Franks and Stamatis Explore Values in Their Novel

For most people, the difference between right and wrong is something learned in childhood, usually through parental observation. The Taming of the Loon: Explore the Blurred Line Between Right and Wrong by Paul Franks and Stephen B. Stamatis is a novel written during a pandemic lockdown that explores values ​​in American culture, using the loon as a symbol for the people who have opposing forces of good and evil at war within them. Old friends from suburban Chicago, Franks and Stamatis search for traditional values ​​through their narrative as their characters struggle in today’s “all is well” culture.

The book’s press release mentions a Native American story in which a grandfather tells his grandson about two wolves, one representing good, positive vibes, and the other representing evil, negative vibes, fighting inside him. When the grandchild asks which one will win, the grandpa replies, “The one you feed,” emphasizing the importance of recognizing feelings and choosing to “feed” values ​​that also matter to us and make choices based on those positive values.

“We’ve combined current events as the characters grapple with moral dilemmas—legal decisions, a contamination cover-up, corporate fraud, pharmaceutical data manipulation, a planned terrorist attack—to show how intentional wrongdoing is condoned, justified, and accepted as normal,” Franks said of…