Hey hey, everyone! I apologize in advance if this post isn’t very cohesive; I just got back from an exhausting trip, and despite sleeping like a baby last night, my brain is still not working properly (which is normal for me, but anyway).

This is sort of a hybrid post; somewhat of a Veteran’s Day tribute, a bit of an exploration of the whys behind my writing, and a life update. And I feel like the quote I’ve chosen may not be the best lead-in for talking about writing military fiction, but here we go:

Those are people in there.  Not words on a page, pictures in a magazine.  They’re not part of a story.  They’re part of humanity.

Sgt. Saunders, “No Hallelujahs for Glory”

“No Hallelujahs for Glory” was a less-than-stellar episode, but that quote really stuck out to me. That is why I write historical fiction, especially military fiction. The people who fought those wars – they were more than just names on a memorial wall, more than just impersonal pictures in Life magazine. They were real human beings with real families, real struggles, and real emotions. I’m sure many of them asked themselves “what in the world am I doing here?!”, probably many times over, and not in PG language either. No doubt they sometimes felt like the villains of their own stories because of the things they had to witness and to do themselves. But they were also the victims, because one way or another war always victimizes those affected by it.

There’s a reason many soldiers don’t want to talk about their experiences. There’s a reason they often struggle with addiction, and a reason why veteran suicide rates are high. As someone who has mild PTSD, I’ve gotten just a small glimpse into that world, and I’m honestly amazed that the suicide rate isn’t higher. These men and women are INCREDIBLY strong. 💕

I know I’m getting sidetracked here with my poor but well-deserved tribute. My point is, those who lived back then were real people just like us. So often we think of them as impersonal figures from the dusty past. One of the reasons I write historical fiction – military fiction – is for the purpose of bringing those soldiers to life, showing that they were just as much real and alive as you or I.

Also, I love soldiers. I really do. 😊

I always have difficulty articulating my thoughts on this topic, so instead I’ll direct you to Katja’s post from today. It’s beautiful and sums up much of what’s in my heart. 💕

And now for that update! (in which Phoebs suddenly gets more fun)

Like I said, I just got back from a trip, which was to the game convention hosted twice a year by the company I work for. It was great to meet people that I only know from their comments online, and wonderful to see my boss and the team in person again. (Weekly Zoom meetings ain’t the same. Just sayin’.)

In addition to giving me two (possibly three) more projects to do, my boss also gave me a stupendous offer. I can’t remember if I’ve posted about it on here, but he’d already offered to put We Gave Our Tomorrows in each copy of Combat! Tunisia & Sicily (which I detailed in this post on WGOT’s site). Our next project in the Combat! system is Combat! Vietnam. When he heard that I was working on a Vietnam book, and that my brother is planning to include all the characters’ names in the soldier markers, he said he wants to put Yesterday Was Long Ago in Combat! Vietnam. Now, it’ll be a while before we start work on the game, but it’ll also take me a while to write and edit the book. We estimated that I have about 4 months to write the rough draft, so I gotta get busy! 😁

And with that said, I am gonna drop out here and get to work. Hope you all have a wonderful day and week! 🩵