My Five Ravens Publishing · Two novels by Royce Scratch

Fiction written by humans, for readers who need something real.

Permanent Scars is told from inside a Bipolar 1 diagnosis. My Dad is the story of the father behind it. Read two free chapters of each, then buy the complete ebook directly from the publisher.

Questions for the publisher? Contact Troy Mott.

The books

Two novels, one family

Both ebooks are delivered as PDF the moment checkout completes, with a personal access code so you can download again later.

Permanent Scars book cover

Novel one · Royce Scratch

Permanent Scars

I Knocked on the Door and Hell Reigned In

Permanent Scars follows Oto, a teenager living with Bipolar 1 disorder, through hospitalization, diagnosis, family trauma, and the difficult return to ordinary life. It is a serious literary novel about illness, silence, survival, and the question of what life can still become.

The author writes from lived experience: 23 years of treatment, six psychiatric admissions, and a story drawn closely from real life. Nothing here is offered as easy explanation; the novel lives in the texture of days as they are actually lived.

About 320 pages · PDF ebook · Paperback on Amazon

$6.99 USD

Free sample chapters: Chapter 10: 4-Points and Chapter 14: The Apache Truck.

My Dad book cover

Novel two · Royce Scratch

My Dad

How I Learned What Not To Be

My Dad follows Carl, Oto’s biological father, across his whole life: a boy playing in the Arizona desert, a young man racing a souped-up ’67 Chevy with Ana beside him, a mechanic, a husband, and a father whose own demons keep pulling him away.

Told in the same short, plain-spoken scenes as Permanent Scars, it traces the on-again, off-again relationship between Carl and Oto, and what a son chooses to carry forward and what he refuses to become. Hanah and Oto return throughout.

Just over 200 pages · PDF ebook · Companion to Permanent Scars

$4.99 USD

Free sample chapters: Chapter 8: A Golf Club and Chapter 16: Fishing Trip.

Reader reviews

What readers say about Permanent Scars

Read all reviews

Unflinchingly honest and deeply human—this is a story of pain, perseverance, and the will to survive.

Martha BowersStrategic Operations & Transformation Leader

A wonderful coming of age story—the short paragraphs are a great way to see the threads of each scenario develop.

Patrick FlandersFull-Stack Marketing, Content & Brand Leader

I like how it, Permanent Scars, starts in such an ordinary, human moment, then suddenly shifts into something shocking and unforgettable. That contrast makes Oto feel real, and it fits well with the My Five Ravens idea of fiction written by humans, for readers who need something real. Rooting for Permanent Scars.

Quan NguyenSkill-Wanderer

About the publisher

Troy Mott founded My Five Ravens to publish fiction written by humans.

Troy began his publishing career in 1995 after earning a Master’s degree in English with an emphasis on creative writing. After decades in technical publishing, he is returning to fiction and storytelling through My Five Ravens. He reads every message sent through this site.