F is for Father, Family, Fayetteville and Florida!

Welcome to Day 6 of the A-Z Challenge Blog. I'm a little late today. Got to bed at 2 AM. Have to say we had a wonderful trip to the East Coast, in all respects.

We spent time with family in Fayetteville and I really enjoyed the town and its people. I am second generation Northern Californian (up here we think there should be two states, so we have our own North vs. South issues). My father was born in a small town in the central valley, Selma, "home of the peach" he used to say. Things were simple for their family who barely made it out of the depression. When he went to Berkeley for college, Grandpa took him to the highway and he hitchhiked. No college dorm "room decorating" like I overdid for my crew.

Dad had visited Fayetteville and liked the South. He and my mom almost retired to Tennessee, and would have, except for needing to be close to the grandkids. But they would have fit in.

I found the people in North Carolina friendly. We enjoyed the beautiful woods, little towns, small town mannerisms and courtesies we don't often get here in California. Men open doors. Women say thank you. And no one thinks it's uncool to say, "Ya'll have a great day," because they mean it. Really mean it. It doesn't go on rich or poor lines. Humanity wins here.

We spent a late after brunch walk around old Fayetteville and her pre-Civil War buildings. Fascinating. The Airborne/Special Ops Museum was closed. Although run by mostly volunteers, has recently had it's days cut to Saturday and Sunday only. We got to walk around the park on the outside. My previous posts in this blog show pictures of that. The art piece to the right is a dog tag representation, based on the number of fallen service men and women from North Carolina. Walking under it was very moving for me.

We flew to West Palm Beach on Thursday and enjoyed the warm humid air as we toured the SEAL/UDT museum at Ft. Pierce. Again, some earlier posts have pictures. Three perfectly timed and calibrated shots freed Captain Phillips on Easter Sunday in 2009. You can see what's left of the little window those rounds went through in the center on my post from Friday. Rescue is never pretty. I found a great T shirt in the museum store: "If you want to meet a Navy SEAL, steal a ship." 'Nuff said.

We walked the beach in the rain. Felt good to get warmed and feel the white sand between our toes. The place was packed with "Easter Breakers" getting ready to go home to the cold. Our hotel was rumbling from little feet trying to get in the last body surf at midnight. Reminded me of my childhood days when my brother and I used to visit my Grandfather at Rio Del Mar, near Santa Cruz. Sand was everywhere. Made me remember the days when my son's entire 8 year old baseball team wound up in our hot tub. Water everywhere. Used more towels than we used in a month.

We came home to all the usual things. Our dogs, who missed us, and family drama. Of course. Life is, just life, afterall. I am extremely grateful for my family, and for those who lived a good life before me, sacrificed much, so I could live the life I have today.

And, of course, to my Dad, who loved the Navy, but I have to admit, he loved his drums probably a little bit better. I made sure he had a set of drumsticks at his grave at Christmas, just so he could make another joyful noise up there. 'Cause that's where I know he is.


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Interview: In The Shadow of Greatness

Joshua Welle and Graham Plaster, I must say, it is entirely a privilege to interview the two of you. Can’t wait to spread word about your wonderful book.

We military romance novelists write stories with military heroes. Different genre than yours, of course, but our readers like to learn about heroes and heroines who do the right thing, rise to the challenge and, against all odds, achieve a happily ever after. We wish it was always so in real life for these brave men and women.

In romance, we create fictional stories, based on things that could happen, not what did happen. Our average romance reader reads 3-4 books a week. It is estimated to be upwards of 51% of the publishing market. There is currently huge interest in things military, especially Special Ops.

So, thank you not only for your service, but for your time. I've written some questions about this book I think other writers and readers would want to know. So, welcome, and let's begin.

Tell me how you got the idea to put together the stories in this book? Who came up with the idea and how did it happen?

The concept for the book was originally a solicitation to our classmates, the first class to graduate from the US Naval Academy following 9-11, asking them to write something reflecting on their experiences over the past 10 years. We received 63 submissions over the course of three years and spent a considerable amount of time processing the themes that were emerging in the short stories.  

Our primary reason for writing the book was to give voice to our current generation of leaders, promoting an honest but hopeful vision for the country.  We're excited about the result because the book is exceeding our expectations.  Not only was there a lot of interest to write, but there has also been tremendous energy and support from those who are reading the stories.

Whose idea was it?

Joshua Welle, our class President, along with the elected leadership of the class, initiated the project.  Josh deservers the lion's share of the credit for networking with veteran's groups and book endorsers, but we've also assembled a highly talented team of editors, PR and social media professionals.  It has been a team effort.  The four editors on the cover, Josh Welle, John Ennis, Katherine Kranz and Graham Plaster, worked with the content of the book and created the anthology which is the final product.

Who do you want to read this book? Why?

As Tom Brokaw has already said, this book is a "must read for all Americans."  We think that it is a book that can be read by young and old alike, military and civilians.  The stories are short and inspirational, providing insight from up and coming military leaders. They would make great leadership case studies for any group working through particular issues.  

The broader theme of the book is bigger than military service.  By honoring veterans in the book, we also want to cultivate a national dialogue surrounding the enduring qualities that make America great.  These qualities - cherished, defended and exemplified by our veterans, are worth discussing as we continue to grapple with strategic decisions for America.

Tell us how the book is structured and some of the tales it contains.

The book is structured thematically, starting with short stories about experiences at the Naval Academy and remembrances of 9-11, followed by war stories and anecdotes of heroism.  Finally, there are several stories about life after the military, the impact of military service on community leadership and major changes to military and civilian culture over the past 10 years.

Some folks tend to think of their 20s as a carefree decade in their lives…yours was not. Would you have had it any other way?

This is a question that is best answered by reading the book. The answer is mostly no, but there are shadows in our stories.  Not everything is black and white. When we applied to the Naval Academy, we were attracted to the crisp distinctions between navy blue and white, good and evil, satisfactory and unsatisfatory.  These paradigms were tested.  Read the book to get an inside glimpse of how we navigated those waters.

Only 1% of Americans are wearing the uniform and fighting the nation’s post-9/11 wars…should this be a concern?

There is a different opinion on this for every contributor to the book, and the editors cannot speak on behalf of everyone for questions like this, but even in leadership classes at the Naval Academy we discussed the widening culture gap between the military and civilian life. This is a concern to some people, and simply par for the course if you ask others.  

There is a culture gap in any specialization, and in some cases the military does a much better job of keeping the public informed about our values and sacrifices.  We rely heavily on the non-profits, civic organizations and veteran support groups to ensure this gap is bridged.  We are so thankful to those who do understand military sacrifice.  This book is a bridge across that gap.

How has the military treated you and your family?

The military has tremendous programs in place to support families, and the close knit communities that form on far flung bases are the bedrock of American society.  Supporting families is a high priority to our leaders in the military, which is why failures in the system get so much scrutiny.  It is through the difficult process of discussing shortcomings in the system of support that we make it better.  We have confidence that as we raise issues, leaders from our generation will continue to rise to the challenge of supporting military families in the years to come.

And by supporting those families, we learn to heal our nation as a whole. How did you decide who to invite into this endeavor?

The entire class was invited to participate.  Not everyone wanted to write, felt like they were in a position to write.  Because we are still mid-career, there are many questions that go into a project like this.  Am I writing for a good reason?  Am I writing what needs to be said?  Am I correcting a misconception?  We wrestled with these questions as writers and peer editors.

Tell me your most inspirational story and why?

One of the most moving accounts is written by Lisa Freeman, mother of Matt Freeman, who was killed in action.  She writes from the perspective of her son.  When she was first approached to write, she was still too raw from the loss of her son.  Through the process of putting words to paper, and working with the classmates of her son to edit the story, she was able to work through some of the difficult emotions.  She spoke at our national book launch at 9-11 and received a standing ovation for her courage and the great work being done in Matt’s name through The Matthew Freeman Project (freemanproject.org).

Let's hope that some of our readers today can help you and Mrs. Freeman with that goal. Do you have plans for future projects along the same lines? Or, anything you felt got left out because it needs a separate book?

We have 30 more stories that will be published directly to eBook, hopefully soon.  All profits from the book and eBook go to veteran charities.  Our only goal is to make sure the stories get told.

What would you like readers to know about this book?

This is a really unique book.  Many memoirs are written at the twilight of a career, this is a slice of life from 33 mid-career leaders.  Who knows what will become of them?  There may be a future government official or CEO in the mix.  This hall of heroes is an exciting glimpse into the making of America’s next generation of leaders – where they are now and where they might be headed.

What would you like readers to know about you, your team of writers?

We had a few professionals help us with editing, but for the most part, the writing was done by the “doers”.  We had over a hundred submissions by the time we were done, but had to edit it down to reduce redundancy in some of the themes, and find a common thread.  The common elements are leadership, sacrifice and service – across the board.  These are men and women who have done incredible things and will continue to serve our country in heroic ways when they are out of uniform.

Especially with what has happened with current events, why is reading this book so important? What will readers find here they won’t find elsewhere?

Hollywood and newspapers give their accounts of war, but this book allows us to speak for ourselves.  We were eager to write the book to clarify certain misconceptions and help bridge the cultural gap between military families and non-military families.

I'm sure others will agree with me, it is truly an honor to have you here today, and we thank you, not only for your service, but for helping us understand what it takes to be a true leader, told by those who are living it every day.

Some of our readers may have questions and comments. We welcome one and all. Those of you who can, leave them some likes and tags on Amazon here.

Thank you both,

Sharon Hamilton


Excerpts are available at http://shadowofgreatness.com/lookinsid

In The Shadow of Greatness interview this Friday

This Friday, come back to this site for a gripping interview of the two editors/authors of the new Leadership book, In The Shadow Of Greatness.

This was the first graduating class of the U.S. Naval Academy since the 9-11 disaster. It is a non-political book about what courage it takes to be one of America's leaders and the sacrifice it requires.

In my opinion, this should be read by every American citizen. Please show these men and women your support as they shape the vision for this great nation, which isn't always about black and white, red and blue, male and female. Leaders are born and created and step up to the plate every day. And they die that way too.

I am very honored and proud to bring it to you.