I am totally awesome because today is my birthday and it’s the most awesome day in the year.

Do you know why it’s the most awesome day in the year?

Because it’s Superhero Veterans Day!

That’s right: yours truly was born on the day set aside to honor the warriors upon whose backs this country was built and is kept safe.

Our superheroes – the real life kind.

Let me tell you, real superheroes rock far more than the comic book types because they became superheroes the hard way, and by choice. No radioactive spider bit them; they didn’t suddenly develop super powers during their angsty teenage years.

Nope, it was all the hard way for them. Saying ‘thank you for your service’ doesn’t seem like quite enough, though I know they appreciate it.

My personal superheroes include two grandfathers (both deceased), an uncle who fought in Vietnam and a brother who currently serves in the Navy.

I’ve made a wish for my birthday. Grant it and help those who’ve served.

More ways you can honor and help our warriors:

The Wounded Warrior Project

The Not Alone Fund

Operation Ebook Drop

Soldiers’ Angels: Project Valour-IT (Go, Team Navy!)

Freedom is Not Free

Its working title is Dark Secrets. I’ve written roughly 7k on the first title since late Friday night.

There’s supernatural critters, secrets, dark obsessions, hot sexing and violence.

The playlist for it so far includes:

• Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
• Fever
• Total Eclipse of the Heart
• Beautiful Stranger
• Shook Me All Night Long
• Self Control
• Human Nature
• Voices Carry
• Heat of the Moment
• I Said It
• Tiny Little Fractures
• Losing My Grip
• Killin’ Me
• God Complex
• The Killing Jar
• The Hand That Feeds
• Wreak Havoc

Stay tuned for an excerpt! I’m really excited about both it and the female lead!

I’ve been thinking about something for several days now, and it’s not going to leave me alone until I write about. Probably not very well, but here goes nothing.

[climbs up on soapbox]

There are people in this world who believe that soldiers are nothing more than trained killing machines. That they glory in violence and the taking of life.

If that were true, then so very many of our combat vets wouldn’t be suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

It’s an insidious problem that affects not just the afflicted warrior, but their families, friends and even strangers. The only thing these warriors have done is to be willing to step up, volunteer and sacrifice. Their experiences aren’t of their own doing; they aren’t running around the world shoving weapons in enemy hands and yelling ‘fight me so I can kill you’ in their faces.

They follow orders and do what they are trained to do. They act, react and experience things you and I won’t ever have to, because they volunteered to take that burden upon themselves.

If you’re looking for someone to pin the blame on, look at those who create the conflicts: religion, politics and dictators who consider their own people nothing more than lesser creatures that exist only for their own comfort and entertainment. Did you know that religion is the cause for more death than any natural disasters or other causes throughout history?

Our warriors give. They don’t take.

Read more »

Just a few days ago, while reading some old news stories, I discovered Not Alone. Two days later, guess who started following me on Twitter?

I’m one of those people who tends to pay attention to signs. I was also born on a Veterans’ Day during the last quarter of the Vietnam War. I think that pretty much constitutes a firm ’sign’.

I do have a few other reasons, which you can read about from the link provided below, but the gist of this post is that I’ve decided to support Not Alone via The Warriors’ Legacy Fund and Defend Michael by donating a portion of the proceeds from the sales of titles in the Shadow Connor, the Huntress series and selected artworks.

More information can be found here, and that was pretty much all I had to say.

Except I’ll probably be peppering those links from now on, every time the words warrior, war, soldier, etc pops up in my writing. That’s the way I roll, people.