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Seen
He Fit the Description
Jason Royals wouldn’t miss church for love or money. Now love and money? That was a different matter. He downplayed the “love” part when he asked his mother’s permission to meet a friend with the inside track on a summer job. But it was a budding romance that put pep in his step walking to Wellstein’s Pharmacy. Young, smart and ambitious, Jason had big plans. His future was there for the taking. And they took it. Sprinting to beat a traffic light, he caught the attention of a police officer en route to a nearby murder scene. Running while Black and wearing tan pants, Jason fit the description. Told, in part, from the perspective of veteran homicide detective John Marshall, Seen is the story of two men struggling to define their lives, in a world all too eager to write their roles.
Jason Royals wouldn’t miss church for love or money. Now love and money? That was a different matter. He downplayed the “love” part when he asked his mother’s permission to meet a friend with the inside track on a summer job. But it was a budding romance that put pep in his step walking to Wellstein’s Pharmacy. Young, smart and ambitious, Jason had big plans. His future was there for the taking. And they took it. Sprinting to beat a traffic light, he caught the attention of a police officer en route to a nearby murder scene. Running while Black and wearing tan pants, Jason fit the description. Told, in part, from the perspective of veteran homicide detective John Marshall, Seen is the story of two men struggling to define their lives, in a world all too eager to write their roles.
348 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 25, 2021
5 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Julie G Delegal
1 book10 followersJulie G. Delegal is delighted to announce her first novel, SEEN, has won an IPPY! On May 4, 2022, The Independent Publisher Awards honored the fast paced courtroom drama with a Gold Medal for Best Fiction in the Southeast Region.
SEEN is also a finalist in the 2022 Independent Author Network (IAN) Book of the Year Awards. In its previous, unpublished form, SEEN was a quarterfinalist in the 2019 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition.
Through her journalism, editorials, and feature articles in various online and print media outlets throughout Florida, Julie has developed a reputation as an advocate for education and social justice.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in English, minoring in Political Science and Women’s Studies, from the University of Florida.
It was Julie's honor to be to read at The Jax by Jax Literary Festival VIII in 2021, and to read as "Featured Author" at Jax by Jax IX, in 2022.
Julie lives and writes in Jacksonville, Florida.
SEEN is also a finalist in the 2022 Independent Author Network (IAN) Book of the Year Awards. In its previous, unpublished form, SEEN was a quarterfinalist in the 2019 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition.
Through her journalism, editorials, and feature articles in various online and print media outlets throughout Florida, Julie has developed a reputation as an advocate for education and social justice.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in English, minoring in Political Science and Women’s Studies, from the University of Florida.
It was Julie's honor to be to read at The Jax by Jax Literary Festival VIII in 2021, and to read as "Featured Author" at Jax by Jax IX, in 2022.
Julie lives and writes in Jacksonville, Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 2, 2023
As a Jacksonville native, this hit home. I knew the detective involved and cannot believe someone could be such a bad person. Definitely a worthwhile read if you'd like to see what living in this city is like (yeah, things haven't changed that much).
September 6, 2021
In the era of Black Lives Matter and George Floyd, this book resonates. In 2001, a tourist was shot at point blank range at a Jacksonville, Florida hotel. A few hours later, a young black male, who does not fit the physical description of the suspect is picked up as he crosses US 1 headed to a local Blockbuster to apply for a job.
Based on this real story, Julie Delegal weaves a semi-fictional tale of a young man who is accused of a crime he did not commit, as the police brutalize and violate the teen's constitutional rights to make the child fit the suspect.
Heartbreaking and real, the story deserves to be re-told to remind us that justice is not blind, especially in the new Jim Crow south.
Based on this real story, Julie Delegal weaves a semi-fictional tale of a young man who is accused of a crime he did not commit, as the police brutalize and violate the teen's constitutional rights to make the child fit the suspect.
Heartbreaking and real, the story deserves to be re-told to remind us that justice is not blind, especially in the new Jim Crow south.
October 9, 2021
Julie Delegal is a talented story-teller and takes her readers into the action through the lens of multiple characters. The narrative was fast-paced and kept my attention all the way through. The court scenes were especially intriguing. I definitely recommend this for a both thought-provoking and entertaining read.
July 19, 2022
The story line moves along smoothly & naturally; really good character development w/believable characters.
January 7, 2024
Seen is a legal thriller told primarily from the point of view of the accused. It is also a coming-of-age story, laced with the sour vinegar of prickly race relations and the legacy of unequal justice in the South.
Instead of watching the bad guy get punished, in Seen, we witness the good guy getting manipulated by a far from perfect system. All the legal thriller elements are there: the victimized underdog; the overweening and powerful, yet good-intentioned police; the press, thirsty for scandal; the social impacts of arrest and trial on the family and friends, and, of course, the heroic defense lawyer.
In addition, the book does a good job at analyzing, in an even-handed way, the perspective of each party to the crime, so to speak. How does it feel, to experience an arrest and all that comes after it? How do the police feel, about being forced to justify their actions? How does the black community feel, as yet another insult is added, to all the past injuries at the hands of the police?
Julie Delegal sensitively, but without pulling any punches, portrays what could happen, under the right circumstances, to an innocent. Her fictional account is no less frightening and sobering, for having obtained its skeleton of events from an actual case.
Instead of watching the bad guy get punished, in Seen, we witness the good guy getting manipulated by a far from perfect system. All the legal thriller elements are there: the victimized underdog; the overweening and powerful, yet good-intentioned police; the press, thirsty for scandal; the social impacts of arrest and trial on the family and friends, and, of course, the heroic defense lawyer.
In addition, the book does a good job at analyzing, in an even-handed way, the perspective of each party to the crime, so to speak. How does it feel, to experience an arrest and all that comes after it? How do the police feel, about being forced to justify their actions? How does the black community feel, as yet another insult is added, to all the past injuries at the hands of the police?
Julie Delegal sensitively, but without pulling any punches, portrays what could happen, under the right circumstances, to an innocent. Her fictional account is no less frightening and sobering, for having obtained its skeleton of events from an actual case.
January 30, 2022
A well-written book that I read straight through, only taking putting it down when absolutely necessary. The story of Jason's travails was compelling, and a mirror on problems still facing society. Everything felt real like I was reading a "true crime" story rather than a work of fiction. I often felt deep emotion at Jason's plight, and of his humanity. Well done, Ms. Delegal..
December 18, 2021
A Story Full Of Faith & Hope
This book is for anybody who hopes and prays for true equality and color blind justice for all of our children. And for those, like the author, who are out in the trenches, reporting on these issues and working for change, thank you is never enough.
This book is for anybody who hopes and prays for true equality and color blind justice for all of our children. And for those, like the author, who are out in the trenches, reporting on these issues and working for change, thank you is never enough.
July 23, 2023
Kafka's "The Trial" was left unfinished. But reality fills in the gaps. Julie G. Delegal shares the Kafkaesque in Seen. A well-written commentary on injustice. And the progress we need to see. Highly recommended!
April 28, 2022
excellent read
Great job describing the deepest struggles of social and spiritual justice in a world of deeply troubled youth with only a few options to make sense of the universe that they love in.. I hardly ever read a novel, but this one held my utmost attention to the very end.
Great job describing the deepest struggles of social and spiritual justice in a world of deeply troubled youth with only a few options to make sense of the universe that they love in.. I hardly ever read a novel, but this one held my utmost attention to the very end.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews