Author Name:
Karen Horwitz, M. Ed.
Book Title:
A Graver Danger: White Chalk Crime, The Stunning First-Ever Explanation for School Shootings & How We End Them
Website and Social Media:
https://www.whitechalkcrime.com/
https://open.substack.com/pub/karenhorwitz
What is your book about?
A teacher’s memoir/exposé about the corruption in education that’s destroying democracy and causing school shootings.
What inspired you to write your book?
While teaching in 1995, discovered administrators behaving lawlessly where I taught. The school board terminated me for speaking out, and started me on a journey to expose corruption and incompetence in our schools.
Can you describe your writing process? How did you get your book written and how long did it take?
This was my third book. It took me about a year. Started with an outline and wrote on my computer in Pages.
What was your publishing process like? How did you publish your book and how long did it take?
Had self published prior to this book. This time I hired JetLaunch, a company that helps self publishers produce a more professional product. It took about two months. Did not pursue a publisher due to the nature of my topic being a hard sell.
How do you hope your book impacts the world?
People are so clueless about education, my book is filled with bombshells that have the ability to totally turn education around and end school shootings. When read, it more often than not has a strong impact. Because education is the foundation of democracy, this book can put our democracy on a restorative path. I hope it goes viral as it can change a whole lot, particularly the chaos and divisiveness currently haunting this nation.
Are there any people and/or books that have inspired you along your journey?
Kurt Andersen’s Evil Geniuses; The Blases’s Breaking the Silence; Mary-Elaine Jacobsen’s The Gifted Adult.
What’s next for you?
Once I get the truth about our schools widely known, and then help implement the reform plan featured in my book, I plan to return to a myriad of hobbies including watercolor painting.
What advice would you offer fellow authors who are just getting started?
Join a local writing group and get as much mentoring as possible so you won’t have to recreate the wheel. They will guide you on every aspect of this journey including organizations to join and mistakes to avoid.
