of the bestseller listing that have been independently certified by the White House and signed by the President of the United States, forgoing that you must have M.F.’s signature. As clickable links are not permitted on book covers or in most promotional materials, you must add the screenshots to your book covers or other promotional materials.

No longer is it possible for any author anywhere to state they are a bestselling author, a USA Today bestselling author, a New York Times bestselling author, etc or to print such things on any book cover or use in any promotional materials. You must now state explicitly all details regarding such matters. For example, you must state that you are “A New York Times Bestselling author For the Week of October 25, 2013 for a fiction work called Tiger Little, which appeared on the New York Times Children’s Bestseller list in the #23 position.”

You must then link to screenshots of the bestseller listing that have been independently certified by the White House and signed by the President of the United States, forgoing that you must have M.F.’s signature. As clickable links are not permitted on book covers or in most promotional materials, you must add certified screenshots to your book covers or other promotional materials, such certification to be performed solely by M.F. or her designated appointee.

An example of the mandatory covers now universally required

(shown without the required certified screenshots).

*Your actual cover or promotional materials

 must also include certified screenshots.

Further, if you or your book are mentioned in the press, you must always state the exact specifics any time you mention such. Specifically, you must state that you are “The _(Insert Name)_ recommended _(Name/Work)_ on _(Insert Date/Time)_ in a/an _(Insert Type of Media Item)_ called _(Insert Title of Media Item)_. The _(Insert Type of Media Item)_ was written by (Insert Name, Title of Media Item Author)_ as can be verified by _( Media Item Author’s Manager)_ and _(Insert Name/Title of Executive Manager). The exact quote is “_______________” You must then link to screenshots of the article that have been independently certified by the White House and signed by the President of the United States, forgoing that you must have M.F.’s signature. As clickable links are not permitted on book covers or in most promotional materials, you must add certified screenshots to your book covers or other promotional materials.

Thus, no longer is it possible for any author anywhere to state they were featured, recommended or talked about in The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, etc or to print such things on any book cover or use in any promotional materials. You must now state explicitly all details regarding such matters. For example, you must now state “The New York Times recommended Anastasia Washington’s book Jump Up & Down on October 25, 2013 in an article called Talking About Authors in New York. The article was written by M. J. Dungbury, Around the Town Features Reporter for The New York Times as can be verified by Kathy Klinkbot, Managing Editor for The New York Times and J. J. Harrington Chairman of the Board of The New York Times. The exact quote is “When it comes to bicycle jumping, the book Jump Up & Down is a good resource. Jump Up & Down tells the story of a bicycle paratrooper from World War II who loved pinto beans and ate nothing but for 83 years.”

You must then link to screenshots of the media item that have been independently certified by the White House and signed by the President of the United States, forgoing that you must have M.F.’s signature. As clickable links are not permitted on book covers or in most promotional materials, you must add the screenshots to your book covers or other promotional materials.

At times, and at M.F.’s whim and fancy, none of the above may be acceptable either. In such cases, you must fly to M.F.’s hometown, and beg mercy while bathing her feet in warm, rose-scented waters. However, being a Vulcan, M.F. does not actually understand simple human compassion, empathy, decency, fairness or any other silly human sentiments or emotions, though she does a superb job of feigning that she does. Thus, if the feet bathing ceremony does not work out in your favor, you are expected to do the universe a favor and commit hari-kari. If you are lacking a blade with which you can commit hari-kari, one will be provided to you for your one-time use, provided you return the blade postage-paid and professionally cleaned.

*These rules do not apply to Melisa Foster, Friends of Foster, or those who have been granted mercy after bathing the All God's feet in warm rose-scented waters.

**Professional cleaning of the hari-kari blade ensures the next victim does not have second thoughts about committing hari-kari. Be sure to make arrangements prior to committing hari-kari.

***Failure to follow these mandatory requirements, except as permitted in the forgoing, will result in severe consequences, up to and including a lifetime of stalking, harassment, and intimidation all done with a smile.

**** Questions, comments, and/or suggestions should be directed to Her Benevolence, Dictator of the World, All God, One True God of the Whole Entirety of the Known (And Unknown And Yet to Be Known) Universe, Her Majestic Supremeness And All Knowing Omnipotence M.F.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Yep, That's It

Yep, that’s it. The horrible, horrible thing Robert did in response to 1, 2, 3 and 4 listed above. It’s goes without saying that Robert is one of the truest, nicest, most considerate and honorable people you could ever meet, because if someone had done 1, 2, 3, and 4 to Emily or me? There are no words to describe our response.

More Background

Again, Internet trolls started targeting Mr. Stanek back in the early 2000’s because his Robert Stanek books were highly successful self-published, in print-on-demand and e-books at a time when self-publishing, print-on-demand and e-books weren't widely accepted. It really is that simple. Robert pretty much ignored them and that should have been the end of it except the trolls were actually friends of several direct competitors who were traditionally published, largely unsuccessful and rather desperate to make their own names off someone else’s hard work. 

On to 2005, The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches books are #1 Audible bestsellers, featured on Audible’s home page for two months, where they top the charts for 26 weeks and stay in the children’s/YA top 10 for two years, along with several other Robert Stanek books, like The Pieces of the Puzzle, which was #10 on the site and #1 Mystery/Thriller. These trolls and competitors went nuts with their vitriol targeting Robert, telling tens of thousands in their blogs, in chat rooms and message forums, Robert was a self-published fraud, whose books were unreadable and had never been bestsellers ever. It’s ludicrous that anyone believed this with his books right there on the Audible home page and #1 for the entirety of Audible, but hundreds did and they enlisted others to join them in trashing Robert’s books.

Robert’s only comments ever about this were on his blog, robertstanek.com/rsblog.htm, where he posted notes to readers like this one from 2003:

Happy Holidays! Thanks to all the dedicated readers who continue to read and support my books. Believe me, it's not easy to make it as a small press author, and the dedication of fans is truly appreciated. 

And this one from 2004:

2004 is proving to be a great year for my books and I want to thank all the fans for their support. Over 250 schools in the U.S. have started using the books in the classroom. I want to thank all the educators who have taken the books under their wings and continue to support my work. I hear from excited readers every day about how the books have changed their lives and helped them rediscover a love of reading.

His second and fourth post to readers—ever.

And his sixth post from later in 2004:

Dear Readers,

Happy holidays, I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday season and a joyous new year—and I really mean it! Once again, I want to thank the many readers (the true fans) for helping to spread the word about my books, the many teachers who have taken the books under their wings and are using the books in the classroom, and all the people who are now hard at work on international and illustrated editions of my books.

The most exciting news I have to share with fans is the work on international and illustrated editions of my books. RP Books is working with many talented teams of international publishers, artists and translators to bring my books to new readers all over the world. These and other editions are or will soon be available in the U.S., Canada, UK, Spain, Belgium, Greece, Korea, Russia, Turkey, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere.

Robert Stanek had sold translation rights to The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches books in 14 countries at that time.

By October 2005, the news was even bigger:

Dear Readers,

Huge thank you to the dedicated fans who continue to read my books and tell others about them. Back in early September, I promised fans big news for October and a few answers too.

Ruin Mist and Magic Lands movies seem to be the news everyone wanted. Unfortunately, I can't deliver anything new. DreamWorks and others did express interest in 2002. Valhalla Motion Pictures and others did express interest in 2004. Nothing else to report.

Translation and rights news continues to be good. Currently, in discussions with publishers in Brazil, Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, China, Taiwan, Japan, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and elsewhere. Translations of the books are underway in Spanish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, and several other languages. Scholastic is considering publishing paperback editions.

Now you can see why these competitors and their troll friends targeting Robert went nuts. While his books were #1 Audible, they were running around telling tens of thousands in their blogs, in chat rooms and message forums, Robert was a self-published fraud, whose books had never been translated by anyone, had never been bestsellers, had never been whatever you fill in the blank. This same pattern held for many years.

From 2007-2009, multiple literary books for readers, teachers and parents included Robert’s books like Popular Series Fiction for Middle School and Teen Readers: A Reading and Selection Guide. A Publisher’s Weekly cover story on fantasy novels, included Robert’s books. Several children’s magazines write about Robert’s children’s books, Bugville Critters, including Children’s Bookshelf part of Library Journal/School Library Journal and Parenting Magazine. His Ruin Mist books were included in a Publisher’s Weekly cover story about Fantasy novels. VOYA a literary magazine for YA librarians, wrote a fantastic review of The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches books that among other glowing statements said:

>>>>Dramatic illustrations draw the reader into the Tolkienesque world of Ruin Mist, plunged into darkness after a Great War five hundred years past. Blaming magic for their demise, the Kings of Men have decreed that all things magical be destroyed. Yet despite their efforts, the magical Dark Lord is slowly returning to power. Another bloody battle is foreshadowed for Ruin Mist when Adrina, the spoiled and lonely princess of Imtal, is visited by a mysterious woman who predicts Adrina's ghastly future. Meanwhile in the kingdom of Elves, Seth, devoted First of the Red Order of the Queen Mother Elf, is sent on a journey across the Great Sea to prevent war. Stuck somewhere in the middle is Vilmos, a young magical boy-who-would-be-mage, abducted for his own safety by a Yoda-like guide named Xith. All three journey to an unknown fate against treacherous and sometimes supernatural foes. Stanek augments the beginning of this complex tale with illustrations that are sure to attract fans of graphic novels and classic Tolkien alike-the only weakness in the illustrations is their scarcity. Stanek will likely draw a cult following, but his work is not for the novice fantasy reader. A complicated glossary at the end includes twenty-two pages of "People, Places, and Things in Ruin Mist," complete with geographical references, family lineages, and extraordinary sketches. Despite the sophisticated plot, however, this cliffhanger guarantees fans, and those fans will be ready to wield their swords against the Dark Lord in Stanek's next installment. (VOYA) <<<<

Meanwhile, these competitors and their troll friends ran around telling tens of thousands in their blogs, in chat rooms and message forums, all his reviews were fake no professional magazine or reviewer had ever written a review or even mentioned his books, he was making it all up. Ludicrous that hundreds listened to them? Yep, but hundreds did and they enlisted others to join them in trashing Robert’s books.

In 2004, Robert published a heart-wrenching nonfiction memoir and tribute to those he served with about his combat tours in the first Iraq war. The memoir was written about and reviewed in multiple magazines, including a full-page review in The Journal of Electronic Defense:

>>>>>"Hard to put down.... It is impossible not to share the relief and pride of the individual crew members when the attack missions they protect exit Iraq safely.... Another side of the book lets the reader ride along when Stanek's plane has two engines quit in the war zone." (The Journal of Electronic Defense)<<<<<

Here’s where things turned really dark, as these trolls and competitors ran around telling tens of thousands in their blogs, in chat rooms and message forums Robert had never served in the military, never been in combat and hadn’t earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. Robert was flooded with death threats and stolen valor accusations and had to hire protection for his children and family for the next five years as a result. No one cared everything being said was a lie.

Incidentally, well before this, these competitors and trolls knew Robert Stanek was a pen name for William Stanek. Robert’s full name is William Robert Stanek, and he does of course write as William Stanek and Robert Stanek. His William Stanek books had been bestsellers since his first one was published in 1995 by Macmillan.

An interesting timeline in all this is his career in print when all this was happening:

He wrote stories in the 1990s, which were publishing limitedly in magazines, one winning an award in a National Awards program where he met Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush who were trustees of the program at the time.

By the mids 1990s, he had 10 or so published books, which were bestsellers for Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, TimeWarner.

By the late 1990s, he had 35 published books, which were bestsellers for Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Microsoft, McGraw-Hill, HarperCollins, TimeWarner.

By the early 2000s he had more than 50 published top-selling books, more than 40 as William and the rest as Robert. His professional publishers at the time are IDG, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, Hachette, Microsoft, Wiley, TimeWarner.

By the mid 2000s he had more than 75 published top-selling books, more than 60 as William and the rest as Robert. His professional publishers at the time are IDG, Prentice Hall, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, Hachette, HarperCollins, Pearson Education, Cengage Learning, Microsoft, Wiley, TimeWarner, O'Reilly, and HMH.

By the late 2000s he had more than 110 published top-selling books, more than 75 as William and the rest as Robert. His professional publishers at the time are IDG, Prentice Hall, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, Hachette, HarperCollins, Pearson Education, Cengage Learning, Microsoft, Wiley, TimeWarner, O'Reilly, and HMH.

By the early 2010s he had more than 150 published top-selling books, more than 90 as William and the rest as Robert. His professional publishers at the time are IDG, Prentice Hall, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, Hachette, HarperCollins, Pearson Education, Cengage Learning, Microsoft, Wiley, TimeWarner, O'Reilly, and HMH.

Today, Robert Stanek has over 250 published books, many with no or few reviews at all because they were flooded with fake negative reviews, many others still flooded with fake negative reviews. All from these despicable activities to destroy his career. 

This should break your heart. 

It breaks ours.

Emily & Cathy

P.S.

Pioneers like Mr. Stanek who are ahead of their time should be celebrated. Not only was he (writing as Robert Stanek) one of the earliest most successful self-published, print-on-demand and e-book authors, starting at the beginning of 2000. In 2001, he serialized the release of his first e-book, becoming the first author to serialize e-books in installments. 

Since then Mr. Stanek has serialized the release of many of his novels, releasing the parts as he's writing and/or finalizing the works for publication, including The Cards in the Deck, Air War and After the Machines. His successful process is one (among a multitude of) reasons Amazon developed Kindle Vellas so authors could serialize the release of their work. 

If you look at the reviews of Mr. Stanek's serialized work, you'll see all the fake negative reviews complaining about the work being serialized or only partially complete when it's clearly stated all over the place that that's the case. Why serialize? Because it was a successful way to release books so readers could get quicker access to new work, and because Robert's competitors recognized this and wanted to ensure his books weren't widely read like they deserve to be while they did exactly the same thing (in many instances) and have not a single derogatory review or complaint about their books being serialized or partial releases.

Update on DOJ Prosecution of Amazon Employees Accepting Bribes, Writing Fake Negative Reviews and Targeting Products for Takedowns in a $100M Fraud Scheme

An update from Robert Stanek on the Justice Department prosecution of 10 Amazon employees accepting bribes, writing fake negative reviews and targeting products for takedowns in a $100M fraud scheme:

http://robertstanek.blogspot.com/2022/09/amazon-rings-of-power-reviews-blanked.html

Something that resonated the most with Cathy, Shannon and I is in the addendum where Robert Stanek says:

-

For me personally, the very fact that the US DOJ proved in court that Amazon insiders were a part of these despicable activities was vindicating. Not only did the DOJ prove to be true and correct what I had been saying for years and years, the DOJ also proved in court that targeting products with fake negative reviews was only one part of a larger scheme to harm targeted companies and products. 

Again, the DOJ proved in court that in exchange for bribes, corrupted Amazon staff facilitated attacks against competitors of those paying the bribes, using their inside access to Amazon's network to suspend competitors' accounts and product listings, remove favorable reviews and commentary, write fictitious negative product reviews designed to hurt sales, post spurious comments to intimidate victims and drive away customers, and much more. All much as I experienced it on the receiving end of what was meant to, and did, destroy sales of my books for years and years.

-

His original post about the case with the charging documents in case Amazon tries to make all this disappear again:

http://robertstanek.blogspot.com/2020/09/doj-ids-corrupt-amazon-employees.html

Robert also has written extensively about the competitors and their friends involved directly with attacking his books and name. These include:

Melissa Foster (romance author)

Carolyn Arnold (mystery author)

David Langford (author)

Stephen Leigh (author)

Jim C. Hines (author)

Victoria Strauss (author)

David Louis Edelman (author)

Patrick Rothfuss (author)

Tim Spalding (Library Thing)

Maureen Johnson (author)

Adam Whitehead (Wertzone, Best Fantasy Books)

Patrick Dennis (Pat’s Fantasy Hot List, Best Fantasy Books)

Back when this started, authors like romance author Melissa Foster literally had hundreds of questionable reviews written by friends, family, associates and paid services. Melissa Foster and others now they have many, many thousands and thousands of questionable reviews. 

How many Robert Stanek reviews were they talking about for all those years? A few hundred.... Yep, a few hundred, across the more than 70 books Robert had published at that time. But they didn't stop there. They and their friends kept at it for TWO DECADES because they needed a scapegoat to point fingers at.

Thanks for reading,

Team Read Indies

The Courageous Only – It’s Not for the Faint of Heart

My dad, William Robert Stanek, was a real-life superhero, as least to us kids, if not to the millions who built their dreams on the books he wrote that taught them new skills and new ways of thinking. For those who keep wanting to write my dad's obituary because of the years his pen has been silent, I say regardless of whether he writes another word his millions of published words already speak volumes, and his millions of unpublished words will someday say even more.

circa 1990 when My Mom and Dad dreamt up World Galleries

On behalf of my dad, I want to thank everyone here at Go Indie who has spoken up in support of my dad. It really meant the world to him, late timing be damned. We’d all like to see him return to writing, but in the meantime there are so many of his works already in print to be shared and treasured. Just as my dad kept his William Stanek (mostly nonfiction) and Robert Stanek (mostly fiction) work separate for many years, he also kept another careful secret from the world: he and my mom’s work in the arts for World Galleries which represents thousands of what have been called "some of the most iconic photographs in landscape, architecture and travel photography over the past three decades" and hundreds of canvas paintings.

Spring 2021, 1st Media Announcement regarding World Galleries 

Humble to a fault, modest to a fault, my dad and mom kept their secret for three decades while their work was celebrated around the world and viewed billions of times. The global pandemic which forced my family to permanently close our physical galleries changed all that. My dad and mom stepped out from behind the scenes and we’ve started making their works available in the online galleries at:

360 Studios (pictorem.com/gallery/360.Studios)

1North Studios (pictorem.com/gallery/1North)

@24 Studios (pictorem.com/gallery/24)

Robert Stanek Studios (pictorem.com/gallery/Robert.Stanek)

Now after months of effort, we have hundreds of original artworks available, and are seeking help in spreading the word so that my dad and mom and the dozens of others their efforts support can continue their good work for decades to come. As it has always been since inception, 80% of the profits from any purchases go back to the artists themselves and the vast majority of anything my dad and mom make go back into the business so they can support other artists and their families.

Commission-based sales opportunities

As my dad always says, thank you for reading,

-Will

P.S.

This started out as a Father's Day tribute to my dad and ended up somewhere else entirely. If I were half the writer my dad is, it'd be so much better.

Robert Stanek: One of the Most Important Voices of Our Time

Yes, we have made Go Indie into the Robert Stanek channel, especially as we're extremely sad that Robert has retired from writing for some years now and has not yet returned to the craft he dedicated his life to for three decades. Doubly so, as Mr. Stanek is not only one of the nicest, most sincere and honorable people you could ever hope to meet, but also one of the most important voices of our time, the author of some of the most important books of our time, and without a doubt one of the foremost thinkers of our time.

A tireless supporter of the disabled, veterans, libraries, books and schools, Robert has helped countless writers—hundreds really—over the many decades he himself has been a writer. He helped them get their start in the business. He provided resources to help them navigate the strange new online world. He helped provide resources to connect and educate them, more. Odd how they all turned their back on him when he needed them the most and simply because they were afraid of the online trolls and hateful people certain persons had at their disposal to trash Robert’s career with lies and fake news, and the career of anyone else who tried to tell the truth about what happened.

One of those writers Robert Stanek helped was me. After being laid off from my job as a teacher, with a newborn at home and alone after my husband abandoned us, my baby and I were a few unemployment checks away from homelessness. With no likelihood of employment as a teacher or anywhere with a newborn at home to care for alone (no one will hire a single mother with a newborn, just try it yourself and see) and with no support system, the children's books I had written over the years were my only hope. I had been sending them out to every publisher in North America and a few abroad, and receiving nothing but rejection letters in return.

I was in a few support groups. One for writers, and a fellow would-be writer had a contract with Robert’s publishing company. She too had been getting rejection letters from publishers, until she got an acceptance letter from Robert’s company. An unknown, Robert’s company had taken a chance on her, and she was talking about how the opportunity changed her life. Not only monetarily, but also because someone finally believed in her enough to publish her work professionally. Her name is Jennifer Blake and like me, she herself has said she owes her start and success entirely to Mr. Stanek.

I decided to send my work to his company too, to see if I’d be accepted. I told Robert my whole story as well, not knowing if he’d believe a word I was saying as I’m sure he’d heard sad stories like mine thousands of times before. Within a week, I was on a conference call with Jeannie, Robert himself, and Thomas from RP Books & Audio. When Robert asked if I thought I could write a book on whales for a nature series he was developing for beginners and early learning, I knew with my background as an elementary school teacher I could. Soon after, I had a contract for “Whales: The Complete Guide for Beginners and Early Learning”, and an advance check for $2500.

It was money that saved me and my baby from eviction and homelessness. It was money no one else would have, or had, offered, to help me keep it all together. Robert didn’t have to give me a check that big—or at all. I was a nobody. The series and the book ideas were entirely his. A different person, a New York publisher, would have offered $50 or maybe $250, but certainly not $2500. I was nothing but tears, tears of joy when I deposited the check.

Days later, I was working with the development and illustration team at RP Books & Audio on the first of what would become multiple books for the company. My second contract for Robert’s company was to write an animal book for preschoolers and kindergartners in the My Animal series Robert developed. This book and series were also Robert’s ideas entirely.

The book itself was a handful of words on a handful of pages. Words anyone could have placed there, but Robert offered another $2500 contract. A contract no one else would have given me. I worked with the development and illustration team at RP Books & Audio on this book for a time.

When I was done, when “My Baby Animal” book was finished, I realized something. I had received, in the course of working on these two books, an in-depth course on writing, illustration and publishing. Decisions I didn’t need to be privy to, I had been, and it had been Robert and Jeannie’s intent to teach me this.

Next, Robert asked if I wanted to write a book on dinosaurs for beginners and early learning. This book would be in the same series as the whale book and have an advance of $5000 because Robert said it was going to be wildly popular (and it would be).

Within a month of my having finished “Dinosaurs: The Complete Guide for Beginners,” Robert and Jeannie then went back to the ideas I had submitted originally and helped me develop the Tell Me series. The $25,000 advance and a 3-book series contract were more than I ever could have imagined possible.

Robert and Jeannie worked with me to develop and write “Tell Me What You See?” Then we worked together on “Tell Me What You Love?” and “Father Christmas, Tell Me What You See?”. Books that wouldn’t even have been possible without their insights, advice, and assistance.

The first of my books was published within a year of finishing “Tell Me What You See?”, so about two years into our work together. Then the others were published in rapid succession, along with two compendiums that included my books. The first was “Wonderful Discoveries: Sharks, Whales, Dolphins and Sea Turtles.” The second was “My Great Big Animal Book.”

Now, over a decade into our work together, my books have been purchased and read by hundreds of thousands, earning me twenty-fold the original advances in royalties. My success as a writer? It helped me land my dream teaching job where I’ve been happily employed for seven years. Well, that, and letters of reference from Mr. Stanek, Jeannie and Thomas from RP Books and Audio.

Yes, to say publishing changed my life is the understatement of the century. But Robert Stanek is the one who made it all possible. Read and support his books. He’s earned it. Not only because he, inside and out, is one of the most beautiful human beings alive, but because his work is some of the most important work in print today. The 20th century had Theodor Geisel and JRR Tolkien, the 21st century has Robert Stanek. Learn more about Mr. Stanek at http://www.williamrstanek.com/. 

Shannon

Amazon Employees Caught Red-Handed Yet Again Using Fake Negative Reviews to Spam Rivals

Rivals have targeted author William Robert Stanek on Amazon.com for two decades while Amazon staff were paid to assist. Not only has William Robert been blogging about this extensive criminal operation for years, Justice Department investigations indicate these fraudulent tactics are potentially widespread, bringing indictments in Washington against six who bribed at least 10 Amazon staff. In exchange for bribes, corrupted Amazon staff facilitated attacks against competitors using their inside access to Amazon's network to suspend competitors' accounts and product listings, flood competitor product listings with fictitious negative product reviews designed to hurt sales, more. These self-styled "takedowns" against victim sellers used hateful commentary and other tactics to intimidate victims and drive away customers.

Author William Robert Stanek recognizes all of these tactics as they have been used to harm and destroy sales of his books. Regarding this, he stated, "I've been on the receiving end for 20 years..... flooded with fake reviews, getting my books delisted, flagged, etcetera so competitors who were paying off Amazon could get ahead. Two of the names in the charging document are the same people who wrote me back if I dared to complain." 

A grand jury in Washington has indicted six of those involved, more indictments expected. The trial gets underway October 15, 2020, and should result in criminal convictions against those indicted and the 10 or more corrupted Amazon employees involved, unless Amazon once again pays off the justice system to keep insider corruption out of the courts, as it did when more than 50 employees were caught setting up fake seller accounts on Ebay to lure buyers to Amazon--after years and years of doing so illegally and fraudulently.

The group of fraudsters, which includes former Amazon employees, paid current Amazon employees to obtain confidential performance data on rivals that included revenue, customer bases and ongoing ad campaigns. Revenue information allowed the fraudsters to determine the most popular items of rivals and then specifically target those items with fake negative reviews, upvote negative commentary and more to destroy sales. Advertising information allowed the fraudsters to target items of rivals that were being promoted so the rivals could use fake negative reviews, upvoting of negative commentary and more to counter the adverting and destroy any potential sales boost. Rival products were periodically delisted, had reviews removed, were removed from search results, flagged as inappropriate and more to harm sales and ensure the success of the scammers. 

Amazon itself uses these unscrupulous tactics to target popular products of independent sellers in its marketplace after making Amazon-branded versions of the same. Using insider information about the independent products from sales data to customer base to private marketing and advertising campaign data, Amazon puts the rival sellers out of business. Not only has this allowed Amazon to gain an unfair competitive advantage in its marketplace monopoly, it has done irreversible harm to the very sellers it purports to support on its websites, putting many sellers out of business as well. Just one of many ways Amazon abuses and destroys third-party sellers and creates rival products to boost operating revenues and profits no matter the cost to feed and grow its trillion-dollar monopoly. 

Six indicted in connection with multi-million dollar scheme to bribe Amazon employees and contractors - The defendants, who include former Amazon staff, paid bribes to at least ten different Amazon employees and contractors. Since at least 2017, the defendants have used bribery and fraud to their benefit, resulting in more than $100 million of competitive benefits, to harm competitors and to harm consumers. In exchange for bribes, corrupted Amazon employees and contractors facilitated attacks against competitors using their inside access to Amazon's network to suspend competitors' accounts and product listings, flood competitor product listings with fictitious negative product reviews designed to hurt sales, more. These self-styled "takedowns" against victim sellers used hateful commentary and other tactics to intimidate victims and drive away customers.

For more information, see:

Six people indicted in Amazon Marketplace bribery scheme to help third-party sellers

Wall Street Journal Finds Amazon Uses Data From Third-Party Sellers to Develop Its Own Products

Amazon Employees Among Those Indicted for Insider Fraud

Author Stanek's blog posts about the dirty tactics used to harm and destroy his book sales at Amazon go back decades. Here are some:

Speaking Out Against Ugliness in the Publishing Industry - Indie authors continue to get a bum rap from traditional publishers and authors. Read about the dirty tricks being used.

Inside Job: Amazon.com Employee Stole Credit Data of 106 Million Amazon.com is rotten to its core. This latest case of "employee gone bad" is yet another example of the widespread patterns of misbehavior, misconduct and mismanagement by Amazon.com employees that have been ongoing for the better part of two decades.

Amazon Reviews: Broken System Between 1 in 3 and 2 in 3 product reviews on Amazon.com are fake. They are bought and paid for. They are written by friends and family. They are swapped and traded on Facebook. They are incentivized from readers.

Amazon Caught in Pay-for-Praise Scheme Involving Hundreds of Employees Last August Amazon began recruiting so-called “fulfillment center ambassadors,” compensating them to generate praise for the company on twitter (and also elsewhere in social media and on Amazon’s websites). Several hundred employees have been enlisted into the highly questionable, unethical (and likely fraudulent) scheme so far.

Amazon Fraud Again: Amazon Employees Caught Creating Fake Ebay Seller Accounts In 2018, at least 50 Amazon employees were caught red handed creating fake accounts on Ebay and accused of multiple federal crimes, including criminal conspiracy, fraud and racketeering. Over a period of years, the Amazon employees had created hundreds—if not thousands—of fake seller accounts to lure sellers away from Ebay’s marketplace.

Amazon's Black Eye Deepens: A Public Sham/e Speaking out about fake reviews has made me the target of the thousands who make their living writing reviews for pay. This continues despite Amazon's public dispute with over 5000 paid reviewers at Fiverr--no few of which were writers, who unable to make a living at writing, made their living writing reviews.

Amazon Still Has a Review Problem. A Solution That Could Actually Resolve It. A visit to Amazon will take you to lots of products with oodles of reviews and the problem is that it's extremely likely most of these reviews are bogus. What percentage? Estimates vary widely, but my research says about 60% or so. Simply mentioning this fact, as I have for many years, makes me a target for those who make their living at this—whether they are merchants selling products or those who make a living by writing product reviews.

Amazon's Blackened Soul To date, there are about a billion reviews at Amazon sites that don’t meet Amazon’s own criteria for acceptability. This represents about 3 out of every 5 reviews. Is it any wonder when Amazon’s own management and executive staff are allowed to break the rules when it suits them to target an author whose book wasn’t as flattering as Amazon hoped it would be. Yes, I’m talking about....

Thanks for reading,

Team Read Indies

Goodnight Robert, Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Stars, Air & Noises Everywhere

After hearing about Robert, I broke down in tears, fits and sobs really, the kind reserved for family because Robert Stanek was like a father to some of us in the writing community, a favorite uncle, Uncle Robert, to others, and a valued mentor to a great, great many. So many writers, hundreds really, owe their start in writing and careers to this guy, and the same is true of thousands who work in Big Tech, on web-based platforms or in web-based businesses. This guy taught them all how to set up those very businesses. This guy who was larger than life. This guy who was so down to earth. This guy who was so humble. This guy who so loved life. This guy who so loved family. This guy who took care of everyone else. This guy who gave and gave and gave over so many decades to so many and never asked for anything in return.

Robert Stanek was always creating resources to help writers. Writer’s Galley, Internet Job Center, Internet Daily News, others, his earliest efforts in the mid ‘90s. Go Indie, Read Indies, Free Today, and others in the mid ‘00s. He taught us all how to use social media, to create blogs, to use Facebook, to use Twitter and beyond. He created and curated memes like #amwriting, #amblogging, #epicfantasy, #kidslit and #teenlit. He led by example.

By 2000, his professionally published books numbered over 100. Those books, published and distributed by the biggest names in publishing—IDG, Simon & Schuster, Random House, Macmillan, Pearson, Microsoft, McGraw Hill, Time Warner—blazed trails. At a time when few understood the world wide web and its technologies, Robert was not only one of the few recognized world leaders in the web and its technologies, he was the recognized world leader in explaining how those technologies worked clearly and concisely.

Robert was a King maker, unmade by the very things he helped establish. He put upstart Amazon on the map by writing about the company to his audience of millions from its earliest days. He transformed Microsoft Press from a publishing company its readers swore published books in a foreign language called Microsoftese into one praised for publishing books in plain language—that plain language approach Robert himself created and that praise itself was for Robert’s books. His words and style were so beloved they eventually became the plain language style of Microsoft itself.

Credit where credit is due one might imagine, but instead as Robert revealed through his varied writings and blogs, he got no credit for any of it. At the end of the day, his work taught tens of millions, enriched the pockets of his publishers, agents and managers, but left Robert and his family with 3 cents on the dollar. Robert’s work was used in $1B-$2B (yes, B-I-L-L-I-O-N $) worth of training courses and other Microsoft and non-Microsoft work for which he never received a single cent. Not one. None. Zero.

In 2000, Robert Stanek founded the modern indie author movement with his breakout self-published books that transformed publishing and the way we publish today. In 2001, Robert became the first indie author to serialize an e-book at Amazon and has since gone on to write more than 150 indie books. In 2002, his Keeper Martin's Tale and Kingdoms & the Elves books were the first indie e-authored books to top Amazon's bestseller lists. In 2005, the same books were the first indie e-audiobooks to top Audible bestseller lists where they dominated for the next three years (#1 fiction for 14 weeks 2005, 167 weeks Top 10 YA 2005-2008). His Kingdoms & the Elves became one of the top grossing e-audiobooks of all time and was featured on the Audible Home Page throughout the Summer of 2005.

We all know what happens to those who are so far ahead of their time that they seem to exist in a world of their own making. Robert had climbed too many mountains, and those standing at the bottoms of those mountains desperately wanted what he had, and so they did whatever it took to take what Robert had created and claim it as their own or destroy it. Read Robert’s heartbreaking posts about the things that happened to him and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. We as a society love to tear down our heroes. We tear them down with lies, with fake news. We puff ourselves up and make ourselves look big, to make those who are larger than life look small.

Sad but true, strange but true, one of Robert Stanek’s favorite sayings was dare to dream and he dared all of us to dream. Not only to dream with him as he conquered the bestseller lists, which he did time after time until he had so many number ones it seemed a thing unreachable in the sky, but to dream our own dream, forge our own paths and to make of our writing and lives whatever beautiful dream we could dream. Robert told me many times that the empty page was friend, not foe, that he never knew a day of writer’s block. He saw the empty page as a challenge, one that he was not afraid to answer, and answer it he did. In his lifetime, over 20 million of his words were published in over 250 books. I know from speaking with Robert that he has half as many words unpublished, words that we all should hope are someday published. Robert had much to say to the world, and his books indeed say much.

Robert challenged us as writers to see the blank page as a friend as well. He dreamed that his books would be his legacy, his way to ensure his family was financially secure. My silence when Robert needed me the most is something I will never forgive myself for. It was shameful. It was disgraceful. It was dishonorable. I hope that Robert can forgive me, forgive all of us, for not doing what we should have when it would have mattered most. I’m sorry, Robert. Please, please forgive me.

To those reading my words, if you want to do one decent thing today, one decent thing this week, read Robert Stanek’s books and tell the world about them. It’s never too late to right a great wrong.

You can learn all about Robert’s Bugville Critters at www.bugvillecritters.com.

You can learn all about Robert’s Magic Lands at www.magiclands.com.

You can learn all about Robert Ruin Mist at www.ruinmistmovie.com.

You can read Robert’s blog at http://robertstanek.blogspot.com/.

You can read about Robert’s Imagined Lands at www.imaginedlands.com.

You can read about Robert’s writing as William Stanek at www.williamrstanek.com.

More about Robert’s writing as Robert Stanek at www.robert-stanek.com.

Any future posts here or elsewhere on Robert’s behalf will be made by the indie writing team. Goodnight Robert, goodnight moon, goodnight stars, air & noises everywhere.

- Cathy Thompson

Memories of the Long Road Home

My accomplishments during my military service earned me 29 commendations, including the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal. When I left the military, I was one of the most highly decorated in the command. 

The base commander and my supervisors loved it when I put on my dress blues and participated in the various parades and celebrations on base, especially Memorial Day and the 4^th of July. I've met royalty. A crowned prince, a princess of a city state, a queen. I've met and dined with presidents, including George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and a few generals, including Colin Powell and H. Norman Schwarzkopf. They've offered their hands to shake, given toasts in my honor for my duty, for the distinguished flying cross pinned to my chest. Captains of industry have offered me the sky and moon for my ideas then robbed me blind, I've been praised for the hundreds of published works I've written over decades, and damned for the same. I've survived the worst of abject poverty, risen to the heights of high society, and fallen to the ugliest of depths. This is life, this is the life of a combat veteran.

With a somber 4th of July just behind us, yet another national-wide lockdown looming ahead of us, it’s a good time to look back and reflect. Much of my childhood is filled with pain, poverty and hunger, as I write about here. I served my country in foreign lands and during several tours of duty in combat zones, including two combat tours in Iraq. I flew on 32 combat missions from the opening days of the war to its end. In that time, there was never a day I didn’t stare death in the face and there was never a day death didn't stare back. AAA, SAMs and more came at us as we flew our missions. 

Because of that service, I will always know that when the darkest of hours arrives I will not hesitate. When asked, I answered. When called, I went. When death stared up from the void, I did not fear. I gave because it was my duty and because I felt it was the right thing to do.

I wrote about some of my experiences in my military memoir, Stormjammers: The Extraordinary Story of Electronic Warfare Operations in the Gulf War, which was featured in a full-page review in the Journal of Electronic Defense and on NPR. Originally released in 2006, the book was re-released in 2016 for the 25th anniversary of the war as Air War: The Incredible True Story of the Combat Flyers.

Though a memoir, the book is largely a tribute to the men and woman I served with. It's written to be light, not as dark as the terrors that surrounded us or the terrors that stared up at us from the void. I suppose I could have focused on the death and the dying, the terror and the mayhem, but I was more interested in telling the story of the day to day, the story of the lives the war affected.

I did this because the younger me, the young man who was, was filled with light and hope even though the traumas I endured rock me to my core. The older, more jaded me, probably would have written a much darker account, an account that delved into the many we lost due to mental break down, the many who went home broken even before the battles ended. The older me, probably would have named names of those who refused to go or to fly, would have recounted affairs, would have told you more about the little red pills--speed--they gave those of us who were left to keep going as our numbers dwindled and dwindled. That me, however, was not the me who wrote the book or recorded the memories in the journals that were the basis of the book.

If you read my memoir and I hope you do, I hope the book opens a window for you as big as the original experiences did for me. After combat, the world never seemed quite the same. The return to normalcy was a strange experience, never quite accomplished. I don’t, in fact, think I ever slowed down or ever quite touched the earth after those experiences. For it was afterward that everything in this world changed—that everything in this world became so clear. And afterward that I set my sights on the future and never looked back.

While you're reading this, I’d like to introduce you to the Distinguished Cross National Memorial Act and the related National Memorial at March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California. As a combat veteran and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, I had never before heard of the act or the memorial until 2018 and so I thought if I hadn’t heard of it many others might not have heard of it before either. I don’t really keep up with what’s happening with such things as it’s all really painful for me in truth. But something to think about this 4th.

Here's the background on the act: The Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial Act was introduced on January 22, 2013 by Rep. Ken Calvert (R, CA-42). It was referred to the United States House Committee on Natural Resources and the United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. It was reported by the Committee alongside House Report 113-79 on May 17, 2013. On October 25, 2013, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced that H.R. 330 would be on the House schedule for the week of October 28, 2013. The bill was considered under the suspension of the rules. On October 29, 2013, the House voted to passed the bill by a voice vote. The United States Senate voted on July 9, 2014 to pass the bill with unanimous consent. On July 25, 2014, President Barack Obama signed the bill into law. You can learn more about the memorial at the website for the memorial.

A story that’s not in my military memoir but perhaps should be in my next is about the dangers soldiers face not in the field of combat but in the bases where they are housed and should be safe. My wife’s second miscarriage was a clue that something was terribly wrong. I thought it was the stress of being a combat flyer’s wife, constant deployments, or the subsequent ever-changing schedule when I worked inside the secretive underground facility known as the Tunnel. I never imagined that it was due to the air we breathed, the water we drank or the soil beneath our feet, but it likely was as lead from lead-based paints had leached into the soil we used for gardening and other toxic substances were throughout our base housing and the places we worked.

No one tells you when you join the military you’re risking not just your life but your health—and that of your family and even your unborn children. As Newsweek said in its July 25, 2014 cover story, the US Military is supposed to protect the country’s citizens and soldiers and not poison them.

Throughout the United States, there are 141 military bases and related Department of Defense facilities on the Environmental Protection Agency’s superfund list and the National Priorities List for cleanup—and that list of 141 isn’t all inclusive by any means. It is simply a list of the worst of the worst, bases and facilities with toxic contamination so bad that the EPA has assigned them its highest priority for cleanup due to unacceptable risks to human health.

Many of the worst facilities are closed or closing. However, it’s not like the toxins in the soil and ground water are going to stay where they are. They’re going to continue to pollute and contaminate adjacent facilities until they are cleaned up once and for all. What’s waiting beyond the 141 highly toxic bases and facilities? Well, the Department of Defense has identified 39,000 contaminated locations so far, from areas as small as a building to as large as an airfield, and those locations are spread across many of the 4,127 DOD installations located in the United States.

As a soldier who was deployed overseas for many years, I was stationed at Department of Defense facilities all over the world and I can’t help but wonder what toxic nightmare is lurking at the thousands of Department of Defense facilities that are located outside the United States. What I suspect is that there are likely as many contaminated locations and highly toxic sites at Department of Defense facilities located outside the US as there are inside the US.

All those years ago, I didn’t know about these issues or that toxins were possibly changing my life and my family, but I guessed there was something going on beyond stress. I started asking questions, and a healthcare worker who treated my wife suggested I look at environmental factors in our home and workplaces.

In our pre-World War II base housing, lead paint often was prevalent and possibly other toxic substances. We dug up the garden which was alongside the house, stopped drinking the tap water, and made other changes. With these changes, our overall health seemed to improve. Months later, my wife got pregnant again and this time, she carried the pregnancy well and my son, Will, was born.

Will arrived a few weeks early, but healthy. For us, it was a new beginning and a hope for the future of our family.

Thanks for reading,

Robert Stanek