Rancher by day, writer by night

By Maryanne Davis Silve for The Three Rivers Edition - 02/20/2007

Justin Stanchfield

What do black coffee, jalapeno peppers, science fiction writing and cattle have in common? Forty-four year old Justin Stanchfield from Wise River can tell you they all play a part in his life as a rancher in the Big Hole.

With a polite tip of his tattered cowboy hat while brushing the hay off his manure splattered jeans he introduces himself for a January interview with the respect of a well-raised ranch kid.

By day he lives his life as a son working side by side with his parents, Dean and Eddy Lou Stanchfield. He’s a father, a husband, part time snow plow driver and base guitar player in a band, to name a few of his hats.

But on any given night, if you pass by the Stanchfield home ranch just out of Wise River and look up at the snow covered landscape you may see a light glowing out of the window of Justin’s house. He burns the midnight oil, so to speak, to feed his passion for science fiction writing.

“I go to sleep for a while, then I get up about midnight,” he said. “I’ll drink some coffee. I listen to a lot of late night talk shows because that’s how I know what time it is. If I don’t have something on, I lose track and it might be dawn before I quit writing. Every once in a while, I’ll eat jalapeño peppers. That really wakes you up! I usually write until 2:30 a.m. If I get on a roll and can’t stop I sometimes go till about 4 a.m.

He said he first became a night owl very young while watching cows during calving season.

“Even when he was two or three years old he used to get up in the middle of the night and play with the dogs,” Eddy Lou recalled with a smile.

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Justin said because of that, night is his natural time to be creative by writing.

Though his schedule would scare most away from thoughts of choosing writing as an extra job, Stanchfield has remained faithful over the years. His serious goal to be a published writer began in 1995. His first published story appeared in “Boy’s Life” in 1997. That launched his writing career and he has since had 7 more stories in the magazine, as well as over 100 stories published in print and on the Internet. He also has two upcoming novels and numerous stories in science fiction anthologies.

Eddy Lou said two of Justin’s stories are now used in school tests and others may soon as well.

Though Eddy Lou has good reason to brag about her son, Justin is modest about his accomplishments.

“To me talent is mostly the desire to do something and stick with it,” he said.

And stick with it he has. He was an avid reader- a valuable trait passed on to him from his parents. He gobbled up science fiction at a young age.

A good basic education and strong, supportive family roots helped him leap from the culture shock of an eighth grade graduating class of four kids to 500 graduating classmates at Butte High School in 1980. After a year of college at Montana Tech he decided that was not for him, but he says as a writer, you are always in school. Since then he has taken several classes at the University of Montana-Western, giving him background for his stories and books.

“If you stop learning, the fun goes out of writing and you might as well quit,” he said. “No experience is wasted when you are a writer.”

When he is out feeding cows, calving and attending to the usual ranch chores, his stories are running through his mind.

“Some of the best stories I’ve come up with are directly related to something I’ve done,” Justin said. “Chasing cows is a good place to come up with stories. So is irrigating. When I’m out with a shovel digging ditch and moving dams around I go over the scenes in my head. I have fixed more stories that way. It seems like physical activity kind of jogs your mind into going where you want to with your writing.”

Stanchfield’s published writings cover the kitchen table as his mother pulls out one after another- Boys Life, Cricket, Jack and Jill and Flight Training magazines. With a list too numerous to mention, this year brought a significant acceptance. His story “In The River” was chosen by Gardner Dozois, a former editor on the staff of the prestigious Asimov’s Magazine. It will be on the market this summer in Asimov’s “The Years Best Science Fiction- Anthology Volume # 24.” The story was first published in the science fiction magazine “Interzone.”

Another book, “The Hidden Ones,” is due out on the Internet this winter and his novel “Beyond the Next Ridge” will be published in England next year by Usborne Publishing. It is aimed at kids 12-14 years old.

Stanchfield praises his wife, Connie, saying she is the stabilizing force in his writing pursuits, always encouraging him, giving him confidence and telling him to “grow up” when he gets discouraged and worries about his next book not being accepted.

“Connie keeps me grounded,” he said. “And she is pretty understanding. Most wives wouldn’t put up with their husbands getting up in the middle of the night, puttering around in the front room and playing the TV or radio at all hours.”

Plus his 10-year-old daughter, Shealan, does her part.

“Shealan usually likes my stories,” he said. “She is a good sounding board for me. If I write a story and she is bored with it, I can pretty well figure other kids will be bored. Then I know it’s time to edit.”

Stanchfield has some advice for those who want to be those who want to be science fiction writers.

“Read science fiction. Don’t just watch the movies and the television. As good as some of them are, they are nothing compared to a good book. If you are really serious, get in the habit of writing every day. Don’t worry about the rejections because you are going to get them. Just make yourself a commitment. Keep writing until you sell something, and then sell something else. You don’t need a degree. You don’t need anything other than your imagination and something to write on.”

As for his future Stanchfield said he wants to finish at least a novel a year. But Stanchfield is not considering a full time writing life.

“I don’t want to be a full time writer,” he said. “I love writing and I’d probably do it if I wasn’t here, but I couldn’t do it as well. My life is ranching. Writing is just another thing I do. It’s an outlet. Everybody has some sort of outlet, whether it be fishing or hunting. I guess mine is writing.”

Stanchfield’s web site is www.sff.net/people/justinvs.

Maryanne Davis Silve is a regular contributor to The Three Rivers Edition. She can be contacted at mdsilve@3rivers.net