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Kevin Sites

Goodreads Author

Born

Geneva, OH, The United States

Website

http://kevinsiteswrites.com/

Twitter

kevinsites

Genre

Fiction, Nonfiction

Member Since

December 2018

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KEVIN SITES is an award-winning journalist and author.

He has worked as a reporter for more than thirty years, half of them covering war and disaster for ABC, NBC, CNN, Yahoo News, and Vice News.

During that time he helped pioneer the concept of self-sufficient, video field reporting known as backpack journalism.

He was a 2010 Nieman Journalism Fellow at Harvard University and a 2012 Dart Fellow in Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University.

For a decade he lived in Hong Kong and taught at the University of Hong Kong as an associate professor of practice in journalism.

He is the author of three books on war: In the Hot Zone, The Things They Cannot Say, and Swimming with Warlords.

His debut novel, published by Harper, will be available in bo ...more

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What are you currently working on?

Kevin Sites I've just completed a draft of my second novel.

It's called Freedom's Deep for a fictional Ohio city founded by abolitionists on the deepest spot of L…moreI've just completed a draft of my second novel.

It's called Freedom's Deep for a fictional Ohio city founded by abolitionists on the deepest spot of Lake Erie's northeastern shore.

After years abroad as a foreign correspondent, Sebastian Rooke has finally come home. But no one in Freedom’s Deep is particularly happy to see him.

As the new owner and editor, of the town’s storied but long-struggling hometown paper, The Liberator, Rooke has taken on the role of an avenging angel, using his personal column irreverently titled, Better Forgotten? to unearth old secrets, root out rumors, and air dirty laundry that the people of Freedom’s Deep would rather be left alone.

Still, Better Forgotten? has become Freedom’s Deep must-read, a journalistic sturm and drang that has everyone on razor’s edge over both what and whom will be reported on next.

But these truths, tales of greed, ignorance, lust, and cruelty, destroy trust, partnerships, and marriages, open new wounds, and even inspire violent recriminations for grievances thought to have been healed by time long ago.

And just when it seems he’s done everything possible to polarize his hometown, Rooke turns his muckraking skills to a dark rumor going back to the Civil War. One concerning the role of a celebrated town father Josiah Gunn and an escaped enslaved woman he’d been sheltering on a final stop of the underground railroad before her crossing to a new life in Canada.

Rooke’s ongoing determination to force his former friends and neighbors to face the truth of their most shameful moments combined with his latest myth-shattering investigation threatens to rupture the very foundation of the community. Also prompting him to reconsider whether the truth at any cost is always worth pursuing.

Especially if he’s able to answer the one question from the past that can forever change the town and its future: what lies at the bottom of Freedom’s Deep?

I see this as part of a loosely-based trilogy, that I started with The Ocean Above Me on the dilemmas journalists face in reporting the truth.

In Ocean, the protagonist Lukas Landon forsakes the truth and pays the consequences.

In Deep, Sebastian Rooke pursues the truth despite the terrible costs.

The final book in the trilogy concerns a journalist who has fled to an isolated sanctuary in the Pacific Northwest, haunted by a truth from the past that will not be appeased.

As journalists, were taught that seeking and reporting the truth is the prime directive. The very purpose of our profession. But there are complexities and consequences that make the entire exercise less didactic, more dangerous -- and more interesting. Especially in a fictional treatment.(less)

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Kevin Sites Everyone I know that writes for a living is compelled to write. They do not feel complete unless they are writing.

It's not a vocation but an avocatio…moreEveryone I know that writes for a living is compelled to write. They do not feel complete unless they are writing.

It's not a vocation but an avocation. You write regardless of whether you're getting paid for it or not.

However, I've done it both ways, and getting paid is better.

So maybe the more useful question to address is this:
What is your advice for writers who want to get published and read?

For me, it can be summed up in a word: persistence.
I was 45 before my first non-fiction book was published by Harper Perennial.
I was 60 before Harper bought my debut novel, The Ocean Above Me.

While I've been writing my entire life as a journalist, becoming a published author was certainly the 'long game' for me. It literally took a lifetime.

You have to be willing to keep writing even when no one seems to notice. Or worse, when people advise you to stop trying and do something else. For someone not infected with the need, stopping can be quite a relief. A chance to pursue something else.

For someone who has to write it's just another naysayer trying to divert you from your purpose.

If you feel writing is the only path to a fulfilled life for you, write as much as you can. Every day is best. Even just a little 200, 300, or 500 words. Get better, learn your craft. Read about the craft. Read the works of others. Keep notes, quotes, and anything that helps you to improve.

Write, write, write. Read, read, read. Eventually, you may get to where you want to be. Or maybe not. But even then, there is no such thing as a wasted moment in a life spent in contemplation and attempting to reach others with your words, thoughts, and secrets. A sublime and noble passion, free of regret.

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Kevin Sites’s books

Average rating: 3.87 · 1,903 ratings · 292 reviews · 8 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You About What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War 3.95 avg rating — 985 ratings — published 2012 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars 3.74 avg rating — 479 ratings — published 2007 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ocean Above Me 3.83 avg rating — 376 ratings — published 2023 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Swimming With Warlords: A Dozen-Year Journey Across the Afghan War 4.06 avg rating — 63 ratings — published 2014 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You About What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Things They Cannot Say, The 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Things They Cannot Say Lib/E: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You about What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	(The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You about What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War) [By: Kevin Sites] [Jan, 2013] by Kevin Sites (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Kevin is Currently Reading

Kevin Sites is currently reading

Jackrabbit Skin

by Ivy Pochoda (Goodreads Author)

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Feb 26, 2025 03:14PM

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Sixty-One Seconds (The Broken Doll #4)

by Jeffery Deaver (Goodreads Author)

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Feb 26, 2025 02:59PM

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Scheme

by Jeffery Deaver (Goodreads Author)

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Feb 14, 2025 10:39AM

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Kevin Sites is currently reading Jackrabbit Skin by Ivy Pochoda (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 26, 2025 03:14PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Jackrabbit Skin by Ivy Pochoda. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Jackrabbit Skin by Ivy Pochoda <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kevin Sites is currently reading Sixty-One Seconds (The Broken Doll #4) by Jeffery Deaver (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 26, 2025 02:59PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sixty-One Seconds by Jeffery Deaver. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sixty-One Seconds by Jeffery Deaver <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kevin Sites finished reading Verona by Jeffery Deaver (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 26, 2025 02:56PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Verona by Jeffery Deaver. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Verona by Jeffery Deaver <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kevin Sites is currently reading Verona by Jeffery Deaver (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 14, 2025 10:39AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Verona by Jeffery Deaver. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Verona by Jeffery Deaver <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kevin Sites is currently reading Scheme by Jeffery Deaver (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 14, 2025 10:39AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Scheme by Jeffery Deaver. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Scheme by Jeffery Deaver <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kevin Sites is currently reading The Rule of Threes (Special Agent Constant Marlowe) by Jeffery Deaver (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 14, 2025 10:38AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Rule of Threes by Jeffery Deaver. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Rule of Threes by Jeffery Deaver <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kevin Sites finished reading Sea Castle (Underwater Investigation Unit, #4) by Andrew Mayne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 14, 2025 10:37AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sea Castle by Andrew Mayne. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sea Castle by Andrew Mayne <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kevin Sites rated a book it was amazing Ninja: 1,000 Years of the Shadow Warrior: A New History by John Man	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 23, 2025 01:53PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Ninja by John Man. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Ninja by John Man <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kevin Sites rated a book it was amazing The Pain Hunter (The Broken Doll #1) by Jeffery Deaver (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 10, 2025 12:46PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Pain Hunter by Jeffery Deaver. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Pain Hunter by Jeffery Deaver <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kevin Sites rated a book really liked it Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 16, 2024 11:15AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Kevin Sites (?)

“The story is about being loyal to the truth as a nation, that citizens of a democracy are collectively responsible for what their troops do in war, good or bad.”
― Kevin Sites, In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars

tags: democracry, responsibility, truth, war

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“Failure to communalize grief can imprison a person in endless swinging between rage and emotional deadness as a permanent way of being in the world.”
― Kevin Sites, The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You About What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War

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“in his book Achilles in Vietnam, former Veterans Affairs psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Shay warns about what happens, to both soldiers and society, when those stories are never told. “We can never fathom the soldier’s grief if we do not know the human attachment which battle nourishes and then amputates,” he says. “Failure to communalize grief can imprison a person in endless swinging between rage and emotional deadness as a permanent way of being in the world.”
― Kevin Sites, The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You About What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War

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