Today, Editorial Manager Danielle Dresser welcomes award-winning
author Laura
Trentham! The first book in her new Heart of a Hero series, THE MILITARY WIFE, is
available now.
One aspect that I found interesting in the military life you portrayed was
how lonely it
could be, but also at the same time, there's a support network of people who
will go above
and beyond to be there when someone needs help. Can you talk a little bit about
these
"found" families, and how they formed among your characters?
My best friend is a military wife, so I've had a front-
row seat to the spouse experience for two decades. Military bases are their own
communities
and only the women (and men) who walk the experience can ever truly understand
what it's
like to have a spouse deploy for months at a time, especially when you have
kids. It really does
take a village. In The
Military Wife, the friendship between Harper
and Allison is sisterly. Allison is Harper's guide into a strange new world and
gives her some
good, but tough advice. Then, when Allison needs support, Harper is ready and
willing to step
up. I loved how their friendship weathered time and tragedy.
I loved the literary homages in The Military Wife, especially Harper's full name
(Harper
Lee) and Bennett's dog, Jack London. Were there any other literary references
you snuck in
the book? Or have you named a pet or other characters after your favorite book?
I work literary references into many of my books. In
fact, this is not the first time To Kill a
Mockingbird has been featured. My very first
book, SLOW AND STEADY RUSH,
features a librarian who helps a football team with their
book reports on TKAM. I also featured Jane
Eyre and Harry Potter in Then He
Kissed Me. I love books! I can't help myself!
PTSD, as well as physical injuries, are big parts of the plot in this book.
What sort of
research did you do into what military men and women go through during and after
deployment?
Along with reading articles, I watched YouTube
videos! It's amazing how honest and real people are. My next Heart of a Hero
book features an
amputee, and I was able to watch a woman demonstrate prosthetics, residual limb
care, and
relate everyday obstacles that arenft obvious to non-amputees (like how to put
on a pair of
jeans!). And, even better, she made it informative and funny.
I am a coffee fiend most days, so the idea of Harper and her fellow military
wives starting
cafes near military bases was really appealing to me! The name, Home Front
Coffee, was
absolutely perfect. If you could start your own business, what would it be?
My first reaction to this question was, "I would never
want my own business!" It takes serious dedication and time. But then I
realized that writing is
like running a small business. Sometimes I work as a contract employee for
publishing houses,
and sometimes I do everything when I indie publish. So, I guess I started my own
business
when I became an author! (I need to ask the boss for a raise☺)
The friendship between Harper and Allison is really special. I liked how it
started out with
both of them being rather cautious, and it blossomed into a strong and supportive
relationship. What do you like to do with your girlfriends when you have time?
I have a very tight group of nine girlfriends from
college. We call ourselves the eTuplets because we were separated at birth.
We're scattered
around the country now but get together at least twice a year for shenanigans.
Lots of laughs
and crying and fun. We've been there for each other through cancer diagnoses
and births and
marriages and divorces. We have a group text that goes off almost daily. Love my
ladies!
Bennett has his own business, Caldwell Survival School, where people learn to
rough it in
the wilderness with guides. Have you ever done one of these types of boot
camps? I'm not
sure I have what it takes, even with a trained professional!
I have never done a survival boot camp, but I love
watching Naked and Afraid on the Discovery Channel! Same thing, right? Every
time I watch I
tell my husband, no way would I survive.
The Wounded
Warrior Project is
mentioned a few times in the book. Are there any other organizations or
charities that you
recommend for readers interested in supporting members of the military and/or
their families?
The Semper Fi Fund (https://semperfifund.org) is
another amazing organization that helps service members and their families after
they come
home.
What can readers expect from you in the coming year or so?
A HIGHLANDER WALKS INTO A
BAR, Book 1 of the Highland, GA series releases in July! It's a
small-town romantic comedy, so quite different from The Military Wife,
but it has
lots of heart, a little more heat, and tons of laughs. Then, next year will see
the release of the
second Heart of a Hero book (title TBD,) but it's already written, and I love
it so much!
Rapid Fire Random Questions
Favorite candy:
Snickers
Favorite way to be kind to yourself:
A long, hot shower
Best compliment you recently gave to someone:
You are hilarious!
Favorite flower:
Daisy
Random interesting fact you like to tell people:
I
spent a month one summer in college biking through Western Europe (and actually
gained
weight - Darn those pastries!)
Best vacation youfve ever taken: Two-week
driving/camping trip around the American West with the family
Earliest celebrity crush:
Harrison Ford as Han
Solo, then Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones
Cake or pie: Blackberry cobbler!
Last book you read that you really LOVED:
The
Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine
Arden. (It's a trilogy and all three are amazing.)
You have a totally free afternoon - no deadlines, no obligations, no Twitter
notifications! What do you do?:
Nap and read with a side of
Netflix
Thanks to Laura for chatting with us today!
Heart of a Hero
A young widow embraces a second chance at life when she reconnects with those who
understand the sacrifices made by American soldiers and their families in
award-winning
author Laura Trentham's The Military Wife.
Harper Lee Wilcox has been marking time in her hometown of Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina since
her husband, Noah Wilcox's death, nearly five years earlier. With her son Ben
turning five and
living at home with her mother, Harper fights a growing restlessness, worried
that moving on
means leaving the memory of her husband behind.
Her best friend, Allison Teague, is dealing with struggles of her own. Her
husband, a former
SEAL that served with Noah, was injured while deployed and has come home
physically
healed
but fighting PTSD. With three children underfoot and unable to help her husband,
Allison is at
her wit's end.
In an effort to reenergize her own life, Harper sees an opportunity to help not
only Allison but
a network of other military wives eager to support her idea of starting a string
of coffee
houses close to military bases around the country.
In her pursuit of her dream, Harper crosses paths with Bennett Caldwell, Noah's
best friend
and SEAL brother. A man who has a promise to keep, entangling their lives in
ways neither of
them can foresee. As her business grows so does an unexpected relationship with
Bennett.
Can Harper let go of her grief and build a future with Bennett even as the man
they both loved
haunts their pasts?
Women's Fiction Contemporary [St. Martin's
Griffin, On Sale: February 5, 2019, Trade Size / e-Book, ISBN: 9781250145536 /
eISBN:
9781250145543]
Heartfelt and
emotional... uplifting and hopeful!
Laura Trentham was born and raised in a small town in Northwest Tennessee.
Although, she loved English and reading in high school, she majored in Chemical
Engineering
(in order to avoid becoming a starving artist!) and worked in a hard hat and
steel toed boots
for several years.
Now living in South Carolina with her husband and two children, she writes
historical and
contemporary romances that are a little dark, a little funny, and a whole lot of
sexy.
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