When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade….when life gives you a very high ranking military officer, you get inspired.
I started LOVE IN THE WIND with the idea that my hero, Miles Scott, would have a background in the military. The only problem…I know nothing about the military. Sure, you can Google just about anything, but I wanted the truth. The real side these men and women live every day.The stories you’ll never find on a website. And boy did I find it…
Yesterday, I set out on a road trip to sit down and have lunch with a man I had never met. Not a norm for me, but it turned out to be the most insightful two hours of my life. I promised him anonymity, so we’ll refer to him as Delta Whiskey – mostly because I just Googled the phonetic alphabet and that sounds pretty badass. And let me tell you, he’s full of badassery.
I have to admit, prior to my conversation with Delta Whiskey yesterday his title wouldn’t have meant anything to me, but as it turns out…it pretty much means badass! As a NCO, he has hit the highest rank possible in his career. And at only a few years older than me, he could retire if he wanted – as for me, I can’t even see the light at the end of the tunnel. But it’s more than just his rank and the fact that he stands among the elite few in his branch of the military that makes Delta Whiskey all kickass…it’s the stories. The sacrifice. The dedication. Several times while we were talking, his eyes would glance out the window, and I knew…he wasn’t seeing the world as I was. He was in another time. Another place. Drawn back by the memories of his journey. You could see both the pride and the pain as he talked about his tours. The joy in his smile when speaking of fonder times. He was so freely giving of information – all non-sensitive, of course – that I was rendered – nearly – speechless. Lost in his tale of bravery and brotherhood.
“Ask me anything…” he would say.
But what took me – even more so – by surprise was his eagerness to help with my story. With my promise of anonymity, he’s allowing me to tell parts of his story through the life of Miles Scott. Here I was, just a contemporary romance author, wanting to turn his badass life into a love story – which I half expected him to laugh at – and he was all on board. Throwing out ideas and scenarios. Ready to fire off details all for the sake of my fiction. It was beyond anything I could have imagined.
I went into the interview knowing it was a one time deal. I would gather as much intel as I could (yes, look at me practicing the lingo) and be on my own. Little did I know I would walk away with a contact and an open invitation to any information I needed.
I can’t tell you how excited I am to bring Miles Scott and this story to life! This is going to be the most amazing project yet.
