Guest post - M.L. Buchman and I OWN THE DAWN

FLYING WITH…

Hello and thanks so much for having me back! Greetings from the mainland! I’m so glad to be here to chat a bit about my next book. Why? I love it! I Own the Dawn is book II of my “Night Stalkers” series about the real-life U.S. Army secret helicopter regiment, the 160th SOAR. It’s another adventure of a strong woman stepping into a man’s world and discovering her own strengths, as well as her own weaknesses. It’s about the man who stops her breath and starts her heart. It’s about facing death and life together.

And that’s part of what I’m finding to be so fascinating about writing this series. It started out as a story about cool helicopters and people falling in love. About a woman discovering her true self in the midst of discovering true love. Sounded like a fun premise.

But it has grown and shifted in ways I least expected. And I have been forced to grow and change along with my writing. If I step back from the romance and my passion for a good love story, I’m finding other layers of this military world I have begun to explore. Never having served, I knew that the military would be the greatest challenge for me to capture well and convincingly. So I read an account of a retired SEAL. I read about men who chose to fly helicopters. I read accounts of war and accounts of failure.

The more I researched, the more fascinated I became. I interviewed a female Black Hawk helicopter crew chief who’d served in Iraq and men who still packed a weapon, though they’d been back in the civilian world for a decade. I discovered a respect I didn’t anticipate finding. By the time they reach Special Forces, these soldiers are the supporting stars who are in the background of movie after movie. Once you reach SEALs, Delta Force, PJs, or SOAR, you are the big stars. Except you aren’t paid $15M a movie. The paparazzi have never heard of you or what you’ve done. But you’ve trained longer and harder and more thoroughly than I ever imagined.

Why? That question has chased me through the first two published novels in the series and the two that are to follow. I begin to see the edge of it. I begin to understand. It isn’t glory, for if they do their job right there is none. For a long time I thought it might be about protecting our country and our way of life. It is. But it’s also about much more. The thing they consistently talked about was the people they were honored to serve with. The ones they would trust their very lives to fly with.

Where do I see that in my every day world? In most places I don’t. But I’ve taken that lesson to heart more than most in my life. I keep my family close. How? I would do anything for them and they know that. I keep my team at work close. How? I’ve got their backs. They’re the ones getting the job done and I’m the one making sure they have the space to do it, the tools, the skills, and the freedom. I’ve had the honor to lead dozens of teams on complex and challenging projects over the years. But this is the best I’ve built yet. I’m proud of my crew. And when I think of what I do to create that better than I ever have before, I find myself thinking of those I fly with in our desk-bound flight and I find I must say something I’d never have thought to say before, “It’s an honor.”

I’d love to hear about those you’d wish to honor.

And please check out the contest page on my website: by following along my blog tour for the month of August, you will have multiple chances to win a signed copy of I Own the Dawn at this link.

I OWN THE DAWN BY M.L. BUCHMAN – IN STORES AUGUST 2012

Name: Archibald Jeffrey Stevenson III
Rank: First Lieutenant, Dap Hawk Copilot
Mission: Strategy and execution of special ops maneuvers

Name: Kee Smith
Rank: Sergeant, Night Stalker Gunner and Sharpshooter
Mission: Whatever it takes to get the job done

You Wouldn't Think It Could Get Worse, Until It Does...

When a special mission slowly unravels, it is up to Kee and Archie to get their team out of an impossible situation with international implications. With her weaponry knowledge and his strategic thinking, plus the explosive attraction that puts them into exact synchrony, together they might just have a fighting chance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

M. L. Buchman has worked in fast food, theater, computers, publishing, and light manufacturing. It's amazing what you can do with a degree in geophysics. At one point he sold everything and spent 18-months riding a bicycle around the world. In 11,000 miles, he touched 15 countries and hundreds of amazing people. Since then, he has acquired a loving lady, the coolest kid on the planet, and lives in Portland, Oregon. For more information, please visit matthewlieberbuchman.com.

Be sure to check the Contest page for a chance to win a free, signed copy of I Own the Dawn.