Author, Author Shine Out Loud, New Audio Book with Pittsburgh Connection

An Exciting Announcement, New Audio Book with Pittsburgh Connection   Dear Katzenhaus Customer, We have just released the audiobook version of Beyond All Price, which was our all-time Kindle bestseller.   Here's a message about it  from Adrianne Price, who narrated the book.  Turn up your sound and listen here. In connection with that release, we will have several free copies of the audiobook to give away to those who have entered their names on our website. The random drawing will be held early next week, so there's little time to lose.  Click here right now to add your name and be entered in that contest. Thanks for reading (and listening to) our books! Sincerely, Carolyn P. Schriber  Katzenhaus Books P. O. Box 1629 Cordova, TN 38088www.katzenhausbooks.com Watch Author Interview on Roving Pittsburgher, PPLMag

Author Author Shine Out Loud Interview with Military Fiction Trilogy Author, Jeanette Vaughan

Get your coffee, put down your paper and meet an author. Find out what makes them tick, feel, emote, write, succeed. Ask the questions you always wanted to ask an author right here. This is the Authors Chance to Shine Out Loud and not just on the pages of his or her book

Jeanette Vaughan   BIO

Jeanette Vaughan is an award winning writer and story teller. Not only is she published in the periodicals and professional journals of nursing, but also in the genre of fiction. Out on her sheep farm, she has written several novels and scripts. Her screenplay "Angel of Mercy" won the outstanding nursing research

award from Texas Tech University Health Science Center. In addition, she was named Distinguished Alumni for the school of nursing in 2001 for her written work and volunteerism for the Sydney Olympic Games. Her debut novel FLYING SOLO won fourth place in the 2013 Reader's Favorite International Book Awards for southern fiction. FLYING SOLO also was a finalist in the Beverly Hills Book Awards. Her second novel, SOLO VIETNAM was just awarded the silver medal for historical fiction by the Military Writer's Society. Jeanette has practiced nursing in the fields of critical care and trauma. She is the mother of four children, including two Navy pilots. She lives in a Victorian farmhouse out in the pastures of northeast Texas with her sheep, chickens, donkeys and sheep dogs.

FLYING SOLO…the first book -

 
Woman ahead of her time……1960s housewife who learned to fly a plane in suburban New Orleans and the stole it in a messy divorce.

 Women in the sixties had a set pattern.  This was pre-women’s lib!   The goal was to meet a nice boy, a good provider, get married and then procreate.   This just didn’t sit well with women of an independent spirit.   Where was Gloria Steinhem when you needed her?

What was must have been like to meet the love of your life…..but both were married…….the Navy pilot lived by honor, courage, commitment?

They say in life there are few people who find the love of their lives.   Nora Broussard met that person, a her pilot instructor.  But both were involved in complicated Catholic relationships where divorce was not an option.   What were they to do?

What was to be done about the baby she was now pregnant with?

Following a secret, torrid love affair, Nora was pregnant.   She had four other children, he six.   What was to become of this baby?   Would true love win out?   Would Steve divorce his sickly wife to spend the rest of eternity with Nora?

Lead character Nora Broussard made decisions decisively..and sometimes with consequences?

It is said that the great pioneers in life are often born with the wanderlust.    As such, they defy convention and stalk out on their own.   Some are successful, some not.   But true pioneers strike out on their own, not really caring what other people think.  

Why do women find her story so inspiring?

In the 60s…women’s lib had only just begun in infancy.   People were just beginning to challenge the norms of society.   It was the pioneers who dared to be different, dared to be judged, that laid the foundation for women to advance where they are today.

SOLO VIETNAM….the second book?

What lead her to join the USO and go to Vietnam?  Unusual for a woman?

Nora Broussard believed in soul mates and true love.   As such,

there was nothing and no one who were going to stand in her way!   Women pilots weren’t allowed to fly in Vietnam.   Determined to make her voice heard and get her man, she commits to 18 months of volunteerism as  manager of  USO club.

So I understand you’ve told about the controversies of Vietnam via the air war in Vietnam…how was that different than the ground war?

There have been plenty of movies and books about the ground pounders of Vietnam; the brave soldiers who had to face deplorable jungle like conditions booby trapped with horrors.   But there are a rare few books who view the war from the air.   Vietnam as experienced by the pilots who had to bomb and strafe  laying down explosives and napalm to gain access and targets.   What they were left with was the nawing feelings that tugged at their hearts in taking out innocent women and children as a part of their missions.

Military and aviation focus………what planes and why?

Always a consummate avaiation enthusiast, I live vicariously through my pilots.   Both of my boys fly for the Navy.   My father designed integral parts on the F-111 and F-16.  So aviation is in my blood.   I so admire people who can take to the freedom of the skies.

Is the second book heavy military fiction?   

No!  What’s great is that my second book covers the history accurately, but adds enough drama to keep both men and women readers glued to the pages! 

Are each of the books stand alone?  Or do you need to read them in order?

Each book is stand alone a great, page turning story.   But to gain the full experience, one should star t with FLYING SOLO, then pick up SOLO VIETNAM and the glorify with WAITING IN THE WINGS to get the full immersion.   Women will want to shout from the rooftops that they love this character!

Finale…..WAITING IN THE WINGS

When is the finale of the trilogy due out?

The finale of the story, which answers the questions to what happened to that baby of 1962 get answered.   I am excited to announce that the book WAITING IN THE WINGS should be live on Amazon in three days!   

So do we find out what happens to that baby?

Yes!  All the questions are answered.  We find out what happened to that baby and how being adopted affected her life.   Not understanding why she is wired the way she is, the pinnacle of the story comes when Jana finally meets her birthmother, Nora Broussard.

Is there more aviation in this story?

Yes.  Much more aviation as we explore the nuances of the magnicent Vought Corsair F4U.  It was a plane that was flown in Korea and Vietnam.  A magnificent attack plane capable of dog-fighting the enemy.

So what are you working on next?

ETERNALLY AT WAR…….Marine pilot’s memoir and struggle with PTSD at the same base Chu Lai…flying the A-4 Skyhawk but tailhooking it on the ground!   How does that happen and why?

(c)  Joanne Quinn-Smith 2014

This blog post can be reproduced in its entirety with the following information:
© Joanne Quinn-Smith, Techno Granny Show™ 2013,
Dreamweaver Marketing Associates, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15230, 412-444-5197

Listen at:  http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=17565&cmd=tc 

Host and interviewer is Joanne Quinn-Smith, 2009 National Small Business Administration Journalist of the Year and Author of FOLLY OF MARKETING PLAN IN YOUR HEAD, 101  COMPELLING REASONS TO WRITE ONE.

Additional blog posts at: http://authorauthorshineout,blogspot.com
host and interviewer, Joanne Quinn-Smith is the Creative Energy Officer of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and an expert on Web 2.0 Branding.2009 National SBA Small Business Journalist of the Year, Author FOLLY OF MARKETING PLAN IN YOUR HEAD, 101 COMPELLING REASONS TO WRITE ONE. Reasons to Write One." Available at:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DHKVJOG

Author Author Shine Out Loud: Interview with Author Linda Swink, "Life on a Five Dollar Bet"

Author Author Shine Out Loud:  

Interview with Author Linda Swink, 

"Life on a Five Dollar Bet"

Air Force veteran, Linda D. Swink is an award winning three time author and professional speaker......2013 Gold Award Winner for Biography, "Life on a Five Dollar Bet" is a true story. .....When Ed Mechenbier retired from the United States Air Force Reserve in June 2004, he held the distinction of being the oldest former Vietnam POW and Air Force general still in uniform on flying status......."Life on a $5 Bet" tells how he survived those dark days and went on to become a general officer by holding to values learned at the Academy: Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do......This interview is the back story of the author, Linda Swink.....As a member of the United States Air Force for fifteen years and an Army wife for ten, Linda learned to appreciate the sacrifice those in uniform made for this country. .....With a deep understanding and respect for military veterans, she honored those who fought and died for our county in her book, "In Their Honor: The Men Behind the Names of Our Military Installations." .....LInda Swink, 2013 Military Writer's Society of America for the Biography, "Life on a Five Dollar Bet."

LISTEN TO INTERVIEW HERE

Short synopsis: Life on a $5 Bet is a story about Major General Edward Mechenbier, an amazing man who after being shot down over North Vietnam in 1967 endured the indignities of being held prisoner of war in the infamous Hotel Hilton for almost six years.

    Ed tells how he survived those long torturous years by holding true to the Code of Conduct and never allowing the Vietnamese to break him. He relates how humor got him and his fellow prisoners through those dark days, how the human spirit endured, and how ordinary men overcame adversary by keeping faith and having courage and commitment.

    You will read about a man, after returning from hell, went on to become a test pilot, a squadron commander in the Air National Guard, and made a flight back to Vietnam flying the Hanoi Taxi to repatriate two of his fallen comrades. Although a humble man, he still considers himself to be the World’s Greatest Fighter Pilot.

Taken from flyer:   When Ed Mechenbier retired from the United States Air Force Reserve in June 2004, he held the

distinction of being the oldest former Vietnam POW and Air Force general still in uniform on flying status.

   One of eight children made attending college financially difficult. When his father bet him $5 that he could get an appointment to the Air Force Academy, Ed accepted the challenge. That decision set the course for a career that lasted forty years.

   During those years, Ed went from being a high-spirited fighter pilot full of hopes and dreams to a prisoner of war, held in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. He lived through hell at the merciless hands of prison guards and tortuous interrogators, but never lost his sense of humor or duty to his country.

   Life on a $5 Bet tells how he survived those dark days and went on to become a general officer by holding to values learned at the Academy: Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do.

   Ed gives the reader a glimpse into his zany life as a test pilot, lobbyist, squadron commander, spy, member of the Reserve Forces Policy Board, golfer, syndicated television air show commentator, sales engineer with major aircraft companies, devoted family man, and pilot of the C-141, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, on a repatriation flight to Vietnam in 2004.

About the Author:

Linda D. Swink is an author, professional speaker, and an Air Force veteran.

 As a member of the United States Air Force for fifteen years and an Army wife for ten, Linda learned to appreciate the sacrifice those in uniform made for this country. With a deep understanding and respect for military veterans, she honored those who fought and died for our county in her book, In Their Honor: The Men Behind the Names of Our Military Installations.

Her latest book: Life on a $5 Bet: Major General Edward J. Mechenbier, recounts the story of an amazing man who suffered nearly six years as a prisoner of war in the infamous Hotel Hilton in North Vietnam. 

Recognizing the need to hone her public speaking skills, Linda joined Toastmasters International and gained confidence at the lectern in a friendly, warm, and supportive atmosphere. From that experience, she shares her knowledge in, Speak With Power and Grace: A Woman’s Guide to Public Speaking.

In addition to her books, she has written a wide variety of articles for consumer and trade magazines and military and community newspapers.

Linda holds a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and lives in Hamilton, Ohio.

AWARD WINNER; Life on a $5 Bet: Major General Edward J. Mechenbier, Little Miami Publishing Co, 2012.

In Their Honor: The Men Behind the Names of Our Military Installations, Little Miami Publishing Co. 2009. www.intheirhonor.info

Speak With Power and Grace: A Woman’s Guide to Public Speaking, Citadel Press, 1997.

www.intheirhonor.info

Linda can be contacted at 

ldswink@cinci.rr.com. 

Website: www.intheirhonor.info.