Slade: The Fine Line Between Self-Help and Cults

Written by Robb Grindstaff

Narrated by Timothy G. Little

An unlikely celebrity with a self-help book becomes a reluctant spiritual guru to the Hollywood elite, spawning a cult he wants nothing to do with.

• GOLD MEDAL: Reader Views: Reader's Choice Awards – 2023 - All Fiction (Chosen from 23 Category Winners)
• GOLD MEDAL: Feathered Quill Book Awards – 2023 – Adult Fiction
• WINNER: Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, Fall 2022 – Best Literary Fiction

A car crash thirty years earlier left Slade Bennington severely disabled but with a new outlook on life. His book about overcoming trauma becomes a bestseller and a box office hit movie. Slade strikes up an unusual friendship with Schuyler, the six-foot-tall teenage actress who portrays his sister in the movie. She encourages him to continue writing, and his pithy musings about life spur a nationwide following of devotees who study his books like Holy Scriptures.

Slade becomes a counselor to the celebrity in-crowd—the Shaman to the Stars. While thousands adore Slade, others call him a Svengali or Rasputin-like character who controls and manipulates his clients.

One disillusioned fan spends years plotting revenge.

EVOLVED PUBLISHING PRESENTS an offbeat literary/satire novel that unfolds in a series of interviews with the main character and those who know him best, plus snippets from Slade’s books and news reports. The unconventional structure, dark humor, and cast of quirky characters will appeal to readers of Chuck Palahniuk and John Irving. Brought to you by the author of such award-winning greats as Hannah’s Voice, Carry Me Away, and Turning Trixie.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evolved Publishing LLC
• Release date: Aug 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822641518

Robb Grindstaff

In addition to a career as a newspaper editor, publisher, and manager, Robb Grindstaff has written fiction most of his life. The newspaper biz has taken him and his family from Phoenix, Arizona, to small towns in North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin, from seven years in Washington, D.C., to five years in Asia. Born and raised a small-town kid, he’s as comfortable in Tokyo or Tuna, Texas. The variety of places he’s lived and visited serve as settings for the characters who invade his head. His novels are probably best classified as contemporary southern lit, and he’s had more than a dozen short stories published in a wide array of genres. His articles on the craft of fiction writing have appeared in various writer magazines and websites, and one of his seminars was presented at the Sydney (Australia) Writers Festival. He also has taught writing courses for the Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of Australia, and Savvy Authors. Robb retired from the newspaper business in the summer of 2020 to write and edit fiction full time.