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Jim Potter, Author

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Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office

Bowling Alley Talk about Jersey Schrock

February 6, 2019 by Jim Potter 2 Comments

·  Episode 12  · Earlier, we learned that Shawn Harris and Reuben Schrock are friends even though Shawn had previously been the hit-and-run driver in an accident involving his truck and the Schrock horse-and-wagon. Dot, Shawn’s girlfriend, and Katie, Reuben’s date, were on their way to the bowling alley when stopped by Deputy Jennings. Both Reuben and Katie have grown up Amish but are currently exploring the English (non-Amish) world during their time of rumspringa, a word translated as … [Read more...] about Bowling Alley Talk about Jersey Schrock

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Amish, Behind the Books Blog, Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Jennings, Dot, Jim Potter, Katie, Old Order Amish, Plain People, Reuben Schrock, Shawn Harris, Yackel

Deputy Jennings Stops a Speeder

January 30, 2019 by Jim Potter 11 Comments

·  Episode 11  · (Two weeks later) Deputy Tom Jennings was on duty working traffic with his trusted companion, K-9 Yackel Von Baerenzinger. It was Saturday night and Jennings was out hunting. He knew there were drunk drivers and druggies to catch, who needed to go to jail. Maybe, for a few hours at least, I can help make the road a little bit safer for everyone, including the drunks, he thought. As a vehicle approached him with its high beams blazing, he flicked his patrol car’s high beams … [Read more...] about Deputy Jennings Stops a Speeder

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Amish, Behind the Books Blog, Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Jennings, Dot, Jim Potter, Katie, Old Order Amish, Plain People, Reuben Schrock, Shawn Harris, Yackel

Deputy Jennings Interviews a Suspect

January 23, 2019 by Jim Potter 6 Comments

·  Episode 10  · The unfortunate accident was his good fortune. Thanks to the Schrock’s, Tom Jennings felt like he, for the first time, had a better understanding of the Amish. He was pleased they shared what they did. It would have been easier for them to say nothing to an outsider. Generally, remaining silent about their beliefs was the Amish community’s way. After the wreck, Jennings made a decision to do his job despite knowing that the Schrock’s were content with their lot. As per … [Read more...] about Deputy Jennings Interviews a Suspect

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Amish, Behind the Books Blog, Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Jennings, investigating an accident, Jim Potter, Old Order Amish, Plain People, Shawn Harris

Tom & Jesse Jennings Discuss Parenting

January 16, 2019 by Jim Potter 4 Comments

·  Episode 9  · Summary: Tom Jennings had never been all that interested in the Old Order Amish. He figured he was about as curious of them as they were in him. Both he and the Amish lived in separate worlds and that was fine. Then, after interacting with several individuals who were Amish, he changed. First, he was assigned to investigate someone stealing county dirt from a county ditch. The absurd assignment only got crazier as more and more Amish buggies arrived at the farmstead where he … [Read more...] about Tom & Jesse Jennings Discuss Parenting

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Amish, Amish Camp, Behind the Books Blog, Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office, forgiveness, Hannah Jennings, holding a grudge, Jacob Borntrager, Jesse Jennings, Jim Potter, Julia Jennings, Old Order Amish, Parenting, Plain People, Rosannah Yoder, Tom Jennings

Blame the Amish

January 9, 2019 by Jim Potter 4 Comments

·  Episode 8  · Arthur Kane was Assistant Director of the Cottonwood County Road and Bridge Department. He’d been around a lot longer than the furniture and felt as worn out as the old carpet. Kane was following up on a call he had received from the Sheriff’s Office. One of Kane’s people had contacted Emergency Dispatch and reported a theft in progress. The property allegedly being stolen was soil from a county ditch. According to Patrol Captain McArdle, an R&B employee had caused law … [Read more...] about Blame the Amish

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Amish, Arthur Kane, Behind the Books Blog, Captain McArdle, Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office, Do Amish pay taxes?, Harley Beasley, Jim Potter, Old Order Amish, Road and Bridge Department

Deputy Jennings Learns a Lesson

January 2, 2019 by Jim Potter 6 Comments

·  Episode 7  · Previously, in Episode 6 (Deputy Jennings Works an Accident), Deputy Tom Jennings worked an accident between an Amish horse-and-wagon and a hit-and-run truck. The officer interviewed the Amish teenagers, Rebecca and Reuben Schrock. * It was God’s will for the children to be in the wreck, but it was also His will for them to live. With the results of God’s plans surrounding them, Martin and Irene Schrock were thankful. They also reminded themselves to limit their … [Read more...] about Deputy Jennings Learns a Lesson

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Amish, Behind the Books Blog, Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office, forgiveness, God's will, Irene Schrock, Jim Potter, Martin Schrock, Old Order Amish, Rebecca Schrock, Reuben Schrock, Tom Jennings

Deputy Jennings Works an Accident

December 26, 2018 by Jim Potter 4 Comments

·  Episode 6  · In Episode 5, Irene and Martin Schrock were informed by a deputy sheriff that two of their children had been involved in an accident while they were operating the Schrock family's horse-and-wagon. Deputy Jennings and Sgt. Hunter had already been assigned to work the hit-and-run accident.   * Irene and Martin Schrock saw the emergency flashing lights ahead and glanced at one another. Deputy Razer slowed her patrol car. Irene spotted the ambulance first. Martin observed his … [Read more...] about Deputy Jennings Works an Accident

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Amish, Behind the Books Blog, Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Christine Razer, Irene Schrock, Jim Potter, Martin Schrock, Old Order Amish, Prairie Grove Kansas, Rebecca Schrock, Reuben Schrock

An Amish Accident

December 19, 2018 by Jim Potter 2 Comments

·  Episode 5  · In an earlier episode, Rosannah Yoder had been at her Amish farmstead talking with two deputy sheriffs when the officers were assigned to a nearby injury accident. Rosannah feared her husband may have been involved in the wreck. * The asphalt, like a thermometer, was heating up after the night’s sudden storm. Rosannah, holding her youngest child, was standing beside her mother, Anna. They spotted Adam’s tractor approaching from a distance of a half–mile. Rosannah waited by … [Read more...] about An Amish Accident

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Adam Yoder, Amish, Behind the Books Blog, Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Christine Razer, Irene Schrock, Jim Potter, Martin Schrock, Old Order Amish, Prairie Grove Kansas, Rebecca Schrock, Reuben Schrock, Rosannah Yoder, Virgil Petersheim

Road and Bridge Department

December 12, 2018 by Jim Potter 6 Comments

·  Episode 4  · In an earlier episode, Deputy Tom Jennings was assigned to investigate a theft of soil from a county ditch. The call to 911 had come from a Road and Bridge employee. Upon the deputy’s arrival, he discovered it was only an Amish women recovering her eroded garden soil after a heavy rain. Even though Jennings considered the theft call ridiculous, he questioned the woman and collected information for a case. He decided to make a report so that the facts would speak for … [Read more...] about Road and Bridge Department

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Amish, Behind the Books Blog, Captain McArdle, Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Tom Jennings, Jim Potter, Marie Worden, Old Order Amish, Prairie Grove Kansas, Road and Bridge Department, Rosannah Yoder

Deputy Jennings Apologizes

December 5, 2018 by Jim Potter 2 Comments

·  Episode 3  · Previously, in Episode 2 (Deputy Jennings and the Black Buggies), Jennings worried if the Old Order Amish were upset with him for his response to a 911 call. * Rosannah knew everyone, even the babies. She watched as the familiar buggies moved up the driveway and parked by the barn. Tractors stopped on the shoulder of the road as if they were prepared to participate in a farm auction. Like marching soldiers, a few teenage boys carried rakes and shovels over their … [Read more...] about Deputy Jennings Apologizes

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Adam Yoder, Amish, Amish buggies, Behind the Books Blog, black buggies, Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Tom Jennings, Jacob Borntrager, Jim Potter, Marie Worden, Old Order Amish, Prairie Grove Kansas, Rosannah Yoder, Yackel

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Reno County: Civil War Stories

· Old Settlers' of Reno County Picnic: Civil War Stories · The three men had often heard each others’ stories, but they were good listeners, … Read More about Reno County: Civil War Stories

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What People Are Saying

Sean McArdle

Retired police officer Potter’s novel centres on very disparate characters and through the tried and tested means of gradually introducing each one, builds a sense of anticipation about what is going to happen to them. This often used methodology is not easy to do well but is superbly handled by Potter who knows how to give enough detail to bring the characters to life, yet not too much so as to slow down the pace of the developing story. A climactic event affects the main characters and it is at this point Potter’s deep knowledge of people and police procedures really hits home; page by page we read how a seemingly simple, though terrible occurrence, can have huge consequences. To Potter’s credit the story does not have a completely conclusive or simplistic ending. Instead it leaves the reader thinking about how the events of a single minute can affect lives forever. I would whole heartedly recommend this book not as a crime novel or even as a novel about crime but as a beautiful and positive affirmation about what it is to be human and how ultimately it is relationships which matter more than events.

Sean McArdle, Winchester, England

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:24:22-06:00

Sean McArdle, Winchester, England

Retired police officer Potter’s novel centres on very disparate characters and through the tried and tested means of gradually introducing each one, builds a sense of anticipation about what is going to happen to them. This often used methodology is not easy to do well but is superbly handled by Potter who knows how to give enough detail to bring the characters to life, yet not too much so as to slow down the pace of the developing story. A climactic event affects the main characters and it is at this point Potter’s deep knowledge of people and police procedures really hits home; page by page we read how a seemingly simple, though terrible occurrence, can have huge consequences. To Potter’s credit the story does not have a completely conclusive or simplistic ending. Instead it leaves the reader thinking about how the events of a single minute can affect lives forever. I would whole heartedly recommend this book not as a crime novel or even as a novel about crime but as a beautiful and positive affirmation about what it is to be human and how ultimately it is relationships which matter more than events.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/sean-mcardle/

Rebecca

Taking Back the Bullet is an emotional, yet captivating novel. Jim Potter does a superb job of intertwining each character and putting their individual identities on display. All law enforcement storylines are a true reflection of Potter’s years as a police officer because they are realistic and relatable. This is a book I highly recommend.

Rebecca from Proud Police Wife

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T11:41:14-06:00

Rebecca from Proud Police Wife

Taking Back the Bullet is an emotional, yet captivating novel. Jim Potter does a superb job of intertwining each character and putting their individual identities on display. All law enforcement storylines are a true reflection of Potter’s years as a police officer because they are realistic and relatable. This is a book I highly recommend.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/rebecca/

Wynona Winn

Three main characters walk different paths but with the same destination – each coping with his or her self-discovery, self-identity, and self-realization. Much like their earlier counterparts – Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield – their journeys are often joyous, often tedious and often tragic.

Wynona Winn, PhD, retired school superintendent

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:18:33-06:00

Wynona Winn, PhD, retired school superintendent

Three main characters walk different paths but with the same destination – each coping with his or her self-discovery, self-identity, and self-realization. Much like their earlier counterparts – Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield – their journeys are often joyous, often tedious and often tragic.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/wynona-winn/

Denise Low

Jim Potter is a cop, retired, but he brings deep understanding of this job to his novel Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery. This layered novel has literary dimensions as characters explore crisis situations. Congratulations to this fine writer for his debut novel.

Denise Low, author of Jackalope (Red Mountain Press)

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T11:31:21-06:00

Denise Low, author of Jackalope (Red Mountain Press)

Jim Potter is a cop, retired, but he brings deep understanding of this job to his novel Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery. This layered novel has literary dimensions as characters explore crisis situations. Congratulations to this fine writer for his debut novel.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/denise-low/

Larry Kruckman

Jim Potter displays ethnographic skills in Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery, creating vivid scenes and fascinating characters. The Greeks had a word for subcultures and people’s behavior: ‘ethos,’ or ‘ways of being.’ In colorful, sometimes marvelous detail, this novel captures various people and settings . . . the ethos of rural Kansas: a jail, art fair, powwow, rehab center, courtroom, albinos, and even someone in the throes of postpartum depression. So detailed are the descriptions that they must be drawn from the author’s personal experience. Besides the artfully created characters such as the struggling jailer and husband Tom Jennings, local artist Jesse Thomas, and Native American Joe Morningcloud, there is a tight story line that grabs your attention and won’t let go. Human tensions, love, conflict, joys and sorrows are all there. Magically, all the many pieces come together in a final crescendo, giving hope that even when we find ourselves in big trouble we can survive. This is a novel I highly recommend!

Larry Kruckman, Anthropologist

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:27:15-06:00

Larry Kruckman, Anthropologist

Jim Potter displays ethnographic skills in Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery, creating vivid scenes and fascinating characters. The Greeks had a word for subcultures and people’s behavior: ‘ethos,’ or ‘ways of being.’ In colorful, sometimes marvelous detail, this novel captures various people and settings . . . the ethos of rural Kansas: a jail, art fair, powwow, rehab center, courtroom, albinos, and even someone in the throes of postpartum depression. So detailed are the descriptions that they must be drawn from the author’s personal experience. Besides the artfully created characters such as the struggling jailer and husband Tom Jennings, local artist Jesse Thomas, and Native American Joe Morningcloud, there is a tight story line that grabs your attention and won’t let go. Human tensions, love, conflict, joys and sorrows are all there. Magically, all the many pieces come together in a final crescendo, giving hope that even when we find ourselves in big trouble we can survive. This is a novel I highly recommend!
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/larry-kruckman/

Deb Theis

Jim Potter has done it again! After his book, Cop in the Classroom: Lessons I’ve Learned, Tales I’ve Told, Jim has written another great work. In Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery, Jim Potter takes us on an insightful journey into the lives and relationships of numerous characters. Jim is such a talented storyteller that the reader quickly becomes immersed and has a ‘bonding experience’ with each of the characters, feeling their joy, fear, passion and pain. Jim’s novel speaks to the empowerment of persistence with the characters as they work through their trials. As a therapist, I appreciated the heartfelt struggles from each of the characters and their diversity. I also found value in the novel’s understanding of society’s misunderstanding of both mental health and other conditions in which people struggle. The novel contains rich exposure to various realities that many of us do not know about . . . but should. When I finished this captivating novel, I was wanting to read the sequel! It was an honor and a wonderful, mesmerizing experience reading this book. Congratulations, Jim!

Deb Theis, LSCSW, clinical therapist/hypnotherapist

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:20:29-06:00

Deb Theis, LSCSW, clinical therapist/hypnotherapist

Jim Potter has done it again! After his book, Cop in the Classroom: Lessons I’ve Learned, Tales I’ve Told, Jim has written another great work. In Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery, Jim Potter takes us on an insightful journey into the lives and relationships of numerous characters. Jim is such a talented storyteller that the reader quickly becomes immersed and has a ‘bonding experience’ with each of the characters, feeling their joy, fear, passion and pain. Jim’s novel speaks to the empowerment of persistence with the characters as they work through their trials. As a therapist, I appreciated the heartfelt struggles from each of the characters and their diversity. I also found value in the novel’s understanding of society’s misunderstanding of both mental health and other conditions in which people struggle. The novel contains rich exposure to various realities that many of us do not know about . . . but should. When I finished this captivating novel, I was wanting to read the sequel! It was an honor and a wonderful, mesmerizing experience reading this book. Congratulations, Jim!
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/deb-theis/

John & Cindy Morrill

I enjoyed your book. When I am looking for a new read, I always read the first page, last page and choose a random page somewhere in the middle before I decide to buy it. You had me on all three pages. I also like reading a book where you can relate to the characters and the settings in which they live and work. It makes a story more realistic if you can say, I am familiar with the area; I know where that town is or I have traveled that street. It was easy to relate to the characters. In one way or another, I have met them all somewhere in my journeys

John & Cindy Morrill, 20 years Air Force retired, 17 years law enforcement

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:14:56-06:00

John & Cindy Morrill, 20 years Air Force retired, 17 years law enforcement

I enjoyed your book. When I am looking for a new read, I always read the first page, last page and choose a random page somewhere in the middle before I decide to buy it. You had me on all three pages. I also like reading a book where you can relate to the characters and the settings in which they live and work. It makes a story more realistic if you can say, I am familiar with the area; I know where that town is or I have traveled that street. It was easy to relate to the characters. In one way or another, I have met them all somewhere in my journeys
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/john-cindy-morrill/

Morgan Penner

Taking Back the Bullet is a novel that provides the reader with a window into the world of law enforcement. As the novel unfolds, the reader is able to see how split-second decisions alter the lives of the main characters in the story. Taking Back the Bullet also explores how humanity is impacted by mental illness. One of my favorite quotes from Taking Back the Bullet is “We’re all just a critical moment from being disabled or mentally ill, and we don’t want to think about it.” The novel also provides the reader an opportunity to gain a better understanding of how mental illness impacts the individuals, their family, friends, and society. Taking Back the Bullet is a story of forgiveness and overcoming life’s struggles and tragedies.

Morgan Penner

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:25:35-06:00

Morgan Penner

Taking Back the Bullet is a novel that provides the reader with a window into the world of law enforcement. As the novel unfolds, the reader is able to see how split-second decisions alter the lives of the main characters in the story. Taking Back the Bullet also explores how humanity is impacted by mental illness. One of my favorite quotes from Taking Back the Bullet is “We’re all just a critical moment from being disabled or mentally ill, and we don’t want to think about it.” The novel also provides the reader an opportunity to gain a better understanding of how mental illness impacts the individuals, their family, friends, and society. Taking Back the Bullet is a story of forgiveness and overcoming life’s struggles and tragedies.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/morgan-penner/

Dennis Perrin

Masterful storytelling, exquisite character development, so real as to HURT and HOPE, a real page turner. Begs for stage, screenwriters, and visual episodic development a.k.a. TV series . . . Thanks Jim Potter for telling it like it is AND providing us visions of how it could be. Well done!

Dennis Perrin, educator

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T11:44:55-06:00

Dennis Perrin, educator

Masterful storytelling, exquisite character development, so real as to HURT and HOPE, a real page turner. Begs for stage, screenwriters, and visual episodic development a.k.a. TV series . . . Thanks Jim Potter for telling it like it is AND providing us visions of how it could be. Well done!
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/dennis-perrin/

Rebecca Schillaci

As a former law enforcement officer, I found the story very relatable as it details the life of a law enforcement officer and the struggles some face throughout their careers. . . Taking Back the Bullet is a journey of understanding, respect, and forgiveness . . .

Rebecca Schillaci

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T11:46:40-06:00

Rebecca Schillaci

As a former law enforcement officer, I found the story very relatable as it details the life of a law enforcement officer and the struggles some face throughout their careers. . . Taking Back the Bullet is a journey of understanding, respect, and forgiveness . . .
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/rebecca-schillaci/

Sheryl Remar

I enjoyed the different stories of this book because Tom, James, and Suanna, the three main characters, represent in their own way the different struggles with themselves and society’s idea of what is normal.

Sheryl Remar

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T11:47:46-06:00

Sheryl Remar

I enjoyed the different stories of this book because Tom, James, and Suanna, the three main characters, represent in their own way the different struggles with themselves and society’s idea of what is normal.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/sheryl-remar/

Jane Holzrichter

I finished it last night around midnight. What a great piece of work. It kept me intrigued all the way to the end.

Jane Holzrichter

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:21:41-06:00

Jane Holzrichter

I finished it last night around midnight. What a great piece of work. It kept me intrigued all the way to the end.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/jane-holzrichter/

Steve Becker

I’m impressed. It was an excellent read. . . . I hope you continue with more projects in the future.

Steve Becker

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:26:21-06:00

Steve Becker

I’m impressed. It was an excellent read. . . . I hope you continue with more projects in the future.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/steve-becker/

Diana Dester

Good story line, building the characters along the way. Great job!

Diana Dester

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:19:23-06:00

Diana Dester

Good story line, building the characters along the way. Great job!
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/diana-dester/

Karleen Wilson-Moon

Terrific story relevant to today’s social issues . . . well written . . . likable characters . . . insightful perspective from an insider in law enforcement.

Karleen Wilson-Moon

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:44:26-06:00

Karleen Wilson-Moon

Terrific story relevant to today’s social issues . . . well written . . . likable characters . . . insightful perspective from an insider in law enforcement.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/karleen-wilson-moon/

Judy Hawk

. . . I was impressed with the Native American information as well as the depth of character development . . . .

Judy Hawk

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:15:48-06:00

Judy Hawk

. . . I was impressed with the Native American information as well as the depth of character development . . . .
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/judy-hawk/
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