Storywitch's "Book of Shadows"

Today’s Memorial Day, when it’s all about the soldiers, past, present and future. As a result, I’m not going to wax on too long, but since one of my recent stories featured soldiers as hero and heroine, I’ve thought a lot of late about this career choice. There’s an internal narrative piece in Honor Bound, my Feb 2010 Laced with Desire anthology contribution, where my hero, Peter, is thinking the following thoughts:

Recruiting a family wasn’t in his immediate future, anyway, because being in the National Guard, seeking overseas assignments, was one of the ways he’d decided to give back. He didn’t care if people thought it was old-fashioned or misguided honor bullshit. He liked bringing and enforcing the peace necessary for people to self-actualize. Having a front row seat when and if they learned not to live in fear, seeing their kids play in the streets without being blown up…it made it all worthwhile.

I was worried that these types of thoughts might be more civilian-driven sentiment, rather than really reflective of how the current U.S. soldier thinks. However, my soldier consultant told me that no, that this was the right tone. My heroine, Dana, is also a soldier, and she has a tattoo on her lower back, an eagle holding a flag in his talons. Beneath that is written, “Your freedom, my life.” It’s how Peter knows she’s a soldier, and it’s one of the first clues he receives that he’s found someone who shares, among other vital things, his straightforward code of honor.

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