October 03, 2014
Book signing at New York Comic Con!!!!! Friday, October 10 at 11:30am I’ll be signing at booth 1828. From what I hear, Of Bone And Thunder will be on sale for a discount, too 🙂 Please drop by even if it’s to say hi. Feel free to bring the Iron Elves along for signing. Heck, I’ll sign casts, cleavage, restraining orders, biceps, babies and even books, just not checks 🙂
September 20, 2014
Colonel Robert W. Black was, and remains, an Airborne Ranger. He fought in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame and his awards speak to the extent of his combat experience and courage on the battlefield. Twice awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, he holds the Silver Star, three Bronze Stars (two for valor), the Legion of Merit, the Air Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, and the Vietnam Cross of Honor. He’s also the author of numerous books on Rangers including The Battalion, Rangers in Korea, and his autobiography, A Ranger Born.
As impressive as his military career was, Bob is that much more as a human being. I’ve been so fortunate to work with him on most of his books and privileged to call him my friend. He and his amazing wife, Carolyn, have hosted me many times in their home and treated me like a son. That seeming paradox of fierce warrior and warm, generous soul is something I felt worth exploring in my novels. Read more…
September 16, 2014
PROLOGUE:
A BLACK CONDOR DIPPED her featherless head and flapped her wings, straining for height. Another vulture drifted in front of her, forcing the condor to climb higher in the crowded wheel of circling birds. The condor struggled, her body weak from having little to eat over the past month. The sun had yet to crest the hilly peaks to the east, but already, dozens of bald- headed condors had taken up stations high above the mist-shrouded valley below. The other vultures were hungry, too. The birds flew without calling to each other. Only the sound of their massive wings working laboriously in the humid air marked their passage.
Long-tailed shrikes darted between the condors, refusing to settle in as they twisted and banked among the larger, slower birds. When this sport became dull, a shrike ventured down to the roof of the mist, skimming along its rolling surface and kicking up a cottony spray in its wake. It darted to and fro wherever the mist churned and a hole appeared to open, but it was never fast enough to dive through before it closed.
Shadows passed over the condor and she turned her attention from the shrike. The wheel was breaking apart. The reason flew several hundred feet above. Three pairs of green-breasted eagles had been drawn by the waiting flock. The condor tensed. She was significantly larger than the eagles, but the birds of prey were aggressive and unpredictable. Hunger made the condor brave, and she kept to her course. The other condors settled in behind her and the wheel resumed its slow rotation.
When the eagles showed no sign of attacking, the condor allowed herself to look down again and quickly spied the shrike flying inches above the undulating whiteness. A large wave of mist surged upward momentarily before collapsing, pulling down the mist around it and creating a gaping tear in the otherwise uniform surface. The shrike chirped and dived toward the opening. It managed to penetrate several feet before the walls of mist closed in around it. The shrike’s chirps grew frantic as it twisted and tried to fly back out. Its wingtips brushed the mist and were instantly tangled in wispy skeins that stuck to its feathers. The shrike flapped harder but only succeeded in becoming more enmeshed. Its wings were still beating as the mist closed over it and the condor lost sight of it. The condor kept an eye on the spot where the shrike had vanished, but the bird did not reappear. Read more…
September 15, 2014
Less than three days to go before the contest closes. This particular contest is only open to readers in the US, but I am checking with the other markets to see what might be going on there. When I hear something I will let everyone know. If you aren’t in the US, maybe you have a friend who is who would be willing to loan you their address…just saying 🙂
You can sign up to enter here:
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/105743-of-bone-and-thunder-a-novel
Cheers!
Chris
September 05, 2014
Lieutenant Michael Lee Lanning, Rifle Company Commander, 2nd Bn, 3rd Inf Regiment, 199th Light Infantry Brigade near Binh Chanh, June 1969. I’ve known Lee almost 15 years. We met through former Execctive editor Owen Lock, himself a Vietnam vet, when I started at Random House/Ballantine/Del Rey. After Vietnam, Lee became a prolific writer about the war and I was fortunate enough to work with him. He has a new book out about the Vietnam War titled Tours of Duty
PROLOGUE: A BLACK CONDOR DIPPED her featherless head and flapped her wings, straining for height. Another vulture drifted in front of her, forcing the condor to climb higher in the crowded wheel of circling birds. The condor struggled, her body weak from having little to eat over the past month. The sun had yet to… Read more »