Author Laura Griffin was one author who spent the time to trudge to the post office, stand in line and send me all of the above with one added benefit: she sent me ARCs of her two books that came out last year: Untraceable and RITA nominated Whisper of Warning. So without delay, here’s Laura, asking for support on books for soldiers!

What’s better than chocolate? According to a friend of mine who just spent a year deployed overseas, a good book.

As a civilian, I’d never spent much time thinking about the reading material on most military bases. But I guess it isn’t surprising that it’s geared toward men. When my local Romance Writers of America chapter heard that female soldiers were finding the reading selection a little thin, we started sending care packages containing romance novels, chick lit, mysteries, women’s fiction—basically, whatever we thought women overseas might be missing. The effort continues today with a paperback book drive over on Murder She Writes: www.murdershewrites.com

“These packages mean a tiny space in time where a female soldier can feel like the woman she is rather than the weapon wielding warrior she also is,” says Monica, a soldier who helps get care packages to women in uniform. “These packages let the soldier escape from the sand and stress of a deployment and be somewhere else completely.”

The goal today is 100 books, one for every person who leaves a comment here or on Murder She Writes. Many author friends have generously donated books, and I’ve picked up some paperbacks from the bestseller section of my local book store. They’re all going into the box, along with a few other much-requested goodies, such as blank journals and chocolate!

Please leave a comment and help us reach our goal!

And if you have some books on your hands that you’d like to donate directly, you can contact Monica at: mojo09226@yahoo.com for details.

Laura Griffin started her career in journalism before venturing into the world of writing romantic suspense. Her articles have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines, and her fiction work has garnered awards from writing competitions throughout the country. Laura currently lives in Austin, where she is working on her next romantic suspense novel.

It’s a unique and highly honored club and it’s right that those of us on the outside looking in couldn’t possibly ‘get it’. Couldn’t possibly know what you’ve been through – both good and bad. Couldn’t know what you’ve learned, what you’ve cherished, what you’ve feared and what you’ve loved about your commitment to country above self.

I’m awed and I’m humbled by what you all give up. You leave your homes and everything you hold dear for long deployments into hostile and foreign environments. You leave knowing that when you come home, nothing will truly ever be the same again. You’ve lost months, sometimes years with your children, your spouses, you’re extended family and friends. You risk much. And you do it willingly.

And for just this short post, I want to say thank you. Not a generic, ‘I’m so grateful for the sacrifices you make for us,’ but a heartfelt, deeply sincere thank you for doing something I don’t think I could ever do, for giving up things I’m glad I’ve never had to give up, for being strong and stalwart and providing inspiration to a nation of Americans, who need something good to aspire to.

The thing I love about army wives is the way they stick together. During the last decade, army wives have had to find ways to support each other and their soldiers all the while being mommy, daddy and everything in between. There are so many challenges in being Household 6 and one of the toughest parts of that job is loving a soldier who isn’t going always be there. There will be missed birthdays and anniversaries. Sometimes the best gift is a phone call or an email from a far off combat zone, just letting us know our soldier is safe.

So it’s quite an honor for me to be invited over to the Army Wife Network to talk about Romance Roll Call. I’ll be there on January 25 at 2100-2130 streamed live over the internet. I hope you’ll stop by and listen to what should be a great interview. I’m putting out a call for guest bloggers to join us here on Romance Roll Call as well as looking to fill a few regular spots.

So mark your calendars, pass the word and show your support for the hardest job in the army: the army wife!

Dear Readers,

I have served our country in the United States Army for 5 years, I have not yet, had the pleasure of serving in the Middle East. My friends and family have served many times over, and over. My best friend, whom I have been friends with since Basic, is currently serving her country in Iraq. She doesn’t write to me about the RPGs or how dang cold it gets at night…she writes to me about how she misses our book discussions and how she has NOTHING to read over there besides mystery thriller stuff, and there is only some much of that a girl can take.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is where I have been helping and applying my time. I have been raising a collection of signed awesomeness for my BFF as a surprise when she comes home, AND, I have been collecting books that more befit her reading taste to send over to her and some of her female colleagues who are in the same reading predicament. They enjoy romance, paranormal, urban fantasy, young adult fiction, and anything really that lets them escape being stuck in the sand box for 5 whole minutes. That gift alone is priceless.

So, if you, as a fellow romance reader, would like to help you can email me at: mojo09226(AT)yahoo.com and we can discuss a means of getting books from you, donations for me to purchase books for them, or even if you just want to write them a note about you favorite romance book, I am sure they would love that. Its all about doing what you are able.

Thank you so much for your time! Also in honor of my work with deployed soldiers I was given some cash to giveaway an ereader or GC on my blog, check in out and enter to win if you would like, people who have helped with my collection get 20 additional entries.

Monica S.
Help Me Treat a Soldier to the Moment of her Life!!!

Since that first Christmas, there have been others where I stayed in Texas or Korea or went skiing, but since I’ve had kids, the last five Christmas Days have been memorable, either because of being with the kids or being without them. In 2004, I was a new mom, alone with a colicy baby and a husband who’d gone back to Iraq a few short weeks prior. At 4 am, the baby was awake, so I fed her, then opened presents for her with the dogs to keep us both company.
2005, mommy and daddy were both home and we stayed in Texas, hanging around the house and relaxing.

2006, I was alone again, this time, with a 2 month old and my then 2 year old. Daddy was back in Iraq, so what did Mommy do? We traveled to Maine to spend Christmas with my family. That was the first time my daughter was old enough to remember playing with my neice and they were only 3 days apart in age. They’ve been close since, especially this year, when they went to kindergarten together.

In 2007, we were all back together in Texas once more, but I had to head back to officer training in Georgia shortly after wards.

2008 was probably my worst Christmas. I’ve always been there. Me and the kiddos. Last year, though, was my first one away from my kids and it hit me, hard. There was a sad little tree outside our CHU (containerized housing unit) and someone had hung a few sad little decorations on it. It was as though in the middle of that crappy base, someone was determined to remember what day it was and why it was important.

But to me, diving into work and forgetting about everything at home was the way I coped. I misted up every time someone said Merry Christmas. I didn’t want to see the decorations. I didn’t want to pretend like the holiday mattered to me because without my kids, it didn’t. I know that’s not what Christmas truly is about, but for me, the real pain of missing my children was nothing compared to any notions of the reason for the season.

It hurt. A lot.

So this year, as my husband and I sneak out after the kids go to bed in order to play Santa and Mrs. Claus, I remember what last year was like and what this year is like for hundreds of thousands of families who’s loved ones are deployed during Christmas. And when I find myself getting frustrated with the crowds and the traffic, I remember what last year was like, when there were no crowds and there was no Christmas shopping.

And this year, when I’m hugging my kids and seeing their faces light up and get to hear my daughter singing in the Christmas Eve Mass, I’m going to take a deep breath and remember how lucky and how blessed I truly am. Because this year, more than most, means a lot to me.

I am home and I am grateful.

The National Guard has been around since 1609–way before the actual country we defend. We are the Massachusetts Minutemen, the “well-regulated militia” that has the right to bear arms in the Constitution. When we swear the oath of enlistment or commission, we agree to obey the orders not only of the President (the office, not the person), but also of the Governor of the state to which we enlist/commission. Because the National Guard are the State Militias, it is only the National Guard that has the legal right to perform military operations inside the borders of the United States, and only at the behest of the Governor. So I wasn’t in the National Guard; I was in the North Carolina National Guard (and the Michigan Guard before that).

So any natural or man-made emergencies that need increased security or…well, well-regulated manpower, the Governors mobilize their National Guards: obviously, security after 9/11, but also ice storms, snow storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, SuperBowl security, Olympic security, crowd control. All (most of?) the security during the Civil Rights movement: National Guard.

But then, we can also, of course, be mobilized by the President as part of the Federal forces. At that point, we’re actually Federalized and no longer under control of the State apparatus at all. Most of the National Guard who responded to Hurricane Katrina was actually Federalized for the duration, because we were operating outside our own jurisdiction. So when I went from Greensboro, NC, to Hammond, LA, the Federal government paid my way (and I got a nice free trip on a C-130!).

But we train with the other Armed Forces. I went to Army Basic Training at Fort Jackson, SC. But I did Officer Candidate School through the National Guard (that’s also in the Constitution—Article I, Section 8: “To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress.” But after OCS was over, I went to Officer Basic Course with Regular Army Second Lieutenants (the actual job I did was a Chemical Officer. OCS taught me how to lead, Chemical OBC taught me what to tell my soldiers to do).

And we’re different from the Reserves, because the Reserves are the Federal-only forces who train one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer like the National Guard, but report only to the President, not to the Governor. Which makes moving when in the Reserves not nearly as difficult as inter-state transfers in the National Guard.

And of course, there’s the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard, the Air Force wing of the Guard. I was in the Army National Guard. No rivalry there…no!

So, a down-and-dirty introduction to the National Guard. Hope you enjoyed it.

I haven’t looked very hard, but I know of only one author who has written about a National Guard soldier: Virginia Kantra’s Sea Witch has a National Guard hero. Can anyone out there tell me of any more?

Coffee Anyone?

One of my oddest memories of life in the Navy is discovering the true use of coffee. The First Class Petty Officer in my squadron’s department handed me fifty cents and asked me to go down to the coffee mess (the Navy version of a break room) and bring back plain black coffee. I thought this was odd, because he never drank coffee, but I got it, walked back carefully so as not to spill it, and handed it to him.

He nodded his thanks, and then splashed the contents across the floor.

With a smile, he gestured toward me and the other three airmen in our department. “Grab a mop,” he said, and headed out the door. My puzzlement must’ve been obvious because the others laughed and filled me in on the joke. The coffee in the squadron was strong enough to use as floor stripper. Believe it or not, it worked.

I didn’t drink coffee for about ten years. Even today, I prefer mine weak enough to add a slight taste to the water, and then I add a no-calorie sweetener and plenty of creamer, chocolate preferably. With regular coffee, it doesn’t matter how much sugar, sweetener, or cream/creamer I add — I still don’t like it. Too bitter for me, even when freshly ground and brewed. But using about 1/4 the amount of coffee and the rest hot water is perfect.

Life in the military taught me how to improvise and use whatever was handy to get the job done. I’ll bet most of the readers here could say the same thing, whether it’s in the military or civilian life. We had a saying tacked up on the wall in the department spaces and it still fits me today.

 ”I have now done so much with so little for so long that I am able to do absolutely anything with absolutely nothing.”  

Indiana for California and coming home again for me to decide I wanted to go into the military. Now most people didn’t think I could do it. Heck, I wasn’t even sure if I could, but I wanted to try. In May of 1997 I enlisted.

When I got to basic training, I was weight listed (overweight by the military scales) so I had one more thing to struggle with. The worry was always there that I wouldn’t be able to lose the couple pounds. Most people who knew me would not believe that I enjoyed basic training. I was worried about the yelling, afraid I would cry, but it didn’t happen. I did hear a lot of “Your other left foot, Jones!” during marching. lol I’ve always been directionally challenged.

One of my proudest moments was when my mom showed up for graduation and watched me march in formation. Basic flew by. Of course, back then it was only 6 weeks long. I’m pretty sure it’s 12 weeks now.

The next step was tech school. I went in as a computer operator and really found myself. I was confident for the first time and not as shy as I would normally be. I actually became the Red Rope, leading the Yellow Ropes, Green Ropes and rest of the squad. Never in a million years would I have attempted something like this before the military. It gave me a piece of myself that could shine.

I was excited for tech school to be over so I could go to my first duty station. I anxiously awaited news of where I would be stationed. My sister had been stationed in England her first assignment, I was hoping for something just as fun. I got…Offutt Air Force Base, NE. lol When I got there, it wasn’t much different from Indiana. Plus, they put me in as a base operator. I answered the phones. Not very glamorous, but I really enjoyed it. The people I met were great.

I was only in the Air Force for two years. I developed asthma as was medically discharged. I still miss it. It was one of the best times in my life.

So, what was I to do next? I ended up getting married and having a child. Then it happened. The next stage of my life…writing. Reading had been a passion for a long time. I dabbled a bit with writing here and there until I found Yahoo Groups and ended up doing some reviewing. That led to writing. I now have my first military book with Liquid Silver Publishing. It’s in ebook form about a Marine and an NCIS Agent called Semper Fi: Magnus. I’m very proud of it and hope people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Today, Dec. 11, 2009, a few authors from Liquid Silver are doing a blog tour. If you want to take a look, it starts here http://trinamlee.com/blog/ at 7am. There are prizes to be had if you want to follow along.

You can find me at a couple different places. I’m sure I’ll be here from time to time, but you can also find me at a couple blogs and a yahoo group. I’ll list those below. You can always email me at jambrea@jambrea.com

http://jambrea.wordpress.com/

http://internationalheat.wordpress.com/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Heat_Wave_Readers/?yguid=80421025