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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

Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day 2012


I met Marie Elaina Gordon on Amazon this week.  She happened into the Doug DePew (Military history/memoir) discussion board.  Doug and I were talking about some great news concerning his first book, SAT & BAF!: Memories of a Tower Rat.  After congratulating Doug, Marie shared a little bit about herself then asked if she could share a poem from when her first son joined the military. After Doug gave his seal of approval, Marie also shared some of her writing journey.  

"...I can only tell you how excited I was when a SCHOOL purchased "MY Grand-Mom Told Me.." for their earlier grades! A little girl posted a comment on Amazon thanking the author for helping her achieve her highest reading score of 104!!! That was ME Doug!! I kept writing and had a 2nd book in the series published!! A teacher had me come to her 90 students (grades 6 -8) and give a presentation on iambic pentameter - the format in which my stories are written. To be honest Doug, I never gave it any thought until then! She held up my book in front of all those young students and said:This is an excellent model for writing"!!!! I almost fell over Doug. Am I known?? NO - but my books are being read IN SCHOOLS!! My 3rd book (same format) is all about World War II - my best yet! Well Doug here goes... PLEASE ENJOY "MY TURN"

MY TURN

You're proud of your soldier, he's your son.
You can remember him on your knee.
You can remember the smiles - those moments of fun
As you held him and he giggled with glee.

You remember the very first step he took
You remember when he read his very first book.
You remember when you wiped his tears away
And how you tucked him in bed at the end of the day.

And of course you remember those days of fun
Halloween - Christmas - you remember every one.
The way his eyes opened wide from a present or two
The way he rushed to your arms saying, "I LOVE YOU!"

Then there were the days he would run to you
Shouting and crying, "I have a 'boo-boo'."
Softly, you'd say, "Don't be afraid,
This will help you heal, we'll use a band-aid."

And through out the years, you were always there
You offered support, you gave him care.
And no one would ever dare to try and harm him
Because they knew - if they did, with YOU they would reckon!

And today, it is you - who runs to him and cries. It is YOUR SON who is wiping the tears from your eyes.
He is dressed in a uniform and holding you tight,
Whispering words of comfort, "It will be alright."

Then he turns and walks away - it is time for him to depart.
His words and this moment FOREVER SEALED IN YOUR HEART.
One last time he stops and waves; saying, "Remember I'll love and miss you too.
But, NOW, you see, it's my turn, MY TURN TO PROTECT YOU!"


Marie Elaina Gordon
www.feelingsinc.com copyright 2003

I felt Marie's poem was very appropriate for Memorial Day, in part because of the "remember" theme. Not only that but Marie comes from a Military family. Her father was in World War II.  Marie and I bonded over the fact that we both have sons who started out to serve but had medical encounters that prevented them from staying in the military. 

I believe that Marie's experience with her first book might be inspirational to those just starting out on their writing journey. The main thing that I took away from it was that she has a poetic soul that "sings" to others. If you'd like to learn more about Marie Elaina Gordon, her work, and the things she cares about, then please feel free to visit Feelings Inc.  

I hope that you all have a safe and Happy Memorial Day. Don't forget what Billy Ray Cyrus shared with us, "All Gave Some, Some Gave All!"  So please thank those that have served, are serving, and the family of those that gave everything for your freedom.


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

Friday, May 25, 2012

Beautiful Blogger Award

In gratitude to those that came before!
I was a bonus Beautiful Blogger awardee on  Tracy James Jones' blog.  This is what Tracy said about me:  "...Indie Author Lynn Hallbrooks is one of those people who will go the extra miles to help anyone with anything and totally deserves to be mentioned for all of her wonderful deeds.  :o)"


Tracy is a fellow author that is only a few steps behind me on this publishing/writing journey. Tracy is a beautiful to me because she challenges me all the time with her quest to learn more about our common field.  I don't always know the answers but eventually we figure things out. 


Apparently these are the things that I have share as an awardee: 


• I must write seven facts about myself (see below)
• Link to the blog of the person who nominated you (see above)
• Link to seven bloggers who you think deserves the award (see below)
• Let those bloggers know they have been nominated! (that'll take some time)


Facts
1) I love chocolate
2) I love to music
3) I love art
4) I have two grown children
5) I have two Godchildren
6) I was in the U.S. Air Force
7) I'm basically an introvert in a business where I need to be an extrovert




Blogs and Bloggers
1) Blood Turbine by Mark Wilcox - Mark is beautiful to me because he was very helpful when I was first learning about Social Media. I have referenced his blogs on many occasions and I feel certain that I will on many more.  


2) Siggy's Omnibus by Siggy Buckley - Siggy is beautiful to me because she came into my life from out of the blue and has been a tried and true friend ever since.  Siggy's Omnibus is a collection of all the blogs that Siggy has created most since I've known her. 


3) Tim Greaton Forum by Tim Greaton - Tim is beautiful to me because he challenges me as a writer.  Tim and I have exchanged author interviews where we have learned so much about one another.  On Tim's forum I learn new things about fellow authors. 


4) Glenn Starkey - Glenn is beautiful to me because he is a fellow veteran and he encourages the love of reading.  At the moment, I can't recall a blog post of his that hasn't stirred up some kind of emotion.  A great example is his Memorial Day post


5) Wringing Out Words by Shannon Mayer - Shannon is beautiful to me because she gave me opportunities to help fellow authors shine. Many times Shannon has asked me to help out with a project and I've done my best. After all, authors should help authors whenever possible.


6) Musings of Mistress of the Dark Path by Susan A. - Susan is beautiful to me because she challenges fellow authors to be better.  On her blog, she has writing contests and shares ways to learn more about our mutual craft. In other posts, she allows authors to share the locations of their bodies of work. 


7) Shagging the Muse by Jonathan D. Allen - Jonathan is beautiful to me because he shares pieces of himself in his blog.  He tells things like he sees them.  I admire that because he does it in a way that isn't about hurting others but showing that this business is not always easy. 


I have read so many blogs since I started over a year ago, that I'm sure I could name so many more.  I hope you have enjoyed the beautiful bloggers that I've shared. If you haven't met this wonderful people before then please give their blogs a little look-see.


Thanks Tracy for tagging me as a Beautiful Blogger. "Bestsellers" to my fellow authors and hope everyone has a great one.  


By the way, I've scheduled out a post for Memorial Day that I hope everyone will enjoy.


Lynn Hallbrooks
co-author of Call Sign: Wrecking Crew (Storm Warning)












Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Military Helping Military

David and I came to an executive decision tonight. You see we've been wanting to help out the Wounded Warrior Project for some time.  We weren't sure the best way to go. So after some debating, we are going to give this idea a try:  


For each sale of our book via our Create Space store, we will donate 10% to the Wounded Warrior Project*.  We will begin it at 0001 hours on 10 May 2012 until 2359 hours on 31 May 2012 Central time. This is so we'll have a traceable date and time.


I'm sweetly asking everyone reading this, if you can help in any way, be it tweet outs or purchases, we'd appreciate it. Even more importantly, military members with seen and unseen injuries will benefit from your kind actions.


After we get our tally of sales, I'll come back to report on how we did and if we will continue this venture into the future. 


Remember 19 May 2012 is Armed Forces Day and of course Memorial Day is being celebrated on 28 May 2012 so we can honor those that "Gave All" for our Freedom! 


Freedom isn't Free!


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




Twitter name: @CSWCLynn 
Twitter link: https://twitter.com/CSWCLynn
Book trailer: http://youtu.be/7zcyAjBdpY0
Book Buzzer: http://www.freado.com/book/12618/call-sign-wrecking-crew-storm-warning

*Monies will go to them after we receive our money from Create Space.