MEMORIAL DAY. . .
Flags waving. Parades. Cook outs. A day to
remember and honor the fallen.
The authors talk about a military hero or
heroine in an upcoming or recent book and share a little of their background.
And getting a little more personal, we're sharing photos of a real someone in
uniform, along with their story.
Sutton Calhoun, now an
agent for Cooper Security, spent most of his adult years in the Marine Corps.
Enlisting at age 18, mostly to get as far away as he could from his notorious
conman father and his troubled past in Bitterwood, Tennessee, Sutton found
himself in the Corps, discovering discipline, honor and a sense of purpose that
changed his life.
But upon returning to
Bitterwood to solve a murder, he reunites with Bitterwood P.D. detective Ivy
Hawkins, his childhood friend and the only part of his past in Bitterwood he
regrets leaving behind.
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| Delores Fossen |
Character Name: Marshal
Dallas Walker. He's not in the military, but he's a true-blue cowboy lawman
Picture: is of me. I was an
Air Force officer for over eight years, and the photo was taken when I made
captain at RAF Lakenheath, England.
What a timely question for
me! My May Intrigue is about Green Beret Travis Delancey, who was captured
while on a secret mission overseas and held hostage for five months. When he's
sent home, he's suffering from PTSD. He survived the five months in captivity by
playing good times with family and loved ones over and over in his head. His
best times were with Psychiatrist Kate Chalmet, the one woman he can never
forget. When he finally just walks out of Walter Reed Medical Center, buys a
car and drives home to New Orleans, it's to find Kate and tell her how he
feels. If she doesn't feel the same, then at least he finally told her and he
can walk away with fewer regrets. But when he finds Kate, he discovers that she
has a little boy, his child, who has been kidnapped to force Dr. Chalmet to
testify that a prominent senator was temporarily insane when he shot a friend
of his.
Travis must call on his
disturbing memories of his captivity to understand the abductors holding little
Max, and must risk everything to save the child he never knew he had. Travis is
wounded, both physically and emotionally, from his ordeal, but he is a true
hero, both as a soldier, a father and a man. I humbly hope that I may have
represented at least in some small part, the strength, integrity, bravery,
commitment, faith and love for country that our people in uniform carry with
them into the military. These exceptional men and women represent the best of
all of us. I admire them more than I can express. Thank you, the United States
Military, and God bless you and keep you, and those who have fallen, in the
palm of his Almighty Hands.
Character Name: Gabe Cannon
I'll celebrate the military
heroes in my December 2011 novella trilogy:
P.S. I'm gearing
up to making a big batch of new release announcements and give away prizes on
my Facebook page, so come and Like me to make sure you don't miss anything!
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| Julie's baby brother, THE MAJOR |
Well, as my dad would say,
"Once a Marine, always a Marine." To the very end of his life, not
only did he sport that jarhead haircut, he lived by that code of honor,
integrity and patriotism. Growing up with that influence in our life, it's no wonder
that my younger brother went into the Corps for several years, and now serves
as a major in the Army National Guard--or that I've written so many military
heroes for Harlequin Blaze and Intrigue.
My most recent Marine Corps
hero was John Murdock in THE MARINE NEXT DOOR. John was a firefighter who went back
into the Corps after the woman he loved married someone else. However, his
stint overseas ended with him coming home without part of his leg and most of
his soul. I matched him up with another wounded warrior, KCPD desk sergeant and
abuse survivor, Maggie Wheeler. John and
Maggie (and her matchmaking son, Travis!) needed each other to stay alive, to
heal emotionally, and to believe in love again.
I'm sticking with cops for my next few stories, but I do have another
military hero on the horizon in a story proposal I recently submitted--the
heroine of my September Intrigue, TASK FORCE BRIDE, has a brother in the Corps. I plan to bring him home to Kansas City and
continue the tradition of military romance.
Hopefully, the story will sell and soon I'll be able to tell you about
THE MP NEXT DOOR!
Thank you to all our
veterans, active military and their families.
My May release is about a
Texas Ranger--law enforcement, no military background. But I just finished my
January release: THE MARINE'S LAST
DEFENSE (I think the editors are keeping this title), so I'll share a
little about Jake.
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| JT PLATT |
Jake Craig is a former
Marine who served most of his time overseas in a war zone. When he's had enough
and returns home, his wife divorces him and quickly marries someone in the
Army. Betrayed and needing a fresh start, he moves and quickly climbs the
police ranks to homicide detective. His first case involves a dead body, a
supposed dead woman, and a puppy. Jake hasn't let anyone near him since
returning home…his last defense is taken down by a single bark and lots of love.
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| Angi's Kid |
I can't remember whose blog
(years ago) asked for a number of family members that had served in the
military. I ran out of fingers. I don't have pictures of my dad in uniform, nor
of my grandfather. To the left is a picture of my father-in-love who served in the Army. The picture of the Marine in the Jeep is still
serving. My dad served in the National Guard. His oldest brother was one of the
original fighting SeaBees in WWII. His father served as a
telegraph stringer on the battlefields of France in WWI. His purple heart is in
my possession. I can't name all my cousins and uncles who have served. I'm
afraid I'd leave someone out. I hope they all know and have experienced how
appreciated their service to our country is.
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| Robin's Uncle |
Character Name: Hunter
Graham is a man who joined the military at eighteen after struggling living on
the streets for the two years since his mother died. He learned loyalty,
courage and honor during his training, and now he must use every skill he possesses
in order to save the woman he loves and their child. His willingness to
sacrifice himself and his own desires in order to keep the heroine and their
son safe, to me, is the epitome of what our military men and women do for us
every day of every week of every year. They deserve our respect, gratitude and
thanks, even though they would never ask for it.
Memorial Day is a day of
honor, and I thought I’d share a photograph of my great uncle Frank. He fought
in World War I. I didn't know him until he was in his 70s. He was wounded
twice—once in the arm and once in the leg. He was left on a battlefield and
then warned that German tanks would be coming through the next day. He dragged
himself a mile (or so the family legend goes) before he was found. He came home
from overseas and lived his life. He never spoke of the war, but he challenged
himself always. He taught himself to speak Spanish—badly, I'm afraid. He
learned to make turquoise jewelry (I still have a ring he made for me when I
was a girl). He prospected for gold in New Mexico and Arizona. He was an
amazing mechanic and tinkerer. But mostly, he was just always there, quiet and
strong.
I know little of what he
saw or what he did on those ravaged battle fields. He never spoke of it to
anyone—which in itself says so much. What I do know is how he lived his life
afterwards. His father had just died, and my great uncle became head of the
family (my grandmother was only ten years old at the time). He lived his life
for his family. He always looked forward and did for others. Other than my dad,
he was one of the first heroes I ever met. And he inspires me to this day.
Rick Slater, Special Ops
Leader in Afghanistan, led his men into a cave to rescue "hostages"
on bad intel. The tunnel and two of his men were blown up. Rick is now trying
out the civilian life as a security expert, trying to put his guilt at losing his
men behind him.
My own ex-military hero was
my late husband Edward -- we were married on Memorial Day Weekend.
Ben is a decorated Army
sniper who was part of an operation that had tragic results and left him broken
in spirit. He retrained and became part of a medivac unit that recovers and
evacuates wounded soldiers.
Here is a special trailer
that says more about the book: A Time of Change by Aimee and David Thurlo Book
Trailer - YouTube
~ ~ ~
TELL US about
a military person in your life? Join us May 2nd. We love to hear from you.
We have just had ANZAC (Australian New Zealand Army Corps) Day here in Australia. It's a military day of remembrance too, dating back to WWI. It's a very big deal.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to hear about other countries, too, Mary.
Delete~Angi
Actually, that photograph with my story is of my "baby" brother, the major. ;) The only pix I have of my dad in uniform are copies of older pix and wouldn't scan very clearly.
ReplyDeleteJulie Miller
Sorry Julie. I'll get that corrected. ~Angi
Delete