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Neighbors
Chandler author addresses human trafficking
B.D. Lawrence says human trafficking can happen anywhere.
“We have a friend whose daughter got kind of caught up in it,” Lawrence said from his South Chandler home. “It got me thinking that this is really an awful thing, and you don’t see it spoken about a lot. It’s bad in the U.S., and ever worse worldwide.”
Human trafficking plays a major role in Lawrence’s first self-published novel, “An Angel and a One-Armed Man.” The man with the missing limb is private detective Lefty Bruder and Lawrence plans to write more stories featuring him.
Stating that human trafficking “is a lot more local than people think,” Lawrence said he attended an event with the head of a trafficking task force with the Phoenix Police Department and learned that about 60 percent of prostitutes there are products of the foster system or otherwise “lost in the system.”
The issue has become so important to Lawrence he says he will donate half of his profits from sales of his book to help combat the problem.
The first book is set in St. Louis, where Lawrence spent a lot of time. It ends with a lead that sets up the second novel to be set in the Phoenix area.
Writing more Lefty Bruder novels as well as other stories is Lawrence’s plan to keep busy once he retires from a career as a software architect for 3M.
That’s not a likely path for someone who says English was his worst subject in high school and college.
“I didn’t really care for writing that much,” he said. “One day … I was sitting in this programming class and I just thought of a story, a vigilante story if you will. I thought, you know I can probably write something like that. So I just got into writing and found I really like it.”
He joined an online writing group to learn the craft and began writing short stories. He has published about 30 of them.
That led him to earn a master’s degree in English and started teaching writing and English at the junior college level.
Lawrence said he found writing a novel is half the battle. The other half is marketing it and getting it out to where readers can find it.
“I wish it was write a book, put it out there and it sells itself,” Lawrence said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. You need time and money for that as well.”
Lawrence said growing up he was drawn to super heroes. His favorite was Batman, so he’s always been a fan of vigilante justice. That’s how he settled on a private detective for his main character.
Lefty Bruber is a former mixed-martial arts fighter who loses his arm investigating some serial killings.
Lawrence said he got the idea for the character from a relationship with a friend.
“I had a friend who only had one leg, and had a prosthetic leg, and in observing him and seeing how it didn’t really impact his life that much, I thought, ‘That’s interesting,’” Lawrence said.
He said he also likes that it gives his character an element of surprise because others would likely underestimate him.
Lawrence said he plans to continue to highlight human trafficking in future books. And he said his own faith journey will play a role in his novels.
“I think Hollywood glorifies, in some cases, prostitution and what not, and I’d rather take the more realistic approach that shows most of those girls are not there by choice.”
Chandler author B.D. Lawrence has based his novel on human trafficking, a problem he says is more widespread in the Valley than people realize. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)
Check it out
Read Lefty Bruber’s origin story and/ or a sample of his first book for free at the author’s website, bdlawrence.com.
3 honored by Chandler to mark Disabilities Month
The City of Chandler honored three individuals and a business at a recent council meeting at part of Disability Month.
The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities selected Savannah Branum, Julie Stuart, and Alicia Wronski for recognition. They also announced Sprouts Farmers Market is their employer of the year for offering a fun and inclusive place to work.
Branum was named the Student of the Year. She attends Hamilton High and has transitioned from special education to regular classes. Branum has submitted all of her school work on time.
Wronski was named the Educator of the Year. She teaches special education at Navaratte Elementary School for Chandler Unified School District and was nominated by several of her students. The nominations said she goes above and beyond and she cares for her students like they were her own.
Stuart is the Habiliator of the Year. She works with clients to help them build their skills. She was recognized for having the skills to help individuals with disabilities grow and progress to become better members of the community.
In addition to the recognition, Mayor Kevin Hartke declared March to be Disabilities Awareness Month.
Hartke said his committee for people with disabilities serves as a liaison between the City Council and people with living with disabilities.
The panel provides programs to raise awareness and educate others. It also addresses employment issues through the use of a stipend program.
Area author sees her book at the movies
BY PAUL MARYNIAK
Executive Editor
It may not be every novelist’s dream, but for many, seeing their work come alive on the big screen is a Holy Grail of sorts.
And for area resident Erin Jade Lange, that dream came true two weeks ago with a nationwide release of the film version of her first young adult novel, “Butter.”
Lange, a nom de plume for Erin Helm, Kyrene School District’s executive director of communications, has screened the movie twice on the big screen and once on TV during film festivals but seeing it with family, friends and coworkers at the Harkins Theater at Chandler Fashion Center Feb. 25 “was the most exciting to watch so far,” Lange said.
Over 300 theaters across the country are now screening “Butter” and that number will rise in the coming weeks because AMC Theaters has picked it up.
And Lange is pleased with the way the movie – directed and written for the screen by Paul Kaufman – has turned out – given that it, like the book, takes a dark subject and turns it into a coming-of-age comedy.
“Butter” is the name that a lonely obese boy is called by everyone at school.
Depressed by nearly constant shaming and bullying, he announces a plans to eat himself to death live on the internet and invites the world to watch.
Though he expects pity, insults and possibly sheer indifference, he is stunned when popular cheerleaders and other kids at school morbidly rally around his plan. Though born of a morbid plan, the ensuing popularity begins to feel pretty good.
Naturally, he begins to reconsider his original intentions.
Though the movie takes on some of the most pressing issues among teens these days – like depression, suicide and the stigmas of shaming and obesity – Kaufman called Lange’s novel “art meets advocacy” in an interview with the online scriptwriters website, script.com.
Indeed, once it finishes its run at the box office, the Emmy-award winning director-producer-writer plans to stream it in schools and health classes when the subject is mental health.
The Emmy-award winning producer and director said he had perused hundreds of books on amazon.com, looking for a novel he could turn into a film, when he stumbled on “Butter” and saw it as a chance to “make a film about art and let’s do some good in the world.”
“I raised the money privately all from like-minded people, all from people that themselves maybe lost their child to suicide or teen mental illness, or they themselves were bullied in high school,” he told script. “We raised a million and a half bucks, shot it in LA got over $4 million worth of resources from Panavision giving us our cameras, to free office space and studio space at Santa Clarita Studios, because they were all like-minded.
“None of us made any money. And the actors came on board because they were like-minded. Mira Sorvino is amazing and she gets to play the kooky mom, but she brought something to
this part that you’ve just really never seen her do before. And it’s really fun to watch her. And we found Alex [Kersting], a needle in a haystack. This first-timer carries a movie on his shoulders, and we’re really proud of the film, really proud of the outreach that it’s going to have in the schools.”
He talked about a teenage girl who saw the film and approached her counselors at school to tell them about a friend she thought was suicidal. “She felt it empowered her to recognize and understand friends or people around her that might be in crisis,” Kaufmann said of the film’s impact on the teen. “And she stepped up and the girl got help, and it really did save her life. We really do hope that Butter will start the conversation.”
“We have an outreach program right now with teachers and we probably have 100 schools already lined up that are going to once we start streaming, that are going to play the movie in the classroom and do a curriculum,” Kaufmann added. I’m going to come in and do some Zooms, and with some doctors and mental health experts are going to be part of that. It really does help.
And for art’s sake, Kaufmann said, the movie could help fill a long-empty niche for teens.
“We did test screenings with high school kids and they said, ‘There are no movies for us in the theater like this, there’s Spider-Man and Nicholas Sparks’ a romance every now and then that’s it.’
I had John Hughes. I had the ‘Breakfast Club’ and ‘Sixteen Candles,’ which were all movies about teenage angst and not fitting in, but they were funny.
“And the teenagers today don’t have those. It would be nice to see ‘Butter’ do well so people make more of these movies for the kids.”
Lange said she’s been delighted with the way Kaufman captured her humor.
“I remember when I was pitching this book, the pitch on it sounds so dark – it’s ‘the boys gonna kill themselves live on the internet,’ she said. “It’s horrible and bullying and all these dark themes.
“But I remember when I was trying to pitch it to editors and agents, I would say, ‘And it’s funny, which was a really hard sell with the book. But the film really captured that could have made a really depressing movie. They really leaned into the humor and the hope of the story. And I’m so grateful for that.”
Lange admits some of her book didn’t translate into the film.
“It’s a little bit less gritty than the book is,” she said. “But I think that some things in the book would have been really hard to translate on screen and might have been irresponsible to do on screen with younger viewers on topics like suicide. They were right to go for the hope and the humor instead of the darker parts.”
Rated PG13, the movie could even be seen “by a mature 11- or 12-year-old with a parent’s approval,” she said – eliminating her twin girls, who just turned 6.
And like Kaufman, Lange also has heard people who have already seen “Butter.”
“I had a mom who reached out to me, who didn’t know about the book,” Lange said. “She just happened to see the promotion for the movie. So she took her daughters, who I think are aged 10 and either 12 or 13, to see it and they were so moved by it, she said her older daughter had been going through some bullying and found the movie really relatable.”
So the mom looked up the book because she wanted to help kids like her daughter – and ended up buying copies for her daughter’s junior high school class. Since publishing “Butter” in 2012, Lange has published two other young adult novels and will be releasing her fourth in September.
That book, titled “Mere Mortals” also will tackle the trials and tribulations of adolescence in an equally unusual way.
“Everybody’s heard the story of the human that gets turned into a vampire,” Lange said. “This is the story of a couple of teenage vampires who have been vampires for about a century. They make a mistake and as punishment, they get turned human – and they have to survive the nightmare of high school as mere mortals.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “It was really fun to write. Technically, it’s like a vampire book. But it’s really what I always do: a coming-of-age story.”
Left: The movie version of Erica Jade Lange’s first novel, “Butter,” has hit hundreds of movie theaters throughout the nation. (File hoto) Right: Two stars in “Butter” are Alex Kersting in the lead role and McKaley Miller as one of the cheerleader morbidly fascinated by his intention to eat himself to death on the internet. (Special to SanTan Sun News)
Sun Lakes Rotarians who volunteered at a recent Amada Amanda Hope Rainbow Angels Family Fun Festival are, from left:s: Kandi Skrabala, Victoria Flatley, Judi Edmonds; sitting: Rotarians Karen Flood & Bonnie Snow (Special to SanTan Sun News)
Sun Lakes Rotary celebrates foundation’s giving
BY DR. HONORA NORTON
Guest Writer
The Rotary Club of Sun Lakes celebrated its giving to the community and beyond at its annual Rotary International Foundation Dinner at Sun Lakes Palo Verde Country Club.
The Rotary International Foundation helps Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and
Rotarian of the month
David Mork is the Rotary Club of Sun Lakes’ Rotrian of the Month for March, A Roptarian for 40 years since his days in Woodbury, Minnesota, he is past club treasuer and currently upgrading the club’s accounting and fi nancial systems. He is a past president of the Sun Lakes club, a past Rotary International district treasurer and a Paul Harris Fellow. peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty within their communities and globally. Several RCSL Rotarians were honored as Paul Harris Fellows for their generous gifts to the Rotary International Foundation.
Rotary International Paul Harris pins were awarded to various Rotarians based on their levels of giving with an initial Paul Harris gift of $1,000: Ed Anderson, Don Prestin, Janet Prestin, Kimberley Ann Prestin, Karen Lynn Prestin, as well as Paul Harris major donors Dick Thomas and Pamela Mason.
Rotary International Foundation Chairman Dick Thomas stated that the Sun Lakes club has 50 Paul Harris Fellows and 12 major donors with gifts of $10,000 to $250.
The Sun Lakes group has partnered with other Rotary Clubs to utilize RI Foundation Global Grant matching funds by completing several local and international projects, such as the $150,000 Navajo water project that provided homes on the Navajo Nation with inside running tap water.
Rotary Club of Sun Lakes Foundation 2000 Chairman Bob Phillips provided an overview of of the foundation, which was established in 2000.
Its mission is promoting charitable giving and provideingfi nancial support for charities that are endorsed by the Sun Lakes Rotary Club. Phillips provided an overview of the Sun Lakes foundation’s projects: the Navajo Water Project, Dolly Parton Imagination Library, School Closet Projects, and hundreds of Club projects in support of education and local community needs.
A recent example of support has been the Club’s support of Amanda Hope’s mission to bring dignity and comfort into the harsh world of childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
For information about the club: sunlakesrotary.org.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Chandler women invited to join regional Hadassah
SANTAN SUN NEWS
Chandler women are invited to joined the Devorah Hadassah, the regional chapter of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America.
Hadassah is a volunteer organization that inspires a passion for and commitment to the land, the people, and the future of Israel.
The fi rst Monday of each month is the gorup’s Out to Lunch event, though it has not yet resumed because of the pandemic.
On the second Wednesday of the month, the book group called Literary Ladies, meets on Zoom at 1:30 p.m.
In April, they will discuss “The Last Kings of Shanghai” by Jonathan Kaufman” and in May, “The Light of Days” by Judith Batalion
The third Wednesday is devoted to collecting non-perishable food items for the Jewish Family & Children’s Services in various communities in the East Valley between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
On March 23, the group will hold its monthly meeting via Zoom. A speaker from JFCS will talk about the organization that Devorah has been supporting through food donations and the other services that they provide to our community.
For more information on attending its events, women can contact Eliana Bar-Shalom at 860-377-7126 or email ebarshalom.eb@gmail.com.
2 BASIS Chandler students tops in annual Brain Bee
SANTAN SUN NEWS
Two BASIS Chandler students were among the top three fi nalists in the 23rd annual Arizona Regional Brain Bee held at Midwestern University in Glendale in partnership with the BHHS Legacy Foundation.
Besting 28 students from 12 Arizona high schools in a competition focusing on neuroscience were fi rst place winner Anushka Agrawal, second place champ Catherine McInnes and third place victor Aria Gibbons. Anushka and Catherine are juniors at BASIS Chandler and Catherine is a senior at Thunderbird High who last year attended Midwestern University’s Health Careers Institute for high school students.
The contest tests participants’ knowledge of the human brain and how it governs human behavior as well as the science that helps medical professionals understand brain function.
Anushka will now compete at the 2022 U.S. National Brain Bee, which will be held virtually on April 9.
Midwestern pharmacology professor Dr. Douglas Jones was the faculty academic director for the event.
Gen Fitzgerald, a third-year medical student at the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine who won the Arizona Regional Brain Bee as a student at Desert Vista High School in 2013, and second-year AZCOM student Carmen Jones served as the lead judges for the fi nals round of the competition. Midwestern University faculty and student volunteers served as additional judges, question readers, timers, and scorekeepers in breakout rooms.
Questions ran the gamut from identifying physical features of the brain itself to naming brain disorders and diseases to surgical and medical practices that modify neural behaviors.
The Arizona Regional Brain Bee is funded as a result of generous fi nancial support from BHHS Legacy Foundation, which is an Arizona charitable organization whose philanthropic mission is to enhance the quality of life and health of those it serves.
Midwestern University is a private nonprfi t graduate and postgraduate institution specializing in the health sciences with 12 colleges on two campuses. The Arizona campus is home to over 3,900
Information: midwestern.edu or 623572-3215.
The top three winners in the Arizona Brain Bee were, from left, BASIS Chandler juniors Anushka Agrawal and Catherine McInnes and Thunderbird High senior Aria
Gibbons. (Special to SanTan Sun News)
Ship ahoy
U.S. Navy Quartermaster Seaman Alysia Noyes, a Chandler native, and Quartermaster 2nd Class Landon Sherrill, of Tennessee, have been assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford’s (navigation department and are seen here preparing to hoist a broom to signify a “clean sweep” of post Planned Incremental Availability Sea Trials in the Atlantic Ocean after completing the industrial portion of a six-month PIA.
