Hello Everyone,
Tomorrow is Veterans Day, and I'm donating my blog to
veterans. I hope if you know a veteran
that you thank her/him for giving time to our wonderful country. Here is an inexpensive way to help
veterans. Click on the blue button at
The Veterans Site and help a homeless and hungry veteran get a free meal, at no
cost to you. http://theveteranssite.greatergood.com/tpc/ERV_110413_VET_m
I have invited Author, Robert Thornhill back to my blog
today because he has written a book titled Lady Justice and the Vet. I
thought his book was appropriate for Veterans Day.
About the Author
Award-winning
author, Robert Thornhill, began writing at the age of sixty-six and in four
short years has penned fifteen novels in the Lady Justice mystery/comedy
series, the seven volume Rainbow Road series of chapter books for children, a
cookbook and a mini-autobiography.
Lady
Justice and the Sting, Lady
Justice and Dr. Death, Lady Justice and the Vigilante, Lady Justice and the
Candidate, Lady Justice and the Book Club Murders and Lady Justice and
the Cruise Ship Murders won the Pinnacle Award for the best new mystery
novels of Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Summer 2012, Fall 2012, Spring of 2013 and
Summer 2013 from the National Association of Book Entrepreneurs.
Many of Walt’s adventures in the Lady Justice
series are anecdotal and based on Robert’s real life.
Although
Robert holds a master’s in psychology, he has never taken a course in writing
and has never learned to type. All 26 of his published books were typed with
one finger and a thumb!
His wit and
insight come from his varied occupations, including thirty-three years as a
real estate broker. He lives with his wife, Peg, in Independence, Missouri.
Blurb:
Men have been
fighting and slaughtering one another since the beginning of time.
Brave men
and women leave their homes, friends and families and travel thousands of miles
to foreign lands to fight for liberty and justice.
Soon they
find that the realities of war are far removed from the recruiter’s hype.
Many die on
the field of battle; many more return home with wounds both physical and
psychological.
For those
that make the ultimate sacrifice, the war is over, but for those that survive,
it is far from over.
Those who
have served bravely and risked their lives deserve the opportunity to return to
their homes, find jobs, have children and enjoy the life of freedom for which
they fought.
Too often,
it just doesn’t happen.
Ben Singleton, a Marine veteran,
had returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan
and was having difficulty adjusting to civilian life.
Fate, coincidence, or something
else thrust him right into the heart of some of Walt and Ox’s most difficult
cases.
Our heroes find themselves
knee-deep in trouble as they go undercover in a nursing home to smoke out
practitioners of Medicaid fraud, meanwhile, Islamic terrorists with ties to the
Taliban are plotting to attack one of Kansas City’s
most cherished institutions.
Join Walt and his band of senior
sidekicks on another emotional roller coaster ride that will have you shedding
tears of laughter one minute and sorrow the next.
Excerpt:
CHAPTER 2
“WHAP, WHAP, WHAP”
Ben Singleton heard the blades of the big choppers.
“Help! Over here! Archie’s hit! He’s hurt bad!”
“Shhh, Ben,” Tracy Singleton whispered, putting her arms around her husband.
“It’s okay. I’m here. You’re home and safe.”
“The choppers,” he muttered. “I heard the choppers coming.”
“You were dreaming again, Sweetie. It’s just the ceiling fan.”
Ben lay very still and as he awoke from his recurring nightmare, he realized
that she was right. He wasn’t in the dusty road outside the village in Zad
Valley. He was safe and sound in
his home in Kansas City.
“It’s just so real,” he whispered. “I could taste it, feel it, smell it --- I
wonder if it will ever go away.”
“Dr. Fletcher said it would take some time ---”
“Time! How much time? It’s been four years!”
Immediately, he regretted his outburst. “I’m sorry Tracy.
I didn’t mean to snap at you. You’ve been so great.”
“It’s okay. I understand,” she said laying her head on his chest. We’ll get
through this --- together.”
Ben looked at the clock. “I’d better get going. We’ve got a big landscaping job
in Brookside today.”
Before his tour in Afghanistan,
Ben was being groomed for a management position in a large brokerage firm, but
after returning home and healing from his wounds he discovered that he just wasn’t
comfortable in the confines of an office. He felt enclosed and trapped.
After what he had seen and experienced in the Marines, his co-workers in their
suits and ties seemed so shallow. Some had been curious about his tour of duty,
but there was just no way that he could make someone that had not been there
understand the horrors of battle.
He had taken a job with Empire Landscaping that gave him the freedom to work
outside with minimal contact with the other members of the crew. It didn’t pay
all that well, but it was hard physical labor which was what he needed to take
his mind off of the images that kept forcing themselves back into his
consciousness. Most nights, he would tumble into bed exhausted, and fall into a
deep sleep --- most nights, but not all.
To learn more about Robert Thornhill and to see all of his
books go to his website: http://BooksByBob.com
Thank you to all you veterans out there. I wish that you may find peace.
Have a wonderful week, and I'll see you next weekend.
Sandra K. Marshall
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.sandramarshallblog.blogspot.com
