Kalispell Vietnam vet spins new suspense series
Kalispell native and author Stan Bain has begun a new suspense thriller series titled “Contractor.” The first in the series is now available online on Amazon.com, through Barnes and Noble, and on his website stanbainbooks.com.
An Army veteran of the Vietnam War, Bain says his new series, which begins in the 2040s, is about a building contractor and former Marine sniper, Jim — code name Boss — in Helena, Montana, who also oversees a team of highly trained assassins based in the Nevada desert. Their assignments originate from a U.S. senator, but they are paid by the CIA. The stories take place in various parts of the world and are based on Bain’s own experiences with skydiving, Scuba diving, as a licensed multi-engine pilot, and his use of satellite images and computers during his military service.
“The locations are real, and most of the technology is real,” Bain said. “The story, well, who knows.”
In the series Bain’s main character, Boss, passes an assignment onto the team coordinator — code name Scorpio. The team — code names Jasper, Cosmo, ACE and others — is made up of retired sharpshooters from the military who receive jobs to assassinate or capture targets in many countries, including the United States.
A Flathead High School graduate, Bain was drafted into the Army in 1966 and served during the Vietnam War in such dangerous capacities as nighttime ambushes against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army, convoys and guard duty. After a post-war lifetime suffering from nightmares, night sweats, hallucinations and debilitating pain due to his exposure to Agent Orange, Bain was ultimately diagnosed with PTSD.
A veteran counselor encouraged him to write about his Vietnam experiences and he self-published his first nonfiction book “You Are Never Alone,” in 2018. In 2020, one year after a return trip to Vietnam to try to make peace with his demons, he published his second book, “Return To Vietnam.” An article about Bain and his second book was published in the Daily Inter Lake in September 2021:
https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2021/sep/05/soldier-shares-his-battle-ptsd-help-other-veterans/
Bain retired from a 33-year career in the U.S. Forest Service and then worked for a number of years in the construction and home inspection trades, as well as having enjoyed his 15-year role playing Santa Claus at the Kalispell Center Mall. (His book “Being Santa-Santa’s Secrets” is also for sale on his website and Amazon.
He now resides in Florida.
While the years suffering from PTSD have taken their toll, Bain has turned to his writing to raise awareness about the disorder in order to help himself heal and to reach out to other veterans.
“The pain from Agent Orange is never-ending,” Bain said. “However, I found that writing helps with PTSD and pain from Agent Orange … when I'm writing, I focus on the story and forget about my pain,”
Bain’s says the second book in his “Contractor” series should be available in December with additional characters. His third book, which he is now working on, features a hooker and a nun who are partners. Netflix is potentially interested in doing a movie on the first book in his series, Bain said, and his publisher, Excel Book Writing, has arranged for a screenplay to be presented to Netflix this fall.
BOOK SIGNING
Stan Bain will be signing his books 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, at The Bookshelf, 101 S. Main St. in Kalispell.
Bain’s first book “You Are Not Alone” is only available on his website and at The Bookshelf in Kalispell. However, when it is republished in January it will become available on all the platforms.