BookHuntersBlog.com

For more information about D.H. Brown and his book, visit his Profile, and check out our Review for Honor Due.

On Being a Warrior, a Veteran, and a Writer

AllTheseBooks.com: How difficult was it for you to write about this subject and to revisit this time of your life?

D.H. Brown: Writing these books was suggested by my therapist and PsycheMeds doctor who thought it would aid in my recovery. Some days, it’s tough and all I want to do is bury myself in someone else’s stories. Other days, it’s as if a piece of shrapnel from a memory has worked its way up to the surface & just pops out. Yeah, I think it’s helped.

ATB: What has the response been from fellow veterans and soldiers?

DHB: Everyone that’s given feedback has been pleased. I’ve had someone who hasn’t read a book in 20 years tell me it made him want to take up reading again. A bunch of my buds from CounterParts took a copy with them during hunting season last fall up on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and could do nothing except rave how the one reading it stayed up all night and wasn’t worth… well… you know, the next day for hunting. Reckon that about says it all.

ATB: One thing that makes Honor Due stand out is its authenticity. As we said in our Review even readers who know nothing of the subject matter feel drawn in. How much care did you put into achieving this, or did it come naturally?

DHB: I think the old adage: write what you know, holds true: When you do, it comes through. I’ve lived a pretty varied life. From being the son of missionary parents with a lot of world travel to my Vietnam experiences. I’ve been a jack of all trades in everything from a day laborer hauling railroad ties off ship at Steward, Alaska to the Director of Security for Loomis when anti highjacking measures went into effect back in ‘73. Also drove Armored Car, joined the Anchorage Police force and worked undercover for drugs and vice. The list goes on, Professional Hunting Guide; Trapper; Dog Sledder; Homesteader; Truck Driver; General Contractor; Minister; Editor; Writer; Speaker; Restaurateur; Movie Producer; Antique Restoration Specialist; Personal Care Worker; PC Repair Specialist; Computer Instructor; Book Reviewer; Webmaster and Web Designer.

So I guess the direct answer to your question is, a lot for the first part. As to the “did it come naturally” part, when I write it comes out in a rush. I just work at getting down the “bones” as Natalie Goldberg said many years ago. Then it’s clean up time. HONOR DUE was essentially finished in 3 months. It took another 2 years to polish and for me to get up the nerve to actually seek a publisher. The next book in the Citizen Warrior series HONOR DEFENDED is now in that process.

ATB: What is your part in the veteran associations you have joined? Does it also function as a kind of self-counseling?

DHB: I joined those associations as a gesture of support and because they’ve helped me. I do stay in touch with the larger picture of what’s happening in veteran’s affairs, however, crowds don’t suit me much.

ATB: In the movie “Black Hawk Down”, one of the soldiers explains his reasons for doing what he is doing with “It’s about the man next to you.” Generally speaking many soldiers don’t care about the political reasons - when you are there it’s about keeping yourself and your brothers alive. Would you agree with that statement?

DHB: Haven’t seen it. I’ve never much enjoyed war movies. When the fat’s in the fire the why you’re there’s unimportant. The how you’re going to get your ass and your buddies out of said fire is all that counts. You have to understand that the Warrior of today’s war is a different animal than in my war. Today’s military is made up of ONLY volunteers and I’ve heard them say much the same thing. Back in the ’60s, I was RA (Regular Army), meaning I enlisted. That isn’t to take anything from those who were drafted. They fought the good fight shoulder to shoulder, just like us. In the midst of a fire-fight no one stopped to ask how the guy next to you got there. You all bled red when you got hit. My war, which Congress never declared as a war, was against an enemy we’ve forgotten existed — the spread of Communism — and that affected all of us. Not in a good way either.

ATB: How do you feel about the media’s portrayal of soldiers and war in general?

DHB: It sucks, and so does war, period. End of story. I met many fine and honorable men from all the combat arms in my duties in Vietnam. I got to see a fair bit of country, albeit some I wish I hadn’t, as an M-60 Gunner on road convoys. The media in cahoots with the politicos lost that war. Not the fighting men. I look at the atmosphere in Washington today and I’m afraid we’re going to do it again. It’s been said that only the Warrior truly knows the reasons wars should NOT be fought. I think the converse is also true. Warriors also recognize there are some things that cannot be tolerated. You might say the Major and HONOR DUE are made up of parts of all that.

ATB: Did being a veteran help you in your publishing process? Did people take you more seriously?

DHB: With the writing most assuredly; in the publishing part not at all. One editor at a major New York publishing house told me HONOR DUE was unpublishable because it didn’t float his boat, didn’t sound like I knew the subject and that I should do more research. A “bestselling” author told me the Major wasn’t vulnerable enough. When I asked what she meant, her response was that the Major was too perfect, and readers want a hero with “emotions and doubts.” Hell, you survive 35 years in the world’s killing fields you must be doing something right. I would hope that the time of doubts and making mistakes for that character would be long past. I read somewhere that more that 75% of all publishers and editors today are women, and ChicLit rules. Yet, every woman that’s read the Major’s story says she wants more. Go figure.

On Writing

ATB: How do you juggle writing with the rest of your life?

DHB: Gently. Being a 100% disabled Vet with Agent Orange related Diabetes and chronic PTSD and having had open heart surgery as well, it’s got to be. There are days I can’t write at all, so the going gets real slow. On the nights I can’t sleep, I write up a storm. I guess it balances out. I’ve lived what I write about, and know people who still live the life. There’s all sorts of fiction being published and from the feedback I’m getting, there’re also readers out there who want a dose of reality mixed into their fiction. I hope HONOR DUE and the future books of the series encompass that.

ATB: Do you have any rituals or methods to your writing?

DHB: No rituals, although I’m thinking about the storyline and doing research all the time. You could say I’m a bit (my wife snorts a that) fixated on Character development. I spend an inordinate amount of time working with the people that populate my books.

ATB: Did you study the craft of writing, or did you dive right into it?

DHB: Been a reader all my life, and I figure that’s about the best study course you can get for writing. That and a present library of over 800 books. And I don’t just read for the story: I study the content; how the writer wrote, the language used and how well the storyline worked. I actually learn more when a plot doesn’t work. When my PsycheMeds doc and therapist suggested I write to see what came out, I figured it couldn’t hurt. John Ringo says he started out that way. After jotting down the bones of a couple of long-held storylines, I figured out what I really wanted to write, and it sort of flowed from there.

ATB: How much of your own promotion do you do and how do websites like AllTheseBooks.com help you?

DHB: My wife does 90%. The rest I fumble through. Sites like yours are a big help to us independent writers in getting the word out about our books.

ATB: How difficult was the entire process from writing the book to getting published?

DHB: HONOR DUE and The Citizen Warrior series was more like the accumulation of an interesting life finally meeting some long-held aspirations and needs. You just keep plugging away at it. A little each day, one step at a time. Believe your writing has value and it’s something readers will find enjoyable. It ain’t easy.

ATB: Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?

DHB: Develop your characters. Talk to them. Get to know them as friends or enemies. If the latter, kill ‘em. There’s great satisfaction in knowing that’s one character that’ll never come back to haunt you.

ATB: What are your future plans?

DHB: Write more books. Keep working on the Citizen Warrior series and a couple of other projects that are knocking about in the woods of my mind.

ATB: What do you think the future of books is with all the new technology coming out (like Kindle and foldable screens)?

DHB: No idea. I’m old fashioned, I prefer sitting in my recliner and reading from a real book. I spend way too much time at my pc monitor as it is. I just know that somehow this whole self-publishing thing has to get some ethics, transparency and dependability. Both the authors, with more diligence with the product and the POD outfits working with the authors. HONOR DUE will soon be available as a Kindle edition. Foldable screens? That’s a new one on me. Have to check that out.

ATB: Where can readers find out more about your writing?

DHB: Google D. H. Brown and HONOR DUE. My wife tells me there are a fair number of hits available. My website is http://www.dhbrownbooks.com and of course my Official MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/dhbrownbooks. I post things to my blog there occasionally. HONOR DUE is available to retail outlets through Ingram Book Company and Baker & Taylor and outlets worldwide online including Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Books-A-Million.com, Powell’s or most other online distributors.
We want to thank Mr. Brown for this opportunity and wish him the best with his book and his future endeavors. Stay tuned for more interviews coming soon!

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Posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 7:25 pm under Author Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed and leave a response, or trackback from your own site.