Waubonsee Humanities Faculty Member Publishes Novel

Waubonsee Community College Humanities Instructor, Aaron J. Lawler published his debut novel past fall. With undiminshed support, the school published a press release concerning the debut: "Aaron Lawler, Humanities Instructor at Waubonsee Community College, recently published his debut novel, The Marvelous Paracosm of Fitz Faraday and the Shapers of the Id through independent publishing house Black Rose Publishing.

A sci-fi/fantasy novel, the story is described on the Black Rose website: “Fitz Faraday, his best friend Hollis, who comes from the wrong-side-of-the-tracks, and his hoped-to-be-girlfriend Josey, the new girl in town, are taken through harrowing events and thrilling misadventures, as they learn about life, love, death, the inner workings of the psyche, and the flimsiness of reality. After witnessing the murder of Professor Oliver Crowley, who has invented a way of bringing thoughts into physical reality, Fitz and his friends must exonerate the town bully, who is being framed for the murder.”

Lawler has been an educator for 15 years, teaching at the elementary, secondary and college level. He has been teaching at Waubonsee since 2012.

Lawler holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from North Central College. He earned a second master’s degree from Concordia University in curriculum and instruction with a focus on eLearning and technology. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in educational leadership at Concordia."

The original release can be found on Waubonsee's website. Lawler also wrote a reflection piece concerning the process of writing the novel, the involved task of editing, and the journey to publishing. An excerpt from the LinkedIn article: "What I Learned... If I sell only two copies (I am certain my wife and mother will each buy one!) then it will still have been worth it. I told a story that was a fantastic voyage inspired by the films and novels of my youth. I got to spend countless hours playing in a world of my own imagination - something I have not been allowed to do since I was nine or ten. And I proved that I could do it.

My recommendation is that everyone try this. Everyone should try a labor of love and then put it out there. Its frightening and certainly full of rejection, but the rewards are immeasurable. The failures are treasures that allow you to see the deepest parts of you.

Even writing this article has been difficult. The idea of self-promoting a novel, that a hack like me has written, leaves my stomach in knots. I was not trained in this, I did not earn an MFA in Creative Writing. And now I am faced with selling this book. I have sold myself, my talents, and my skills dozens of times in my life. The number of roles I have held over the years have taught me that you need to celebrate your gifts.
But to share this - this piece of me that is vulnerable and unready for the world - that is perhaps the greatest challenge of all.

I challenge you to do the same."