Writers such as Hans Christian
Anderson, James Joyce, Lewis Carrol,
and William Butler Yeats, artists
Michelangelo and Andy Warhol,
classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart, sculpture, painter, and
architect Michelangelo, and inventors
Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla are all
on the list of those suspected to have
been on the autism spectrum. (Note:
Autism Spectrum Disorder covers a
wide range of developmental disorders).
“I was talking with a friend at work
one day who graduated high school
with me,” said Stacy, “and he said, ‘You
never talked this much the whole 12
years we were in school together. What
was that about?’” Stacy laughed. “It was
about autism.”
When Stacy finally returned to
the manuscript he’d tucked away
all those many years ago, he found
the landscape of publishing to be
more complicated than ever. “It’s still
going through change. I think it will
eventually become a hybrid where you
still have traditional publishers, but
more and more writers are choosing to
self-publish,” which is precisely what
he decided to do. In 2016, he put his
artistic talent to use and illustrated
his own book covers for his novel
now divided into a trilogy he named
56 Toombs County Magazine
“The Grace Finder Saga.” (The books
are available on Amazon, Nook Press
available through Barnes and Noble,
iTunes, and Kobo, Inc.)
In addition to the Grace Finder
Saga Trilogy, Stacy has published
a collection of short stories called
Transdimensional Detours, and
illustrated and written a few comic
books especially for kids and available
at kidfriendlycomics.com. “My goal was
to create comics that inspire creativity,
engage the imagination, and of cours,
are fun,” said Stacy.
After the grandchildren left our
house that night and the house was
again quiet except for my husband’s
snores and Dolly’s occasional
repositioning at the foot of the bed
(Dolly being my very spoiled German
Shepherd), I laid down to finish reading
Stacy’s book, Remnant. When I turned
off my computer at 1:00 a.m., I strongly
considered sending him a curt email to
say, “Leaving the reader on the edge of
a precipice at 1:00 a.m. is nothing short
of torture!”
Early the next morning, I grabbed
a very large cup of coffee and headed
to Stacy’s Facebook page. The day
before, I’d found book two in the trilogy
entitled Reprobate, available for free
for those who joined his reader’s group.
In addition to books and short stories,
Stacy has also written, illustrated and
published several children’s comics,
which are available at
www.kidfriendlycomics.com.
After it was downloaded, I reluctantly
closed my computer. I had a busy day
ahead of me; the book would have to
wait. I was certain it would be another
late night of reading. Thoughts of the
Nephilim (a reason to reread Genesis 6)
and giant behemoths ran through my
mind throughout the day. Stacy’s story
had made me think about Noah’s world
in a new way. Perhaps this science
fictionalized version of Noah’s story
wasn’t quite as far-fetched as some
might think.
Like any art, storytelling relies on
a creative process. If creativity was a
river, the imagination would be the
current that allowed that river to flow.
As a storyteller, Stacy perceives autism
as a gift that has helped him see the
story with the eyes of his imagination.
Hans Asperger, the namesake of
Asperger’s Syndrome, said, “It seems
that for success in science or art a dash
of autism is essential.” Whether it is
essential for Stacy’s writing or not, I can
say one thing for certain: I will never be
able to read through those four chapters
in Genesis and remain unmoved by
what is said and not said ever again.
And that, I believe, is what makes Stacy
Worth a great writer. TCM