I have a tough time talking about myself, so below is my official biography from Amazon.
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Stan R. Mitchell writes action-packed thrillers, which readers have compared to the works of Vince Flynn, Lee Child, and Stephen Hunter. He’s the author of “Sold Out,” “Soldier On,” and “Little Man, and the Dixon County War.”
Mitchell grew up 
in the South, in the mountains of East Tennessee. He learned to hunt and shoot at a young age and joined the Marine Corps after high school, insisting his recruiter guarantee him in writing an infantry billet.
During his time in the Marine Corps, Mitchell served as a rifleman and earned a Combat Action Ribbon when his platoon took part in hostilities in Albania in 1997 (Operation Silver Wake). He was honorably discharged as a Sergeant after four years of service.
Mitchell entered college after the Marines, attending the University of Tennessee. Ambitious as always, he carried a heavy workload each semester and refused to take the summers off, instead going year-round and working close to 30 hours a week. He also launched a furniture assembly business on the side with a friend, and as fate would have it, this bout of entrepreneurship would not be his last.
Following graduation from UT with a journalism degree, Mitchell worked as a reporter at several newspapers and refined his style of writing. But he would eventually feel the tug of entrepreneurship again, so he launched his own weekly newspaper at the age of 27.
With just $20,000, Mitchell founded The Oak Ridge Observer in 2004. He would go on to call that decision something even crazier than entering Marine Corps boot camp at the age of 17. Despite a divorce, a near bankruptcy, and a bout practically homeless living in a friend’s basement rent-free, Mitchell’s newspaper managed to survive its early years and continues to grow more than eight years later. (He gives great credit to God, friends, family members, investors, and community supporters for the paper not failing during its many, many challenges in the early years; he also cites his own ignorance and youthful enthusiasm for the paper’s survival, stating these days that he wouldn’t attempt a similar feat with less than $250,000.)
Mitchell lives in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and when he’s not working at his newspaper with his wife Danah, he’s usually either writing, working out, or practicing Shaolin Kung Fu.
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Okay, enough with the formal bio from Amazon, now back to me, writing in first person, keeping it real, as always. Besides writing fiction, I’m also a nut when it comes to blogging. Besides all my fiction writing and the writing I do at The Oak Ridge Observer, I also maintain a second blog besides this one: Marine Watch: A blog on American foreign policy.
Additionally, if you want to know more about me, here’s a recent (almost uncomfortable) interview: Story link.
Let’s see… What else… Oh, here’s how high my fame has already taken me! I have groupies!!! : )
Finally, if you’re wondering if I can write worth a damn, here’s a free short story, only four pages long.
A young man, a tough bar, and a crazy chick.
What could possibly go wrong?
When I’m not working at The Oak Ridge Observer, which I started when I was 27 and too stupid to know what could or couldn’t be done, I’m usually writing, pumping iron, or practicing martial arts — mostly Shaolin Kung Fu, with a healthy dose of Tae Kwon Do and Muay Thai. (Yeah, most of you won’t even know what that stuff is, but some of you will.)
Believe me, I’m not even going to front… I wholeheartedly own up to having small man’s syndrome and being too ambitious for my own good. But, please, feel free to send me a line and get to know me! I’m not a big shot. Yet. And I’m not crazy. I swear. (Insert twisted grin here.)
Also, you can find me on facebook and twitter. (More formal bio here.) Contact me by e-mail at the following address. Also, if you’ve read this far, then you’ll probably enjoy these posts:
- My first blog post ever: “You really want to follow me.”
- My thoughts on dreaming and giving up on those dreams.
- Finally, on the right you’ll see all kinds of “Categories.” Click on any of them and you’ll see all posts related to that topic. I highly recommend hitting this one: Motivation. If you’re not motivated by the time you finish a few on that list, then there’s no hope for you! : ) Also, I’ve got some great posts on Eastern philosophy, and the concept of slowing down and living in the moment.
One hidden gem for this page, for the patient ones who read down this far. This link is about a book I believe to be worth $10,000. So, please accept the greatest gift I can give.
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Attention Publishers & Agents
If you’re an agent or book publisher, here’s more detailed info about me. I’ve been
writing novels since I was 9 or 10, which means for the past nearly 25 years I’ve written a ton of words, most of which sucked. You know that. I know that.
But in the last ten years, I’ve taken my writing to the next level. I honed my skills at UT, earned a journalism degree, and typed thousands of words under excruciating stress for several newspapers.
Just as importantly, I served four years in the Marine Corps and earned a Combat Action Ribbon along with my platoon. (We raced into the capitol city of Albania and evacuated 
nearly a thousand people from that shithole and all the idiots running around with guns. Operation Silver Wake.)
So… In summary, I know when a sentence don’t work — umm, I’m thinking this one doesn’t — and I know guns and guys, my primary target audience. And since I’m selling myself, I guess you could say I know how to market, having sold (or supervised the selling of) well over a million dollars in advertising in a business I founded at the age of 27.
I’m also a nut when it comes to blogging. I maintain a second blog besides this one: Marine Watch: A blog on American foreign policy.
Hooo Rah!!!!! Cool to know (kinda) intelligent “CorP”(how “o”bama literally says it!) Got to get back with you on some marketing!
….and sooooo I am NOT a journalist because what I meant to say is ”
I kinda KNOW you, (vs) NOT your kind of Intelligent”….haha! I think it’s brilliant you started a newspaper! btw…I served 10 yrs in Illinois National Guard, SGT. I got out when troops were going to Bosnia ~
…so I was a wimpy E5 and you were a brave one!
Hey Trish!
Not sure when you got out — Bosnia lasted a LONG time — but me and my boys sat off the coast of Bosnia for nearly 45 days and then we went into Albania when it went batshit crazy. That was in 97, I think…
Hi Stan,
I enjoyed reading this, really inspiring (and amusing at times!)
Prisca
Thanks, Prisca, for the kind words! And thanks for tracking me down!
I see you are a performer, but there’s some weird language on your website. Where are you located? Are you in China or nearby?
Came over from your link on Maj. Pains blog. I was in 1/8, from ’80 to ’83. Was too short to go to the “Root, but lost a lot of brothers over there. Going to check out your books on my Kindle, looking forward to it. Semper Fi, Devil Dog.
Mike P, thanks for stopping by. Out of curiosity, back in the 80s, did the enlisted call Alpha Company “Alphatraz” behind the SNCO’s and Officers’ backs? Alpha Company is where I served my entire four years.
And I’ll bet you’ve really felt conflicted about not heading over to Beirut. On the one hand, we all want to run to the “sound of the guns.” On the other, the Rules of Engagement they had to follow and the impossible situation they were forced to deal with probably gives you pause — not to mention the terrible bombing that happened.
And thanks for checking out my books. I can guarantee you that I write fast and hard, and I’ll bet that as a former trigger puller you’ll like them a lot.
Don’t remember that term being used. I was radio operator in Comm Plt, H&S Co., but spent alot of time with the line companies. Did my first Med Float with Alpha Co. The CO was a mustang by the name of Capt. Tracy. He had been an enlisted man in ‘Nam, got out, went to school and came back. Hard as nails, but fair. I saw him tell a CH-46 crew that they were not going to practice “combat resupply” in our LZ because it broke the crackers in the C-Rats. I was too short to go to Lebanon, will never forget the conversation that I had with Ron Shallo, from Hudson NY. We had gone to P.I., and Comm School, we spent our whole time in the Corps together. He told me, “Come on Mike, extend with me. We’ll go over there, do our time and come back with some ribbons and stories to tell our grandkids”. The attack happened on Sunday, Oct. 23, 1983. Four years to the day that we had graduated Boot Camp. He didn’t make it. I had the opportunity to meet his parents at the dedication of the memorial in J-Ville, gave them some pictures that I had of their son. And as far as the stories for the grand-kids, I have three with two more on the way. And when they get old enough to understand, they will hear the stories of Ron Shallo. And Mike Fulton, Eric Washington and all of the others that were lost. Semper Fi, Brother.
Wow. What a powerful, moving story. I don’t even know what to say, or how I’d feel. I’d probably feel guilty and wished I had gone, which is of course insane by reasonable standards, but we Marines aren’t reasonable. We like to think that if we had been there, we could have done something — anything — to have prevented such a tragedy.
We definitely must do all we can to not forget those who sacrificed it all. I know for some, this post is over the top. http://stanrmitchell.com/2012/03/01/act-of-valor-a-movie-review-turns-into-a-full-blown-rant/
But I wrote it from the heart, and I try not to forget my fellow Marine. He was a damn good man, and I still get angry and emotional even thinking about it.
I’m goign to stop typing. I’m getting angry at the injustice of it all just thinking about it…
Wow. That’s what I like to hear, someone saying what needs to be said. Too little of that goes on in our country anymore. Out of the guys that did come back from Beirut, whole or not, I have kept in touch with one. My brother, Joe M. Rode the fucking roof down. Got sent up, as a 2531, Field radio Operator, to call in a med-evac. Our Comm O, Lt. Joe Boccia, who was posthumously promoted to Capt., came up and told Joe, and another Comm. Plt. Marine, Bob C., “Why don’t you just spend the night up here, it’s hot as hell in the building”, the BIA admin building. They did. Probably saved their lives, all the guys in the room they were sleeping in died. Joe has shouldered a load, for a long time. Still does. I’ve tried to do what any Marine would do. Help him, because he has sure helped me. I’m a big Springsteen fan, my brothers and I have went to a lot of shows over the years. Went to a concert in Greensboro, NC, close to where I am permanently stationed. Get talking to a guy, I mentioned that I had seen my first show in Greensboro, back in ’81. Had just got back from a Med-Float. He asks me if I was in when the shit went down in Lebanon. I say yes. He starts talking about a teacher that was at his high school, whose son was killed in Beirut. It’s Lt. Boccia’s father, the teacher. Holy shit moment. That is what I carry. Memories. Regret? Yes, maybe so. But we cannot question what God has in store for us. Took me a long time to figure that out. Anyway, thanks for letting me tell you about my experiences in the Corps. It’s our duty to never forget. Semper Fi. And if you haven’t read Eric Hammel’s. “The Root”, get it. Or let me know, I’ll lend you my copy.
What another incredible story. You know, you ought to at least get a free blog and put some of this stuff up. Just another way to inform a few people in the coming years. Most don’t even remember Beirut, which is really sad. Besides the loss, the ineptitude of both the civilians in charge of the military and the officers who didn’t stand up to the civilians is a lesson our country must never forget.
Before we went into Albania, our Squad Leader — who was a by-the-book panzy who’d spent two years in Security Forces and knew nothing about the infantry — ordered all the Marines in his squad to not return fire under any conditions unless he approved the action. I challenged him, told him that was an unlawful order, and went against the Rules of Engagement.
The piece of shit screamed at me and wanted to charge me. He relieved me of command as a fire team leader and gave me a Page 11. Thankfully, the guy below me who became fire team leader said he refused to be in charge and that I was still in command regardless of what our squad leader said.
Still, I’m more proud of that Page 11 than just about anything. (And of the fact I later overcame it to earn Marine of the Quarter for the entire 2nd Marine Division, and earned Sergeant prior to my discharge even though some of the worthless lifers tried to make up some false charges on me.)
You think before you ever join that all Marines are stellar and courageous, and it’s a tough fact to learn many are just worried about their career and getting their next promotion.
Still, I met some of the finest men this country produced during that time, and I won’t allow a few bad incidents (or men who should have never joined the Corps) to mar my experience. And I’m just glad I had the example of warriors above me who I’d seen risk their careers by defying stupid or illegal commands.
Oh, and I’ve read that book. Read it many years ago, and got so mad that I couldn’t see straight.
Marines on low ground. Marines with weapons without rounds in the chambers. Argh. How could this be?! How could anyone — civilian or officer — allow that to happen?
I’ll never forget before we went into Albania, our Lt, who was a good man, warned us to be careful if we had to return fire since we were in the capitol city and there were tons of civilians. He ends his speech and our Platoon Sergeant stands up — we thought he’d never seen combat, he’d never mentioned it — and he says, “Gents, I was in Desert Storm in Weapons Company and led a group of men. I brought them all back safe, and I’m going to bring all you back safe, too. Just be alert, watch out for your buddies, and if you see something that’s a threat, put your weapon on burst and take care of. They can court martial me after the mission because I’m telling you to do it.”
I thought our Lt would die since he’d told us to fire on single shot, and only shoot once. I honestly thought he might scream or try to charge our SSGT with insubordination, but our SSGT was this huge guy who’d been a drill instructor and he turned and met the Lt’s angry look and literally backed him down with his eyes.
I dedicated both my first and second books to that SSGT, who got out a Sgt Major I heard. He literally risked his career time after time for us — usually protecting us — but sometimes defying orders and literally beating those of us who needed it. (He didn’t like paperwork and knew that it ruined careers.)
He was one of the greatest men I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing or certainly serving under/with.
Hi Stan,
I nominated you for the Liebster Blogger Award. Not sure what to make of it since it’s my first time dealing with one of these and feel free to ignore if you don’t care about them.
Thanks, man! I’ll check it out and probably post it tomorrow. Hope you’re enjoying the books!
Hey Stan. About 80 pages in to “Little Man and the Dixon County War”, so it’s just starting to heat up. Very action packed so far! Don’t mess with Little Man.
Glad you’re enjoying it. And if you don’t mind, before you read “Sold Out,” download the latest version from Smashwords. Had an alert reader catch an inconsistency that I felt needed to be fixed. Thanks!
Will do! I should finish Little Man today and have a review up on Amazon. I’ve really been sucked in during the last half and had a hard time putting it down last night.
That makes my day. I had a friend who read it and I asked him for completely honest feedback and his number one complaint was the short chapters. And he said, “Why do you write them that way?”
And I told him Robert B. Parker wrote that way, and how often as I was reading before bed, I’d notice the next chapter only had two or three more pages. I’d, of course, go ahead and read them.
He laughed — and knowing neither Parker nor the intricacies of various writing styles — and said, “You know, that happened to me with your book.”
So, when I get to the great hunting grounds with Parker, I’m buying him a cold one. Or three.
That’s hilarious. I’ve never read any of Parker’s books, but it seems he was on to something there.
BTW, I just put up a review on Amazon and Smashwords earlier today. I’ll be starting Sold Out tonight. Looking forward to reading it!
If you haven’t read Parker, then you’re missing out.
And thanks so much for that incredible review! That means a lot — and even going to the trouble to post it multiple places. (Don’t forget tonight to get the latest copy of Sold Out.)
Thanks!
Good hunting.
Hey Tim,
Somehow I overlooked this comment when you made it. Anyway, thanks for the comment and I’m glad our paths crossed. Look forward to watching your career as you go forward, and helping as I can.
Yours,
Stan
I nominated you for The Next Big Thing blog hop so you can post about your work in progress.
Thanks, Emma. That’s very kind. I’ll work on getting those answers up. : )
Hey Stan, thanks for following my blog. Now I’m following yours too! And it’s good to see so many Bob Lee Swagger books on your favorites list. (Point of Impact is still my personal favorite, though the movie didn’t do it justice.)
Holy freakin’ dog crap in Heaven! C.T., are you serious?!
Have I really found a fellow lover of Bob Lee Swagger? Or, are you some NSA/CIA profiler who just knows how to get me going?
And I totally, completely agree about the movie. What a stupid, completely off-course dud! Who in their right mind — or wrong mind — would take such a work of art in every respect of the word (in the book), and then think they had some kind of sheer genius powers and could get by with modernizing it, changing dozens of great things, and insulting and mocking such an outstanding masterpiece. Obviously, I’m rambling and spitting and pacing about because Point of Impact is one of my favorite books and if I ever got the man that disrespected it and destroyed it into a room (with me alone, and no witnesses), I’m beat the hell out of him from one end of it to the other.
And I wouldn’t stop thumping on him until he said Stephen Hunter was a god and Bob Lee Swagger was his Daddy.
Amen to that brother! Bob the Nailer for president. Antoine Fuqua directed the movie, and I’m guessing it got seriously watered down and wussified by the producers (at least I hope), as Fuqua has done some decent movies aside from that one (“Tears of the Sun” with Bruce Willis, while not perfect, was pretty good. And it portrayed the U.S. military in a good light, which is rare for Hollywood. But I’m sure you already know that.)
But no one can do Bob Lee Swagger justice. In him, you actually have a manly hero who’s tough and gritty, but who has a good moral core. None of this postmodern, mamby-pamby Matt Damon-infused whininess about him. I remember reading Point of Impact years ago, as a teenager, and I was blown away. After that, whenever my dad and I went to the shooting range, we’d talk fondly about ol’ Bob the Nailer. Frankly, we talked about Bob quite a bit, range or not!
So yep, I’m a fan. I just read “I, Sniper,” which wasn’t one of the best Swagger books, but it kept my attention. Lots of cool action in that one.
Amen on every thing you just said. To my knowledge, I’ve read every one of Hunter’s books, and I’ve read “Point of Impact,” “Time to Hunt,” and “Pale Horse Coming” multiple times.
Point of Impact I’ve read close to ten times, and it’s a huge influence on my writing. (Combined mostly with Robert B Parker, who I respectfully believes handles dialogue as well as about any author I know.)
And my book “Sold Out,” which I spent twelve years writing, parallels “Point of Impact” and Bob Lee Swagger in so many ways that it almost makes me nervous. (Not the plot, but sort of the theme and character.)
But I tell myself that there are many Bob Lee Swaggers out there — hard asses that live in the South and Mid-West — and that maybe one of these days Stephen Hunter will come across the book. And if he enjoys “Sold Out” even 1/10th as much as I’ve enjoyed his books, then I’ll be able to say I’ve returned the favor.
You’re right about Robert Parker. He writes dialogue better than most, almost like Elmore Leonard. It even comes through in the TV movies with Tom Selleck.
And I’m with you in hoping that there are plenty of Swaggers out there living the tough guy life. Sadly, there probably aren’t too many up here where I am in NY. Still, here’s to hoping.
Yeah, Elmore Leonard is great at dialogue, too, but I struggle to enjoy his books.
I prefer a book to have more of a main character, and he takes the Stephen King adage of “treat even minor characters as if they’re the main character” too far, for my tastes.
But he has mad skills for sure, and I’m about the only person I’ve found who doesn’t enjoy each and every one of his works.
No, you have a point about Elmore Leonard. He’s good, but he’s an acquired taste.
Are you a big fan of his?
And who else do you really like? (I figure if I haven’t come across them — since we seem to be on the same page — that it could lead to me finding a new favorite author to follow.)
Lots of different authors. I grew up on Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, and Larry Bond, and I like Stephen Hunter. Andrew Klavan is good too (though he’s more of a straight crime author–but another very good dialogue guy, as he’s a screenwriter too). But I’m reading a Dean Koontz novel right now (it’s been a while since I’ve done that), and I’ve gotten into Cormac McCarthy (though he can get pretty thick). With my lit major roots, I read some literary stuff from time to time, but honestly, I read a lot of non-fiction too.
Sounds like we’re mostly on the same page, though I struggle a bit with Ludlum. His plots are usually above my head. And funny thing about Koontz is I recently told myself I needed to read that book — I think “Intensity” — that helped him break out big.
I remember it was a page turner, as I recall. And Literature, I don’t enjoy much of that. A couple exceptions being “The Grapes of Wrath,” “East of Eden,” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”
Haven’t read Ludlum for a while, but I read a lot when I was a teenager (his Bourne books are better than the movies, I’d say).
Much of the more literary books are, in my thinking, dryer than toast, but every once in a while I’ll find a good one.
Hah! Dryer than toast. That’s hilarious.
Funny thing is that I once swore to myself that I’d get through “War and Peace.” So I buy the unabridged version and give it a whirl. Make it like a hundred pages, and even that was mostly hell.
Not one to give up, I realize my problem was the characters were too confusing. So I regroup and six months later try again.
I get like 250 pages in and have — no shit — like 20+ notecards on all the characters. There were some amazing scenes, and the man can write, but I finally just gave up. It was too much work keeping the characters straight, since most of them share the same name.
Funny thing is I’m once sharing this story with the English major, wannabe writer, and I say, “Ya know, if they would just make the names simpler and less confusing — maybe even less Russian — I think more folks would get into it.”
And this complete asshole rips me a new one — in front of lots of people, of course. He literally explains that when he was five, simple books suited his needs, but as he has grown older, some books require more maturity.
So, he basically insulted my intelligence and compared me to a five year old.
Not cool. There are too many of those condescending lit major douches out there (trust me, I knew plenty in college). But I hear you on Tolstoy. He was brilliant, but I just can’t get into his stuff.
My experience with those hyper-intellectual condescending types is that they talk a good game, but there really isn’t much there. It’s only that: They talk a good game. What else is there for them? Putting people down who struggle with Tolstoy? Honestly, I’m far more impressed with people who can appreciate both literature and “Die Hard.” Now there’s a well-rounded person for you!
I’m glad to hear you say that. I started as an English Major, but just couldn’t handle it. I even struggle to find writers I click with.
Some are sophisticated and stuck up, and some are more my type but can’t write their way out of a wet paper bag. And, of course, I can’t be totally honest with them because then I’ll sound sophisticated and stuck up. : )
I know what you mean. Well, I guess that’s part of this whole writing life, you know? We write our brains out, try to connect with like-minded people, and try to offer constructive criticism while not coming across as the stuck up type.
We learn as we go, I suppose. And we try to stay honest and humble as well. We’ll be fine!
Agreed. It’s been really good chatting with you. Look forward to following your blog, getting to know you better, and sampling your work in the near future.
Right back atcha Stan. I look forward to your posts as well. Stop by any time buddy!
Okay, I did it again. I nominated you for an award! Check out my blog for the details.
I saw that, Emma. Thanks!
Any time!
Hey Emma,
I tried to do this the other night, but didn’t get far. I just struggle talking about myself, so I think I’m running from this one. : )