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www.talkingwithheroes.com
Talk Show Program Schedule
Broadcasted LIVE from
Orlando, Florida
October 9, 2009 1:00-3:00 (PM) EST
To Listen 24/7 Go To: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/19487 Episode 116
WATCH 24/7 AT: http://www.youtube.com/user/bobc9246
GUESTS ON THESE INTERVIEWS WERE ALL NOMINATED FOR THE BOOK AWARD IN THEIR BOOK CATEGORIES
AT THE 2009 MILITARY WRITERS SOCIETY OF AMERICA - 2009 Annual Conference
And "People Choice Awards"
People on the Internet Voted For the Winners!
www.militarywriters.com
SEE BELOW THE BOOK AWARD WINNERS AND THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD FINALISTS!
Talk Show Host: Bob Calvert
GUESTS:
Sandra Miller Linhart
Author of The Elementary Adventures of Jones, JEEP, Buck & Blue http://www.orchardhousepress.com/sandramillerlinhart/
Sandra Miller Linhart was born and raised in Lander, Wyoming. She has been a part of the United States Military community for over 20 years.
Ms. Linhart has five daughters, and resides in Colorado where she is currently knuckle deep in her second installment of the Jones, JEEP, Buck & Blue book series, Stuck in the Middle, which follows the foursome’s adventures in Middle School.
Ms. Linhart’s formal education includes CA Barstow College, where she studied Art & Design as well as receiving a degree in Sociology, and the University of Georgia, where her picture book manuscript, Daddy’s Boots received the 2005 Dixie Lee Connor Award for Best Children’s or Young Adult Manuscript at the Harriette Austin Writers’ Conference in Athens, GA.
Other published titles by Ms. Linhart include her picture books, Momma’s Boots, Grandpa, What If?, and What If?
Sandra Miller Linhart
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Del Staecker - Veteran and Author http://www.cablepublishing.com/del.asp
A lot of middle-aged burnouts dream of chucking it all and running away to write a novel. Del Staecker did just that, leaving behind a thirty-year career to sit in a two-room cabin in Idaho with no phone, no TV and radio reception only a few hours a day—to write his first novel, The Muted Mermaid, by hand.
His yearning to write took hold and a lifetime of stories crammed in his head started rolling out. The day Staecker finished The Muted Mermaid he began writing the sequel, Shaved Ice. His third work, The Lady Gangster: a Sailor’s Memoir, will be released in 2009.
When 50,000 veterans assemble in Branson, MO for this year's Veterans Week Celebration one item on the agenda will be THE LADY GANGSTER: A SAILOR'S MEMOIR receiving the first place "2009 Branson Stars and Flags Award" for Non-Fiction.
This is the second award for THE LADY GANGSTER which has just gone into a second printing. www.cablepublishing.com
Staecker grew up in Blue Island, Illinois, a small town outside Chicago, where he shifted between two cultures, the surreal artist’s world of Chicago’s Old Town—where the likes of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan hung out at his Uncle Earling’s exotic bird shop—and the normal world of Boy Scouts, Little League baseball and working on his relatives’ farms. At fifteen he survived leukemia and penned his own bucket list.
Del describes himself as a storyteller. He has been a soldier, lived on a boat, completed all but one item on his list, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Currently he lives and writes in his Pennsylvania home, which is shared by his wife and the colorful characters in his head.
Del Staecker’s The Lady Gangster: A Sailor’s Memoir, is storytelling at its finest. Readers have called it “the perfect little book.”
In a unique and seamless blend of oral history, biography, autobiography, journal entries, ships’ logs, action reports, newspaper articles, illustrations, photos—and even two poems—Mr. Staecker attains several remarkable accomplishments.
Through a story within a story, The Lady Gangster vividly portrays thetransformation of 327 raw and untrained “Chicago Boys” from recruits into combat proven “Salts” as told by a father to his estranged teenage son. With style, dignity, and grace, The Lady Gangster pays homage to the unheralded service of the USS Fuller, Queen of Attack Transports, by sharing the exploits of the unknown sailors who routinely performed heroic deeds without praise or recognition.
And, finally, when thousands of veterans are expiring each day, Mr. Staecker’s methods of inquiry and presentation serve as a template for anyone wishing to extract the experiences held within by the heroic and characteristically silent men and women who served during World War II.
In drawing praise from The Military Writers Society of America, the U.S. Naval Institute, and World War II History, The Lady Gangster has been described as intriguing and fascinating.
Naval veterans of World War II have called it an exceptional book. In fact, The Lady Gangster: A Sailor’s Memoir may be “the perfect little book!”
Sincerely,
Ray Litrides
Del Staecker
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Virgil Erwin
Vietnam Veteran
Author of Cat Lo
www.catlo.net
Virgil Erwin enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1963, received his Bachelors Degree from Western State College in Colorado and commissioned an ensign in 1966 after graduating from the Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island.
He served his first two years of active duty aboard a destroyer, the USS Berry (DD 858).
After his tour in Vietnam as skipper of a Swift Boat, Erwin joined Dow Corning, but interrupted his career to sail to the South Pacific. With his wife Pam as first mate and their yearling Christopher as crew, they sailed for eighteen months, a ten-thousand mile round trip.
Erwin retired after thirty-six years of corporate life as Vice President of Sales at Entegris Corp.
Erwin is a Board Member of the Swift Boat Sailors Association, the Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument Fund and the Admiral Hoffmann Foundation, which provides financial aid to wounded men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Erwin resides in San Diego with his wife Jacqueline and their two Siberian Huskies. Cruising World, Pacific Skipper and Latitude 38 published his stories of sailing to the South Pacific.
Contact information:
Virg Erwin
11134 Papoose Ct
San Diego, CA 92127
858 487 6183
VirgErwin@aol.com
Website:
www.catlo.net
Cat Lo, a memoir of invincible youth, is a story of young men who volunteer for Swift Boats in Vietnam and about war’s indelible lesson for those who survive: life is too precious to waste.
Cat Lo was honored with “Editor’s Choice,” February 2009 at the Writer’s Conference, San Diego State University, nominated by the Senior Editor at St. Martin’s Press, New York, and awarded “Best Unpublished Memoir” by the San Diego Book Awards, May 2009.
Virgil Erwin
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Raymond C. Morris
Vietnam Veteran
Author of The Ether Zone
www.raycmorris.com
Raymond C. Morris was born in Jefferson City, Missouri and entered the Army at the fuzzy-cheek age of seventeen. Following basic training he’d been assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. With a rank of SSG, in 1963-1964 he attended Officer
Candidate School at Fort Benning, GA.
In May 1964, as a freshly minted 2LT and the OCS Honor Graduate, his new orders led him to the 6th Special Forces Group. January 2, 1966, he’d be assigned as team Executive Officer for the 5th Special Forces Group Operational Detachment (SFOD) 106 at Bato, Vietnam, followed by an assignment in May 1966 with SFOD A-103, Gia Vuc, Vietnam.
In October 1966, he was selected as the Long Range Reconnaissance Platoon Leader (LRRP) for Mobile Guerilla Force A-100, with operations throughout the A Shau Valley. In 1968, an assignment transferred him to the 46th Special Forces Company in Thailand where he’d train Thai Black Panther brigades in reconnaissance tactics and insert them into Vietnam. In 1970, he’d been detailed under the auspices of CIA operations in northern Thailand, to train Laotian commandos and deploy them into Laos.
In 1968, Ray returned to the US for Ranger School, again distinguished as the Honor Graduate, winning the Darby Award. A new assignment would lead him back into Southeast Asia, and for two years, from April 1971-April 1973, he’d be a
B-detachment commander with the 1st Special Forces Group (A) in Okinawa. During this timeframe, he’d be sent to Vietnam twice for temporary assignment with the classified Special Forces FANK Program.
Returning stateside, he continued his military schooling and went on to hold other key assignments, including Deputy Commander, 6th Region Criminal Investigation Division in San Francisco, CA. In 1983, he was selected to be the Deputy
Commanding Officer to reactivate the 1st Special Forces Group (A) at Fort Lewis, WA.
Ray retired from active duty in 1985 after an illustrious military career spanning 26 years. His love for the military never waned. As a civilian he returned to Fort Lewis, Washington, in charge of training the Army’s new Stryker Brigades prior to Iraq deployment.
His awards include: Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Bronze Star, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry w/silver star and Cross of Gallantry w/bronze star, Army Commendation Medal (2) and numerous service awards. He proudly earned his jump wings, US, Thai and Vietnamese Master Parachutist badges, Special Forces and Ranger tabs.
Never one to sit on his duff too long, Ray holds a BA in Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska, an MBA from City University in Seattle, WA, and a Masters in Justice Administration, Wichita State University.
A lifelong history enthusiast and prolific writer, Ray has used his keen observation of the human condition as the catalyst for expansion of his interests into writing and mainstream fiction. R. C. Morris’ suspense thriller, Don’t Make the Blackbirds Cry, and psychological thriller, Tender Prey, are receiving acclaim.
In October 2005, when he was commissioned by the Project Delta members to write their story, his love of Special Forces forced him to place pending fiction novels on the back burner to write The Ether Zone.
When not writing, you will find Ray stalking giant redfish along the Florida coast. He resides near Tampa Bay.
Ray may be contacted through his website at www.raycmorris.com
or at his home, 607 Manns Harbour Drive, Apollo Beach, FL 33572, (813) 383-5965.
Ray Morris
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Mary Sullivan and her daughter Autumn wrote If I Had a Daddy
Mary will be calling in via phone on the talk show
Mary M., Sullivan and daughter Autumn Rayne Sullivan are very proud to announce their first book of a series "If I had a Daddy'.This book came about 3 years ago, when Autumn would tell me a wonderful story about her dad.She told me daily,and I listened to all she had to say. I told myself that I would write it down for her and someday put it in a book, that someday came quicker than I had ever imagined,and what a ride it has been so far!
Mary was born and raised in Chicago, Ill.until 1987 when she relocated to Port Charlotte, Florida.Mary has worked alongside Dr. Chernesky since 1987. Mary loved writing as long as she can recall, She wrote her life story at the age of 40, and the creation of the recent book is a culmination of a lifelong dream to have her name on a book.
The reason behind the book ,is complicated, but not all things need to be explained. This book will put a name and a face to an absent Daddy that children of single parents do not have in their life, and is relatable to all children. To children that have a daddy, yet lost their dad in the miltary, this book will recall wonderful memories of their dad for years to come. Relatable to all children and a place for children to draw their dads or place family photos, this book will help heal all children who are missing a dad in their life.
Mary and Autumn are finishing up their second book, "If I had a best friend" and are planning a series of 5. Whether that goal is achieved or not, these two gals are enjoying every moment of this journey.
Mary and Autumn Sullivan
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Wesley Gray
Marine Officer Veteran
Author - Embedded: A Marine Corps Advisor Inside the Iraqi Army - http://embeddedmarine.blogspot.com
Wesley Gray served as an active-duty U.S. Marine officer for four years, interrupting his studies at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, where was working on his PhD in finance.
In addition to his deployment in Iraq, he developed and taught a culture and language training program for the embedded Marine adviser program in Afghanistan and served in various intelligence positions in Asia.
Gray lives in Baltimore with his wife and daughter.
Phone: +1.773 230 4727
Fax: +1.888.517.5529
Web: http://home.uchicago.edu/~wgray
http://embeddedmarine.blogspot.com
Wesley Gray
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Tom Ruck
Sacred Ground, A Tribute to America’s Veterans
http://www.sacredgroundbook.com
Late in 2004, Tom Ruck had an idea for a book to honor the American Veteran and scribbled the idea down on a cocktail napkin. The next morning he read the napkin and decided he had to make this idea a reality and started the process of creating and publishing that idea. Since he was not a known author or photographer, or even an author or photographer by hobby, the journey to publication was most interesting. He created this book as a labor of love to honor the truest of American heroes, our veterans. The result of Tom’s efforts, "Sacred Ground, A Tribute to America’s Veterans," was released by Regnery Publishing and achieved a #5 ranking on Amazon.
Acting Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs Gordon H. Mansfield presented Ruck with a Special Commendation Award in Washington, DC. “Tom Ruck has brought honor and recognition to America’s heroes and the VA,” said Mansfield. “His respect and admiration for the service and sacrifices of our veterans and their families is reflected on every page of this book. Sacred Ground has heightened the public’s awareness of the courage, commitment and sacrifices of America’s Veterans.”
All of the royalties generated by the sales of Sacred Ground are going directly to the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund. “What I love about this book is that kids who have been dealt a traumatic blow by the loss of a parent while they were serving this great country of ours will know that America has not forgotten them or the sacrifice of their parent by hopefully receiving a scholarship from the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund,” states Ruck.. No photographer, agent or celebrity is receiving anything for their effort on behalf of this soon to be “national treasure.” The Freedom Alliance Scholarship fund was able to present over 200 college scholarships in 2008.
Ruck is a frequent guest speaker to groups large and small around the country and tries to accept all invitations. In 2008, Tom was honored to deliver the opening remarks at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on Memorial Day; presented the keynote address at Irvine College on Veterans Day, and was a guest speaker at the Defender of Freedom Symposium in Washington D.C. Most recently, Tom served as the Master of Ceremonies at the Riverside National Cemetery program this past Memorial Day and will deliver the keynote address at the 2009 Veterans Day program at Los Angeles National Cemetery. Additionally, Ruck was honored to be named the August 2009 “Author of the Month,” by the The Military Writers Society of America.
Professionally, Ruck is the National Sales Director for Spectra Diagnostics, a nationwide clinical laboratory providing clinical testing services to the corrections industry. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri in Columbia and grew up in the St. Louis area where he was active in many volunteer and philanthropic organizations. He now resides in Southern California and serves as a Visiting Fellow to the Freedom Alliance Foundation and is a member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses.
Tom Ruck
Tom Ruck and Gen P
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J. M. Barnes
Author of Bible Promises for Soldiers
www.biblepromisesforsoldiers.blogspot.com
J.M. Barnes has 26 years of experience as a military spouse. In that time, she has served her country well in peacetime and war. She has worn many hats and served in various military organizations.
In Dec. of 2007, she published her first book entitled "Bible Promises for Soldiers". This uplifting book was written to help service members who are deploying and deployed, find encouragement and strength and to let them know that even in combat,they are not alone.
It was also written to help soldiers and veterans who may be suffering with PTSD seek the help they need. She also addresses issues like; What does God think of war , Where is God during times of war, What has God promised those who have answered the call to serve in the military. In addition, J.M. Barnes has included over 100 scriptures service members can read, pray and meditate on as they prepare for combat missions.
On February 16, 2008, J.M. Barnes hosted a book signing/fundraiser to benefit the Fisher House in Tampa, Fl. Fisher house is a nonprofit program that provides lodging for families of sick or wounded military personnel who often must travel great distances for specialized medical care. She donated a percentage of the books sold to the Fisher House in Tampa. She also donated 100% of the proceeds from the raffle/fundraiser to the Fisher House.
J.M. Barnes is currently employed in support of the Army Reserves as a Family Programs Assistant. In her position, she assist Commanders at different levels, Units, Soldiers and their Families during the pre-mobilization stage, mobilization stage and Demobilization stage of deployment. She also coordinates and briefs Army Reserve families at Yellow Ribbon events across the United States.
She is married to CSM (ret.) Louis Barnes; they have 3 adult children and reside in Orlando, FL.
J. M. Barnes
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Lisa Campbell
Veteran and Author
www.lmromagnoli.com
http://twitter.com/misplacedYooper
I've traveled the world, lived on two continents and in eleven cities. I wore a uniform during wartime, but never fired a shot. Thanks to my husband, I've flown an airplane. I'm a wife, and mother. I'm owned by two crazy cattle dogs, one of which I rescued from certain death.
Right now I have the privelege of living in the Black Hills the Oglala Sioux call Paha Sapa. I have a Celtic Connection with a Gaelic speaking friend. I write what I love to read. When I'm not writing, you can find me...
www.lisamcampbell.net
buy e-books @
www.allromanceebooks.com
www.wildhorsepress.webs.com
http://damselsatthegate.blogspot.com
CHRW Clan Reporter/Member at Large
www.lmromagnoli.com
stories for military kids
Lisa Campbell
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Jeffery Hess
Navy Veteran
Author of – Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform
www.homeofthebraveanthology.com
Jeffery Hess is the editor of “Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform” (ISBN: 978-0-9824416-0-2) an anthology of military-related fiction featuring stories by Kurt Vonnegut, Tim O’Brien, James Salter, Tobias Wolff, Pinckney Benedict, Chris Offutt, Robert O’Connor, Gabe Hudson, Benjamin Percy, among others. A portion of each sale of the book will go to USA Cares (a non-profit 501(c)3 organization) that assists post 9/11 veterans.
After serving six years in the U.S. Navy, Jeffery Hess earned a BA in English from the University of South Florida and an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte. Along the way, he’s held writing positions at a major daily newspaper, a Fortune 500 company, and a transportation research center.
In addition to numerous corporate publications and websites, his writing has appeared in The Houston Literary Review, Writers Journal, the Tampa Tribune, and American Skating World. He lives in Florida where he leads a creative writing workshop for military veterans and is currently completing a novel.
Learn more about “Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform” and the editor:
Jeffery Hess
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Mike Angley, Special Agent (ret)
Colonel, USAF (ret)
Author of the Child Finder Trilogy
www.childfinder.us
Colonel Michael “Mike” Angley is author of the Child Finder Trilogy. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in September 2007 following a rewarding 25 year career as a Special Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI).
He held thirteen different assignments throughout the world, among which were five tours as a Commander of various units, to include two Air Force OSI Squadrons and a Wing.
Mike is a seasoned criminal investigator and a counterintelligence and counterterrorism specialist. Following the 1996 Khobar Towers terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia, he was dispatched to command all OSI units throughout the Middle East, with responsibility for 23 countries.
During his tenure, he and his teams effectively neutralized numerous terrorist threats to U.S. forces in the region, to include an imminent threat to senior Department of Defense officials. Earlier in his career, while commanding an OSI unit in northern Japan, Mike conducted an operation that effectively blocked a KGB agent’s efforts to steal critical U.S. technology, and thereby stymied Soviet military advances for years.
In 1999 he was Chief of Counterintelligence within the Directorate of Intelligence, U.S. Strategic Command. His office competed for the prestigious Killian Award, a White House level honor that annually recognizes the very best intelligence unit in the entire U.S. government. His unit came in as first runner-up for this significant honor.
Mike has an M.A. in National Security Affairs from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, and a B.A.in Criminal Justice and Psychology from King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, PA. He is a former National Defense Fellow and Adjunct Professor of International Relations at Florida International University, Miami, FL, and is an Honor Graduate of the Defense Language Institute’s Korean language program.
Mike and Evelyn, his wife of 24 years, make their home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They have three children, and a rambunctious beagle named Brynn.
Colonel Michael “Mike” Angley
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Here's the Book Award Winners List:
Anthology:
GOLD -- Jeffery Hess -- Home of the Brave
SILVER -- Gail Chatfield -- By Dammit, We're Marines!
1st Runner Up -- Andy Luben, et. Al. -- Uncle John Salutes the Military
Children:
GOLD -- Thea Zitzow, et. al. -- You and your Military Hero
SILVER -- L. M. Romognoli -- Memories of Me
1st Runner Up -- Sandra Miller Linhart -- The Elementary Adventures Books 1-4
2nd Runner Up -- Mary Sullivan and Autumn Rayne Sullivan -- If I had a Daddy
Fiction:
GOLD -- John Takacs -- The Take-Us
SILVER -- Michael Angley -- Child Finder
1st Runner Up -- David Lucero -- The Sandman
2nd Runner Up -- D. H. Brown -- Honor Defended
Historical Fiction:
GOLD -- Erin Rainwater -- True Colors
SILVER -- Kathleen Rodgers -- The Final Salute
1st Runner Up -- Margit Liesche -- Hollywood Buzz
2nd Runner Up -- Jack Woodville London -- Virginia's War
Memoir:
GOLD -- Virgil Erwin -- Cat Lo: A Memoir of Invincible Youth
SILVER -- Del Staecker -- The Lady Gangster: A Sailor's Memoir
Music CD:
GOLD -- James Jellerson -- Goin' Home
Non-fiction:
GOLD -- Tom Ruck -- Sacred Ground: A Tribute to Veterans
SILVER -- Ray Morris -- The Ether Zone
1st Runner Up -- Lee Kelley -- Fire in the Night
2nd Runner Up -- Raymond Scurfield -- A Vietnam Trilogy
Poetry:
GOLD -- Jim Greenwald -- Tears for Mother Earth
SILVER -- James Jellerson -- Poems of Passion and Songs for the Soul
1st Runner Up -- Jim Greenwald -- Sugar, Zeroes, and Lemon Drops
Reference:
GOLD -- Dwight Zimmerman -- The Book of War
SILVER -- Phillip W. Stewart -- America's Film Vault
Spiritual:
GOLD -- Charles Sasser -- God in the Foxhole
SILVER -- Larkin Spivey -- Battlefields and Blessings
1st Runner Up -- JM Barnes -- Bible Promises for Soldieres
2nd Runer Up -- Derek W. Clark -- I Will Never Give Up on God Again
Army:
GOLD -- Latoya Lucas -- Immeasurable Spirit: Lessons of a Wounded Warrior
Navy:
GOLD -- Tommy Thomason -- Strike from the Sea: U.S. Navy Attack Aircraft from Skyraider to Super Hornet, 1948-Present
Air Force:
GOLD -- Dennis Jenkins and Tony Landis -- U.S. Air Force Prototype Jet Fighters Photo Scrapbook
Marines:
GOLD -- Wesley Gray -- Embedded: A Marine Advisor inside the Iraqi Army
Congratulations to the winners! I hope to see you in Orlando to shake your hand and have my photo taken with each of you! They will be keepsakes that I will treasure my whole life.
Now, for the People's Choice Award Finalists. Like the Book Awards, the judging went on for several days -- and the list changed constantly as the various pieces were scored and ranked. The very nature of trying to winnow the works down to a workable number means that some excellent work cannot appear among the finalists.
Peoples Choice Award Finalists
Mindy Phillips Lawrence -- Calling
Jack L. Wells -- Six Bronze Men
James R. Jellerson -- Freedom isn't Free (MP3)
Jerry Yellins -- Iwo Jima, August 14, 1945
Bonnie Bartel Latino -- A Rush of Butterflies
John Cathcart -- Flag from a Grateful Nation
Marlyce Stockinger -- The Choice We Make (MP3)
Jeff Senour & CTS -- Way Back Home (MP3)
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