Fall Creek writer Pete Roller’s historical trilogy started with The Crook’d Staff. Beginning with an Irishman’s immigration to America, the story spans 1857 to 1997.

Pete Roller, local author of a compelling fictional trilogy about an Irish American family, The Crook’d Staff Trilogy, is set to release his third and final volume, The Crook’d Staff Today and Tomorrow.

Roller’s first book, The Crook’d Staff, was published in 2006. He said his inspiration to write it came from his background in Native American history. He was gazing at a Native American Dog Shoulder Staff and said, “That looks like a Sheppard’s Crook. They have those in Ireland.” Suddenly the tale of Evan Ryan in 19th century Ireland and his immigration to America came flowing through his fingertips onto his keyboard and out came the first 100 pages. Roller recalls writing for six hours that day. 

Roller has a bachelor’s degree in Native American history and he said this has influenced his story. Roller expressed that the theme of the first book is the “defense of the helpless,” and that the conflict of how the Irish were treated by the British is similar to that of how white Americans treated the Native Americans. 

Roller penned the second book, The Legacy of the Crook’d Staff, because his readers begged for a sequel. It starts in 1857 and ends in 1997 with an epilogue set in 2001. “The second book is more of a cerebral read,” Roller stated. “It’s tougher.” He explained that the complexity lies mostly in jumping between letters, diary entries, and narration. 

This, his third book, was written because his readers suggested bringing the story of the family into modern times. Thus, it is set entirely in the present. 

Roller assures his readers that his novels are historically accurate. Roller travelled to Ireland shortly after completing the first book. Roller stated that the Irish citizens he met read his book and expressed their amazement at how accurate the historical details were.

All three books start out in Ireland, and the titles are not pronounced “Crooked Staff” but “Crookt Staff.” Though Roller’s novels have nothing to do with his ancestry, he does base some of the characters, events, and lines on his own life and family. For example, the character of Elizabeth Anne is named after the middle names of two of Roller’s daughters. The character or Aunt Bet is based off of his daughter, Amy, and “Uncle Mac” is based on his son-in-law. The character Sara is based off of his daughter, Sara. The two heroes of the third book, Dan and Tim, are based on his grandsons. 

There is a scene in the first book that relates to his own relationship with his wife of 50 years. Roller married his high school sweetheart and on their first dance he said it felt like they “had danced together always.” A character in his first book uses this line. Another line that is used in his novels is, “She was her mother’s constant companion.” This line was used in reference to his own relationship with his mother.

Roller opened his own publishing company, Tiospaye Publishing, to release these books as an alternative to “waiting 18 months for a response from a publishing house with a 92 percent rejection rate or to paying $400 for 25 to 30 copies from a vanity press.” And while skeptics may think this means small-time, it has worked out for Roller. By last count he has sold 2,000 copies.