What inspired you to do that?

In November, I had the honor of attending the Readers’ Favorite Award Ceremony in Miami for awards that I had won in 2020, 2021, and 2022. My husband and I had a wonderful time, and you can read more about it on my blog.

The awards were for the first three books in the Rise Again Warrior Series in Military Fiction. Mission: Believe won a Bronze (2020), Mission: Accept won a Gold (2021), and Mission: Repair won a Gold (2022). While talking to other authors during the event, I was asked the same two questions repeatedly: You write military fiction? What inspired you to do that?

That’s what this post is about today. Yes, I write military fiction, and it is very realistic, heartwrenching, intense, and hopeful. Most of you know I retired from law enforcement a few years ago, but I was never in the military. I was, however, married to a man in the US Navy, and my son currently serves in the US Navy.

I have a lot of friends who served in the military, and I have seen them go through highs and lows after their service. I also belong to many groups that support military veterans and current service members.

I am dismayed at the statistics of suicide among our veterans. I am equally appalled at the number of men and women who live on the streets and don’t get the treatment they need—but I am beyond horrified at the number of veterans who do not get the RESPECT they deserve after serving our country.

Perhaps it is because the civilians of our country do not understand what they went through, what they deal with every single day inside their minds. Or, it’s because the wars our veterans have fought are so away that you don’t even know what or who we were fighting. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Maybe for us, but not for them. Many of them are still stuck in a place far from home and fighting to find a way to live ordinary lives again. Although to them, ordinary just doesn’t make sense.

That is why I write these books. Perhaps they are to entertain people, but I try to educate people about what our men and women have gone through, what they continue to go through, and how hard they fight every single day to service the demons that constantly live on their backs and in the shadows of their minds.

That is why I write them and will continue to write them while I work with veterans to support them any way that I can.

Awards and a Fun Trip Planned!

On September 1st, I was super excited to hear that the third book in the Rise Again Warrior Series, Mission: Repair had won a GOLD award with the Readers’ Favorite Awards! The first book in the series, Mission: Believe, won a bronze in 2020, and the second book, Mission: Accept won a Gold in 2021.

Because of the pandemic, Readers’ Favorite couldn’t have their standard yearly award ceremony, but this year they are. I’ll be traveling down to Miami, Florida, to receive my award, not just for Mission: Repair, but all three books! Which is super exciting!

My husband will be joining me, as, at the end of this month, we are celebrating our 20th anniversary, and we aren’t doing anything special. We will take the time to enjoy the awards ceremony and two days together in Miami to celebrate it. We are both super excited to not only get away together but to be present for this award ceremony and visit the Miami Book Fair.

The Rise Again Warrior Series is very near and dear to my heart. It’s not just military fiction or romance, but in-depth emotional stories that share the brutalities of recovery after the war is over. These characters are all trying to find new places in society, dealing with demons daily as they attempt to find their way. The series is raw, realistic, and heartfelt, dealing with trauma injuries, PTSD, suicide, addiction, depression, and many other issues our current real-life warriors are battling to overcome.

This series is available on your favorite book retailer: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Apple, and more!