Houston, we have lift-off – Broken People is released

Leonardo Da Vinci is supposed to have said that “Great works of are never finished. They’re simply abandoned.”

I’m not sure I’d put my little novel up against the Mona Lisa, but it certainly represents a lot of hard work, sweat, tears, sleepless nights, and so on. But one can always hope.

-HOW BROKEN PEOPLE CAME ABOUT

The title could easily have been something else. Broken Toy Soldiers was one I considered for a long time. And while at least some of the Trauma I put one of my characters through is battlefield related, she’s not the only one going through things.

A little background is in order here. Early last year, I started working on releasing what was to be the third novel in the Lawman series, and it would be titled “Event Horizon.” Event Horizon will still happen later this year.

But an interesting thing happened during the editing process. The story took an unexpected turn with the simple wounding of Marshal Pam Harmon. This is how that happens in the middle of a raid:

And right there, I realized I was letting you down.

Getting wounded! What does that do to a person? What goes on in a person’s head.

I’ve been injured in the line of duty, and at least some it I know. I started looking at it, and listened to others, and I started weaving it into the story. The end result was a gut-wrenching voyage into the heart of PTSD, alcoholism, and attempted suicide. Not of all I discuss in it happened to me, but it certainly happened (with some artistic licenses taken) to other people. That makes what she goes through a rather extreme, but representative case.

I chose the Title “Broken People” because there’s a lot of people going through things. If we’re honest with ourselves, none of us lead that Facebook life we try to project to the world. Each and every human being around us is going through something. Some of us make mountains out of molehills. Others carry hurts from long ago and will never put them down. Others face the greatest issue mortal man can face, and that’s the loss of their lives.

It is a story of God’s love and redemptive power for us. And it’s about extending Grace to others, a lesson I learned during the writing. I was one of those guilty of carrying hurts and holding on to them. And the sad and terrible part of it is, I made one person the focus of all the rage and anger I felt.

I was wrong and I’ve confessed that to God and asked for forgiveness.

A couple of things I’ve never done before is in the back of the book is a list of resources for those suffering from PTSD. I’ve also included an author’s note with shoutouts to people who helped me navigate the treacherous waters of PTSD and get this book to the launch pad.

It will be officially released on Amazon on the 31st of May. It will also come out in hardback.