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Write by Salter  
             -- a blog

A bit about writing &
a few observations on life.

Noticing what's around me & sharing it with you.

Goodreads

Saturday Sample: Called to Arms Again

6/13/2013

8 Comments

 

Called to Arms Again
Sample # 2

by J. L. Salter

Hook:             
Grit doesn’t fade away ... it just becomes crusty.  With  harrowing elements right out of today’s headlines, this story reaches back into  the sturdy heartbeat of people raised during the Depression and tested during  World War II.  Though the old  uniforms haven’t fit in many decades, their resilient spirits still have that  same intensity which helped save democracy.
 
-- 
             
Welcome to the second sample of my brand new novel, Called To Arms Again, just released  on May 30 by Astraea Press.
             
The heroine is Kelly Randall and her boyfriend is Bill “Mitch”  Mitchell.  Through much of Chapter  1, she’s been fretful — she feels things closing in around her.  These two short scenes are near the end of that chapter.   The restaurant scene reveals a bit about both characters, but its imagery  also comes up later in the novel in a meaningful  manner.
 
----
 
Mitch stood and stretched. “What  are you watching out there?”

Kelly motioned toward the glass  upper half of her cabin’s back door. “Just looking at the
woods.”

Mitch stood close behind Kelly,  placed his large hands on her hips, and rested his chin lightly on the top of  her head.

She wasn’t fussy about her honey  brown hair, but washed it daily… then simply blew it dry and  brushed.

“You seem unusually pensive this  evening.” He bent his neck forward enough to kiss the side of her neck lightly.  “You want to just stay in for a while? Maybe elbowing crowds in a hustle-bustle  buffet line isn’t the best venue right now.”

“Yeah, let’s just hang out here  for a bit. Maybe we’ll get a bite later, somewhere quiet.”

 Mitch hugged her closely for a  few more moments until she disengaged to get a sip of juice.

Kelly, in the kitchen, could  hear his stomach grumbling.

 * * * *
 
About an hour later, Kelly and  Mitch sat at their favorite of the local Mexican restaurants. He’d quickly  ordered his standard: enchilada dinner plate. Kelly wavered between one of the  specials and the numerous possible taco, tamale, burrito, and enchilada  combinations. She finally selected the components of a combo  plate.

A different waiter, on his way  to a nearby table, carried a steaming platter of grande fajitas with a plateful  of flour tortillas and another dish with rice, beans, and salad. The fajitas  sizzled audibly as they passed and Kelly inhaled as though she could capture
some of their aroma to savor later.

“Let me guess.” Mitch nodded  toward the enormous tray as it was placed in front of a hungry diner two tables  away. “You wish you’d ordered those fajitas.”

She nodded. “But nearly double  the cost of my combo.”

“You do that every time — order  this,” he said, pointing to the combo section on the menu’s back panel, “and  wish for that.” Mitch aimed his chin toward the sizzling
platter.

“Well at least I vary my combos,  Mister Eat-the-same-thing-every-single-time.”

He shrugged. “I like  predictability. Sue me.”
 
-- 
 
Picture
Blurb:              
Needing  only a fresh angle to write her Veteran’s Day special, Kelly  discovers  first-hand that the Greatest Generation still has enough grit to fight  back.  While all the authorities  are occupied during a massive  Homeland Security drill, an urban gang of thieves  targets an isolated  retirement subdivision ... figuring the crippled geriatrics  would offer no  resistance. 
             
Though  Kelly’s widowed boyfriend came along only for a post-funeral  luncheon,
Mitch soon finds himself leading a mis-matched flanking team. Kelly’s  good  friend Wade has his own assignment, with a home-made mortar and lots of  illegal gunpowder. 
             
Maybe  it’s difficult to remember everyday things like taking pills, but  these  octogenarians have never forgotten it was up to them to defend family,  home, community, and country.  The  outcome of their courageous stand  depends on the resolve and resourcefulness of  an unlikely ensemble of  eccentric elderly neighbors, several American Legion  members, and  others spanning four  generations.

--

Links:

Astraea Press
http://www.astraeapress.com/#!/~/product/category=662245&id=24198341

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D3D3O8G/ref=as_li_ss_sm_fb_us_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=399837&creativeASIN=B00D3D3O8G&linkCode=shr&tag=onboatati-20&=digital-text&qid=1369929694&sr=1-1&keywords=called+to+arms+again

Barnes
& Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/called-to-arms-again-jl-salter/1115454541?ean=2940016705842
8 Comments
Laurel-Rain Snow link
6/15/2013 01:24:40 am

Delightful snippet! Now I am salivating for Mexican food. Enjoyed how you brought us right into their world.

Great cover on the book, too. Thanks for visiting my sample.

Reply
Jeff Salter
6/15/2013 01:49:34 am

Thanks, Laurel-Rain.
That imagery comes up later in the story and helps the reader fully understand the relationship between Kelly & Mitch.

Reply
Heather Gray link
6/15/2013 04:22:11 am

I agree with Laurel -- I want Mexican food now! Maybe you think about doing a book signing at a local Mexican restaurant. Anybody who reads the book will no doubt end up going back there to eat! :) My husband orders the same thing at every Mexican restaurant, too...so I can totally relate to this scene.

Reply
Jeff Salter
6/15/2013 08:29:21 am

Thanks for visiting, Heather.
I confess that I order the same thing that Mitch orders ... nearly every single time I go. Ha.

Reply
Elaine Cantrell link
6/15/2013 11:39:06 am

I love the sound of this book. Guess I'll be buying it.

Reply
Jeff Salter
6/15/2013 01:27:07 pm

Thanks, Elaine. I hope so.
And if you like what your read, I hope you'll help me get the word out to the surviving members of that greatest generation. They need to know that a novel has honored them and their sacrifices ... and their grit.

Reply
Patricia Kiyono link
6/16/2013 07:56:19 am

My favorite WWII vets are gone, but I'll gladly share this book with anyone who'll listen. My hubby and I both tend to have our favorites at our usual haunts. Great scene.

Reply
Jeff Salter
6/16/2013 01:27:26 pm

Thanks, Patty. That's all I can ask.
And hope that those others who DO still have loved ones or friends of that age ... will let them know about my tribute to that generation.

Reply



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    J.L. Salter

    I’ve been a writer since my first poems and stories during elementary school
    days.
    * co-author of two non-fiction monographs (about librarianship) with a royalty publisher, plus a chapter in another book and an article in a specialty encyclopedia
    * I've also published articles, book reviews, and over 120
    poems
    * my writing has won nearly 40 awards, including several in national contests
    * as a newspaper photo-journalist, I published about 150 bylined newspaper articles, and some 100 bylined photos

    * Decorated veteran of U.S.
    Air Force (including a remote tour of duty in the Arctic … at Thule AB in N.W. Greenland).
    * worked nearly 30 years in the field of librarianship.
    * married parent of two and grandparent of six.

    Romantic comedy and
    romantic suspense are among seven completed novel manuscripts.

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