It should be a requirement for all published authors to do an enlistment we'd have a lot better books out there." "The brotherhoods, the losses, the victories, crying wives, cheating wives, uncertainty, death, destruction, redemption and perhaps above all else when refining a story's characters how we can be a hero to someone and a zero to someone else. A few years in a war-time Marine Corps throws a lot at you, especially if you're someone who insists on writing most of it down. Q.: How did your experiences in the military shape you as an author?Ī.: "Nothing boils my blood more lately than the 23 year-old who got their and now wants to show the reading world all the peaks and valleys of la condition humaine. "Then it was all journals and chaotic vignettes, but writing for its own sake can really shape an author when they finally wake up and realize they should take a stab at it professionally." It was always there, and it came with me to Recon. "The stack got really high back then too ghost stories, rip-offs of Dragonlance that I laced with my take on an Anne McCaffrey cover (thanks, Grandma), to a few rather prophetic tales about fighter jets and various military commandos with a death wish. When I'd play hooky at 12, she would comment later - a schoolteacher herself - how I'd do more work on my own than in any language arts class. My mother has pictures of me at 5 scribbling away at home on some Flintstones writing desk. I mean, you certainly buck stereotypes about Marines, which is great, but how did your career as a writer begin?Ī.: "You're going to hate me because this is going to sound way too crystal-hugging, head in the clouds, but I believe maybe one or two elements in our makeup is just a 'born' thing. Q.: Tell us a little about your journey from Force Recon to author. Time really is the best teacher, for those of us anyway who give her rather indifferent voice a willing ear." "Losing an identity, forging a new one, forgiving the world for not having stopped just because you put yourself in harm's way, there is no class for. There are a few tidbits about the VA and the usual suspects that could have saved me some time and heartache, but the things I would have really liked to have known are the things that only come with time and maturity. I had no clue what I wanted to do when I got out. Q.: What was your transition like? What would you have liked to know before you transitioned out?Ī.: "A train wreck, just slow and with a series of bad girlfriends. "I have just typed and erased the intro to maybe half a dozen stories and realized each time that being in Recon was so diverse that no one story can encapsulate the highs and lows, the sense of family, the sense of failure being worse than death and how it is populated by a group of men with such hilarious yet dire personalities." At any rate: Battalion, Force or what-have-you, no, I really can't. I was technically in 3rd Force Co for like a month back in 2009 on volunteer reserve orders, but more time was probably spent driving from Orlando to Mobile and back than actually being in a Marine Corps uniform. Q.: Can you share an anecdote from your time in recon that sums up what your experiences were like?Ī.: "Well, I should probably clarify, I was a battalion recon man. Eventually, I'd be a Recon Marine in Iraq during the era of Operation Phantom Fury." Only real difference was a penchant for misery hence, pushing to Recon as soon as I learned it existed. "Looking back, I wanted positive male role models and purpose and all the things that made me like so many young men. This was early 2002 and war was in the air, and with it, came this. Just so happened I was a poster child living so close to Coronado Bay that I could see elements of the I training. Q.: Tell us a little about why you joined the Marines and later applied to Force Recon.Ī.: "When I was 19, I was the poster child for the directionless. For those who may be interested in these slam nights, there is always our day's obligatory social media, but I'd also recommend they go on Dates, authors, locations, you name it." well, we figured let's provide a platform for this. I get that a lot messages from inspired vets who want my opinion about an essay or a vignette. "What we are ultimately hoping for is to see others come and share their work. Other than tooling around in an RV, we will be reading from our collective works and signing said works for those wanting to wobble home with a copy. "But yeah, myself and two other guys, who seem to share my obsession with getting published, are setting out on a guerrilla-style tour of the East Coast. Always wanted to be in a punk band guess this is as close as it gets for someone who can't play an instrument to save their life. A.: "The Verses and Curses Tour! Starts Memorial Day in Manhattan.
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