Master sergeant becomes a published author

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii -- As if a 19-year Air Force career wasn’t enough, a Hickam master sergeant is meeting the challenges of becoming a published author.

The novel "A Different Breed of Brother" was written by N. S. Stephens, otherwise known as Master Sgt. Nathan Stephens from the 692nd Information Operations Group. Currently, however, he is working in the 352nd Information Operations Squadron.

Stephens describes his novel as the story of four promiscuous men who are abusive to women. As the storyline unfolds, something happens to each one to make them see the error of their ways.

"The story is told from man’s point of view," Stephens said. "In fact, most women have told me they almost couldn’t get through the first half of the book. But in the end, each character gets what’s coming to them. It’s definitely not predictable."

Stephens said he first decided to write the book when he realized he had never heard a story like that told from the male’s point of view. Two-and-a-half years later, his book was finished and ready to be published.

"Most people don’t realize what they can do while they’re still in the Air Force," he said. "It’s not like a starting artist. I already have a steady secure career.

"The Air Force is what got me into writing through the Professional Military Education," Stephens said. "I always thought I was kind of a crappy writer. But learning to write performance reviews and award packages really shapes your writing. Also, editing works wonders."

He said being in the Air Force really benefited him when it came time to write this book.

"The biggest benefit of being in the Air Force is the people you meet," he said. "You meet people from everywhere and have a lot of friends overseas. That’s great when it comes time to publicize your book. I had a lot of help just through word of mouth."

Stephens’ book, which was self-published, was recently added to the Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com databases.

He said he’d like to help aspiring writers get their books in distribution without falling on their faces.

"There are a lot of hurdles in getting a book in distribution," he said. "The book came out in March 2000 and it took eight months just to get it in distribution. The most important thing is getting it an ISBN number and getting it in the databases. It took me a little over a year just to get through that process. There’s a lot of things to learn as you go through the steps."

Another Air Force perk that helped Stephens is annual leave.

"I was able to take leave to do book signings on the east coast, which was great," he said. "My supervisor was very supportive and let me go when he could. The only difficult thing was arranging and scheduling the time to publicize, but my publisher is very understanding."

Stephens recently held a book signing in the Kahala Mall which allowed him to meet a lot of aspiring writers.

"I was surprised by how many military people have the dream of writing but they think they have to wait until they get out of the Air Force to begin," Stephens said. "There’s a lot of avenues to get your book published. I always tell them, ‘the first thing you’ve got to do is write.’"

Stephens arrived to Hickam in February and will celebrate his one-year wedding anniversary with his wife Tonya in December.

Stephens said he has a couple other books in the works and has completed a screenplay titled "A Different Breed of Brother." (Courtesy of Pacific Air Forces News Service)