GETTING TO KNOW THE WARFIGHTERS

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Dear You—

Work continues on the blurbs for the book jackets. Doubtless they’ll be revised again before the final version appears but here is where I am today. Curious how hard it is to write ‘short’ instead of ‘long,’ although many would feel the reverse is true.

I was away over the weekend but when I came back found a rather amusing fan e-mail which much cheered me. ‘GoTH’ means Games of The Hangman’ of course. Based upon my experiences to date, fan mail seems to cut no ice with either agents or publishers – they look only at sales figures – but fan mail certainly impresses me – and I’m deeply appreciative of it, especially when the writer has a sense of humor.

If he has a Kindle, he should be able to order my new books in about five weeks. It’s an exciting thought!

Simon BrookeAugust 1, 2010 at 3:18am

Subject: Where do I get your books????

Hi Victor

GoTH is one of my favourite books - my paperback version is now horribly tattered after many re-readings.

At the moment I'm on holiday in the USA with a friend and took my copy of GoTH with me to enjoy for the umpteenth time on the outbound flight to Chicago. A couple of days ago, my friend asked if I could lend him a book.

I handed him my tattty copy of GoTH and he immediately lost interest in everything else (we were in Wisconsin to spend most of our time at the famous Oshkosh AirVenture airshow) and happily read GoTH in one day; having finished it, he immediately demanded more.

This afternoon we hit an enormous Barnes & Noble bookstore in central Wisconsin and made a beeline for the Os - nary a mention of yourself :-(

Aaagh!

With my very best wishes
Simon

Simon Brooke
Jersey (The original one!)

And here is the blurb for Getting To Know the Warfighters.

GETTING TO KNOW THE WARFIGHTERS
After challenging his new young and pretty Irish assistant, who knows nothing about ranks let alone the U.S. Army, to organize a research trip to the famed 82nd Airborne Division, Best Selling Author, Victor O’Reilly, is impressed to find that within days, he has been invited by the god-like Commanding General of the 82nd himself to visit; and that his assistant seems to be on near intimate (telephonic) terms with the entire officer corps of the 3rd Brigade commanded by hard-charging Colonel David Petraeus. Days extend to months as O’Reilly transitions from the paratroopers of the 82nd to the armored warriors of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) to the air assault troopers of the famed 101st Division (Airborne). Packed with humorous incidents and anecdotes, Getting to Know the Warfighters portrays a complex and often hilarious relationship between the free-thinking, casually dressed writer, and the highly disciplined, crisply uniformed culture of the elite of the U.S. Army; and not only gives a fascinating insight into two completely contrasting worlds, but is one of the funniest books you are likely to read. 

Farewell for the moment. Write soon. I miss your wit and your company.


Victor.