As a result of a long friendship with a fellow author and a perceived need for coverage of certain topics, Stan Malless, assistant professor of education, has co-written three books.

In 1988, Malless and Jeff McQuain wrote “Elements of English: A Glossary of Basic Terms for Literature, Composition, and Grammar”. The book took three years for the authors to write.

Their work seemed to pay off in the end, because this first book attracted national attention. New York Times columnist William Safire, said Elements of English is, “the most useful short course of English I’ve ever read.”

In 1998, the two authors collaborated again. This time they wrote “Coined by Shakespeare: Words and Meanings First Penned by the Bard”. The book took two years to write.

“We [Malless and McQuinn] set out to examine how Shakepeare affected the words we use commonly today,” Malless said.

This year, the two authors again got together to complete their third book, “Coined By God”. The book will be available early next year.

Malless and McQuain decided to write books about words because they felt there was a need for it and also because they had personal interests in the topic.

“We have written these books mostly because of a perceived need. This was needed in the school system and for the audience who enjoys words,” Malless said.

The hardest part about getting a book published for Malless is just that.

“It is actually getting it done and meeting deadline that is the toughest part about a book,” Malless said. “It is also very hard to do this with a full load of teaching.”

For Malless, the most enjoyable part about being an author is using his creativity. When he retires from teaching he plans to become a full-time writer.

Malless also has collections of poems and articles published.