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Sid Stark
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Permanent Position: An Academic Thriller (Doctor Rowena Halley Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Sid Stark (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.8 out of 5 stars 67 ratings
“Stark remains a brilliant observer of the academia scene”—The Prairies Book Review

If you like Stephanie Plum’s wit, Kinsey Millhone’s grit, or Spenser’s wry take on academia, you’ll love the Doctor Rowena Halley series!

Loves hurts. Sometimes it kills.

After the tumultuous events of the previous semester, Russian professor Rowena Halley has found a new job. This time it’s a one-semester adjunct position in Charlotte, North Carolina. Not ideal, but better than no job at all. At least that’s what she’s telling herself.

Rowena loves what she does, but love isn’t always kind. Her job is keeping her broke AND three states away from her best candidate for serious boyfriend material, her ex is sending her cryptic messages from the war zone in Ukraine, and her brother has come back from Afghanistan even more messed up than before. And if that isn’t enough, students are trying to draw her into their family dramas—with dangerous consequences. Everyone knows that “publish or perish” is the rule in academia, but if Rowena isn’t careful, she may perish before she gets the chance to publish.

Combining humor, romance, and suspense, Permanent Position gives an insider’s view of the gritty backstage of higher education, where words do more than cut and all the testing is high-stakes.

*Content warning: We've got angsty adjunct professors, mouthy undergrads, a cynical Navy vet, and a career Marine all mixing it up in here. The level of adult language is significant.*
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  1. Book 2 of 8
    Doctor Rowena Halley
  2. Print length
    330 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    September 15, 2019
  6. File size
    2.9 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 8 books in this series.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Like the other books in the Doctor Rowena Halley series, Permanent Position is fiction, but fiction that's deeply personal. Many of Rowena's experiences are based on my own, both as a student and as a professor. I wrote it in about a month and a half, compelled, as I was with Campus Confidential, the first book in the series, to share a story that demanded to be told.

At the same time, this is not just a personal story. The important thing about what the characters go through is not that something similar happened to me, but that something similar has happened and is happening to thousands of other people. The $3,200 per course that Rowena gets paid is the average for adjunct professors in her state, and about par for the course on a national level as well. The struggles of the other characters to go to school, take care of their families, reintegrate into civilian society after getting caught up in the Forever War, and so on, are also all based on the real-life experiences of people I know.

However, this is not intended to be a grim slog through statistics and sad stories. Ultimately, Permanent Position is a story of hope and redemption, with plenty of humor and romance thrown in for good measure. I admit that even after half a dozen rounds of edits, I still laugh out loud at some moments, and I hope you will too.

Happy reading!
Sid

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07XYGPWW7
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Helia Press
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 15, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.9 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 330 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1734036794
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 2 of 8 ‏ : ‎ Doctor Rowena Halley
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 out of 5 stars 67 ratings

About the author

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Sid Stark

Sid Stark

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In her other life, Sid Stark lives a life very similar to that of her characters, except with more tedious grading and fewer exciting chase scenes. She did once get held up at Heathrow on suspicion of being a Russian criminal traveling on a fake American passport, though, which was fun.

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
67 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Spoke36
    4.0 out of 5 stars Rowena Halley leads a life of poverty while trying to get a long term teaching job - 4 stars
    Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2020
    Format: Kindle
    Rowena struggles to find a college professorship with benefits while working on three month contracts for less than minimum wage. She teaches Russian around 2015 in an era in which Russia is struggling to be relevant. Her $1000 per month apartment takes about half of her disposable income. She eats lentils and drinks a lot of coffee. Life is marginal.

    For the most part, her students at a southern east coast school are not motivated. The school has new buildings still under noisy construction with no administrative presence, no signs and lots of mud. It seems that the buildings are more important than the faculty.

    Rowena realizes that most of her students are over 25 and consider school to be of secondary importance to their day to day lives. One student, Jason, requests that Rowena contact his wife who has fled to Belarus with his child; Jason wants his son back. It becomes evident that Jason was an abusive husband. The sub plot about trying to get Jason's wife and son to return is a significant part of the book.

    There is a lot of what Rowena does when she is depressed and trying to get the next job, hopefully with adequate pay and benefits. Running is Rowena's primary stress relief.

    It is hard not to feel sympathy for this highly educated, kind hearted woman trying to get a good academic job. I found that reading Campus Confidential followed by Foreign Exchange helped my understanding of Rowena. Each of these books has guns fired near or even at Rowena. A number of ancillary topics are presented including family, romantic relationships at a distance, women's issues, apartment living, unrest in Russia and Russian literature. Clearly written with humor; it is upbeat as best as can be given the overriding economic distress that freshly minted PhDs face in the United States.
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  • Deb H
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent read by a really great author.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2019
    Format: Kindle
    Doctor Rowena Halley is a character that is fun, serious, quirky, and you are going to love her story. Academia based Sid Stark brings you a story of the pitfalls of campus life. There is love, mystery, intrigue, all packed into a fast-moving story that will leave you wanting to read more. I just couldn't wait to read more of Dr. Halley. I received this as an ARC with no obligation to review. But you know when something is this good, you just want to spread the word.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Susan Green
    3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
    Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    It was an interesting book, however the job search parts were a little drawn out. The ending was exciting. I feel that Summer Session was a quicker moving book. I received this as an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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  • Placeholder
    4.0 out of 5 stars Gives a new perspective of a teacher’s job search
    Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2019
    Format: Audible Audiobook
    Permanent Position by Sid Stork audiotape is written and voiced by the author and tells of the search for a job search in academia as a Russian language teacher, dealing with troublesome students, heartache and loss, with some danger and intrigue thrown in. Spoiler alert: there is some very salty and crude language (cussing like a drunken sailor) but I found myself laughing many times. And I really liked the way Sid spoke and did different accents for the different characters.
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  • Sharon Storm
    2.0 out of 5 stars Too close to a soap opera script
    Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2021
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I’m more than halfway through but don’t think I can finish this. Disappointing, because I enjoyed “Campus Confidential”, an earlier book in this series. The author seems to think all women want children, because Rowena, the main character, describes being childless as “something to mourn.” I found this heavy handed and condescending, especially since Rowena also complained that she should buy a new car but couldn’t afford it. The constant moping over Dima, her former boyfriend, and not having a man in her life is tedious. Way too much angst between her and her older brother. “Campus Confidential” was more entertaining and less whiny. Reading about the travails of the academic world is interesting, which is why I’m not giving it one star. There is quite a bit of adult language, which doesn’t bother me but may turn off other readers.
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  • Bernice McBride
    1.0 out of 5 stars Language
    Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    If the f word were eliminated, this book would probably have half as many pages. It’s disappointing when an author uses that word in almost every sentence - and surely unnecessary.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Reign
    5.0 out of 5 stars very interesting book
    Reviewed in Canada on December 17, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This is the second bk of his I've read and it was a serious slice of life book . Like reading ones diary and getting insights you can use yourself 5 star --- in my world a 10
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