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In April 2014, I mentioned the creative aspects behind the cover art for our novella, Genesis: Call Sign: Wrecking Crew Slice of Life .   ...

Video courtesy of @jcallenbooks

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Introducing The Night Watchman, David McKoy


Happy Halloween! As promised yesterday, here's the first in a series of blog posts by my co-author and business partner, David McKoy.  For those that don't know, David does not mince his words or his feelings on a given subject. Today is no different. 

For your listening pleasure (before, during, or after reading), David suggested Riders On The Storm by The Doors - Instrumental version on YouTube


The Night Watchman, David McKoy

Riders On The Storm by The Doors
Ahoy there, this is David McKoy standing my post in the Watchtower. Since I turned my will and my life over to the care of God and His son Jesus Christ, I have been given a blessing from the Holy Spirit.
For example in October 1988 two days before the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s, I said in the shop, “Watch there will be a major earthquake event before the first pitch of the first game in Candlestick Park”. One hour before the first pitch, an earthquake measuring over 7 on the Richter scale occurred.
Coincidence, okay here’s another example. Before the launch of the Panama raid to get Noriega, I told a buddy of mine that he wouldn't be in his usual places to hide but in a church. As it turned out, he was found in a Catholic church looking for asylum.
Not convinced yet, when Bill Clinton was elected in his first term, I told my supervisor, “Ninety days from now, there will be a major terrorist attack in New York City.” Ninety days from the day he was elected, the first bombing of the World Trade Center occurred.
Still not convinced, from 1996 to 2001 I had been saying that the United States was vulnerable to attack. The feedback was, “sure but how?” My answer was simple, “Fly a bunch of airplanes into a building.” I was told that was impossible. When I did a briefing at the American Legion 8th District, I was giving out my usual quarterly intelligence briefing, I stated the same thing. At the same time as I was giving this briefing, Osama Bin Laden and his people were planning the 9 - 11 attacks. Fast forward to 11 September, 2001, four airliners took off three slammed into buildings. One hit the Pentagon, two hit the Twin Towers.
You still not convinced, in our book, Call Sign: WreckingCrew (Storm Warning) even though events were based in the near future, at the time of writing, some happened prior to publication while others are still occurring. For example, hyperinflation was mentioned as occurring in August 2011.
Back in real life, April of this year, I mentioned to my best friend that on October 15, 2012, consumers will start seeing hyperinflation. Have you seen your electric bill, gas prices, or your grocery store bill lately? How about your favorite fast-food place? Are you getting your money’s worth?
Are you scared yet? You should be. If you aren't scared, then go ahead and re-elect our President. However, if you are tired of all of this, then vote for the alternative.
On another note, my heart and prayers go out to the People’s Republic of the East Coast. Hope they learned at least one valuable lesson during this hurricane event; the Second Amendment isn't about Deer or Duck Hunting.
David McKoy - signing off for now!
Next week this time, David will share his thoughts on the Second Amendment.  Those of you who have read our book know who David would really like to have win the Presidential race for 2012.  Do they still take write in votes? :)

Have a great one!

Lynn Hallbrooks
co-author to David McKoy
co-owners of Call Sign Wrecking Crew, LLC   

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Mr. Murphy


Anyone who has read Call Sign: Wrecking Crew (Storm Warning) should be familiar with Mr. Murphy.  If not, then here is the glossary definition that I wrote out... with an additional link out: Mr. Murphy = personification of Murphy’s Law
Greyhound bus logo
You may well ask what Mr. Murphy has to do with a writing blog...everything!  Mr. Murphy seemed to be my constant companion when I was in Houston this past week.  The trip down was relatively uneventful and I was quite happy with  that Greyhound bus ride. The real adventure came when I arrived at the InTown Suites.  Let me qualify here and now, that I can only speak to the one in which I resided.  The major issues were lack of Internet connectivity and slow running toilets. The minor inconvenience of no elevator and hauling luggage up and down two flights of stairs paled in comparison. As for the toilet after two attempts on their part it was corrected. As for the Internet, I was highly disappointed with them.  Initially it was a lack of a cord for the resident to use. Maybe I've been spoiled by places like Holiday Inn, but I presumed that a cord would be provided. My bad... not one of my best laid plans but on the other hand I only had so much space to pack stuff into.  Thus I borrow a cord from David's wife... Internet did come up for a very brief time period of time. I'm not sure what the deal was, but I finally gave up on worrying about it.  I had more important things to deal with, namely book two.
Despite it being a literal and figurative pain in the neck, we did work on book two, tentatively entitled, Call Sign: Wrecking Crew (Mount Up). David reviewed many of the notes that I had for him.  Between his chaotic work and family schedules, we only scratched the surface.  The good news is that we brain-stormed alot and came up with some interesting plot twists and turns. I did get to see David while he was in hand-writing mode. It was rather interesting, he can have all this noise around him but almost totally tune everything else out. I admire that.
The book is not anywhere near where I'd hoped it would be at this point but at least it is moving in the right direction.  Mr. Murphy did not totally leave me alone on the way home. Instead of a one hour layover in Dallas, it was more like three and I was exhausted. I've been busy around the house catching up on my neglected chores. I hope to be back in full swing tomorrow.
I think yesterday's book review, unleashed a inner blog monster. :) David has decided to do a weekly blog on Wednesdays, The Night Watchman, David McKoy. From what he read to me earlier, I think it might be a bit scary...very appropriate for Halloween.  Don't take my word for it, please come back and check it out for yourself.

Have a great one!

Lynn Hallbrooks
co-author to David McKoy
co-owners of Call Sign Wrecking Crew, LLC

Monday, October 29, 2012

No Easy Day by Mark Owens

Many of you may know that David McKoy is the "brains" behind the story line for the Call Sign: Wrecking Crew series.  By that I mean he is the one that knows about military tactics, weapons, etc.  He has read multiple Richard Marcinko books over many years.  So when Mark Owens book, No Easy Day... came up for pre-sale, I arranged to purchase it for David to read and review.  
No Easy Day... by Mark Owen

Here is the exclusive blog version of his review which is currently pending on Barnes & Noble:  


No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen takes the reader on a journey into the life and adventures of a member of DEVGRU. DEVGRU stands for Naval Special Warfare Development Group or more affectionately known as SEAL team Six.
Mr. Owen takes you on a tour of the interview process, training involved, and acceptance to this elite team. He includes operations against Somali pirates, deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, culminating to the demise of America’s number one public enemy, Osama Bin Laden.
Mr. Owen broke his silence due to the government’s handling of Operation Geronimo. Why... for more in depth reasons, you’ll need to read the book. I will tell you this; Mr. Owen thought the reporting by the main stream media on the operation was funny, at first. It then became embarrassing, from the twisting of the facts to outright fabrication - rather than reporting the facts correctly. He felt that they and others needed to know the truth.  In my humble opinion, the main stream media does not know what the word,“Truth” means. Mr. Owen wrote his account, only after he saw an interview on national television of President Obama and later on the Admiral in charge of the operation. Both persons were talking openly and in greater detail than most with a high level security clearance should. Now the government cries foul, since the censors at DOD were unable to “gut” the book for security violations, this is laughable in itself. Mr. Owen went through great pains to hire a lawyer who was also a member of the Special Operations community to ensure that the government’s secrets, stay that way. If the government wants to try and convict Mr. Owen, then you must look towards the members of DOD, Congress, White House, and the Main Stream Press for leaking information to the public as well, after September 11, 2001.
Mr. Owen wanted to do something that was bigger than himself. In my eyes, he achieved that goal. Hoo! Yah!
Mr. Owen has given his profits to a multitude of organizations which are listed in the book.  I feel this is very noble. Not only am I recommending the book to anyone interested in the military particular Special Operations, but I’m endorsing Mr. Owen’s stance. We at Call Sign Wrecking Crew, LLC recommend No Easy Day to read. More importantly we whole-heartedly endorse this book. Some of the situations he describes are not dissimilar to that of the actions in Call Sign: Wrecking Crew (Storm Warning).
During our week long, literary logistical and tactical revising session of book two, David gave me his copy of No Easy Day... to read.  Based on what I've read so far, I concur with his overall assessment.  I feel certain that I'm going to learn alot more about Navy SEALs and their deployments in upcoming chapters.

Stay tuned for an account of my week long visit to see David.

Have a great one! 

Lynn Hallbrooks
co-author to David McKoy
co-owners of Call Sign Wrecking Crew, LLC