Where Are the Women? A Military Mystery

WANTED: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Needs Charismatic Heroine

Qualified applicants should be physically fit and battle tested with investigative- or intelligence-gathering experience and leadership abilities. Training in self-defense, survival skills, and weaponry a plus.

The muscled images of ex-military heroes—men trained as SEALS, Special Operatives, Rangers and Military Police—grace the covers of dozens of romantic suspense novels written by women. Male authors have been even busier penning novels with veteran heroes from Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer and John Macdonald’s Travis McGee to Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch and Lee Child’s Jack Reacher.

So where are the ex-military heroines?

Capable heroines populate many of today’s crime novels. They work as district attorneys, homicide detectives, medical examiners, and Secret Service and FBI agents. Yet only a handful of leading ladies list military experience on their resumes.

To be fair, if it weren’t for a lifelong friendship, I doubt I’d have been smart enough to cast a 52-year-old retired military intelligence officer as the star of my Marley Clark mystery series. Wanting a heroine with “thriller” qualifications, I immediately thought of Arlene, a friend since kindergarten and a retired military intelligence officer. Arlene graciously shared details to give Marley relevant career experiences and depth.

I’ve met a number of Arlene’s Army friends, and these ladies are smart, physically fit, witty, and often hold advanced college degrees. They also know how to use weapons and understand tactics. Excellent heroine material.

According to various sources, U.S. women military vets number between 1.8 and two million, with more than 214,000 women on active duty in all services—about 14 percent of the entire U.S. military. In 2011, West Point graduated 225 women. At the Naval Academy, female cadets make up about 17 percent of graduates. About 35,000 women serve as officers.

As a result of policy reforms, 91 percent of Army and 99 percent of Air Force occupations are open to women. Dozens of career paths provide women with the skill sets needed to unravel mysteries and combat deadly foes. A partial list might include military intelligence analysts, who assist in collecting information and then work to filter, assess and knit it together to identify enemy units, personnel and equipment; military intelligence officers specializing in operational, communications or physical security; lawyers with the Judge Advocate General; Military Police, members of the Criminal Investigative Division, who may even work undercover to investigate a variety of crimes such as dealers attempting to sell drugs to military personnel. 

Many are also battle-tested. Almost 41,000 women served in theater during the Persian Gulf War. More than 20,000 women served as peacekeepers in Bosnia and Kosovo, and about ten percent of U.S. Forces serving in Afghanistan and Iraq are women.

 

Given the nature of warfare today, front-line combat units need support units nearby. That means the driver of an Army supply truck or a communications specialist must always be alert to ambush and attack. In every arm of the service, a person’s first job must be soldiering—specialties come second.

My conclusion? Marley Clark may soon share mystery/suspense bookshelves with many more ex-military heroines. There are too many heroic possibilities out there to ignore.

Do you know a vet who’d make a great heroine?

My Marley Clark Mysteries, DEAR KILLER & NO WAKE ZONE, are available as e-books and trade paperbacks. Visit my website for buy links.

Blisters for Labor Day:)

"Wake up, Courtney! You're late!" Tim, my troublemaker-of-a-brother shouted.

"We packed your lunch. Now get dressed!" Danika, my cunningly-clever sister, said.

The moment I opened my eyes I panicked. "Not on my first day of first grade!"

I rushed to get my new clothes on, then quickly laced up my bright neon high-tops I'd been aching to wear for the past week. My siblings followed me to the door, Danika handing over the backpack that had mysteriously been filled with a full lunch and my school supplies.

"Just go!" They insisted together, before I had a chance to evaluate everything in my bag.

I jumped on my neon magenta scooter with white wheels, and started out for school.

"I can't be late, can't be late," I chanted, my feet tiring quicker than usual.

The tight fit of my converse high-tops caused a blister to puff up on my right heel, but I kept up the pace and scooted along using my other foot to push.

I knew the trek to school was only a mile, but halfway there both heels had blisters. All I could think about was being late on my first day of first grade.

Finally, after being bogged down by minor injuries and the backpack that shouldn't have felt nearly as heavy as it did, I had the last stretch of sidewalk in my sights.

I knew where the bike racks were, knew where my classroom was, knew my teacher's name. I had a place to be, and I knew exactly where that was.

As I locked up my scooter with expert finesse, I noticed the parking lot was empty. That didn't keep me from running to get to my classroom. And I would have, if the gate hadn't been locked. But it was.

Because I had been late for school on Labor Day. School started the next morning.

That's a true story, folks. My sister and brother have since become two very caring, loving adults, but when they were younger...they were pretty mean. When they apologize now for playing pranks like this one (because I remember them, and they don't, so it helps to remind them every now and again), all I can say is they gave me memories of holidays I will NEVER forget.

Just for the curious readers--yes, those neon high-tops did break in. Eventually. As for the contents of the backpack, all I know is it was heavier than normal. I was too busy crying my way home to remember ALL the details. Instead of having Labor Day traditions...I just think back to my childhood and am instantly entertained!  

Make a Memory

This year traditions and family memories mean just a bit more to me than usual. My kids are growing up and moving (emotionally, if not physically) further away, older members of the family are becoming elderly (as are we all!), and the babies aren’t babies any more. All a desired, natural progression of life. These changes make things like family times all the more cherished. I’ve recently become conscious of the fact that each time I see my 83 year old MIL that it might be the last, as her health is failing. Each time I see my one year old grandson I’m impressed by how much he has grown both mentally and physically. Just over this last summer I have seen my fourteen year old son turn from a child to a young man. And I am reminded that the memories we are making as a family right now are ones I’ll probably look back on the most in the coming years. So I’m making an effort to make them some of the best!

This year we started what we hope will be the first of years of a family tradition. Yes, it’s never too late to start one! Last month my husband and I rented a modest house near the Atlantic Ocean for 2 weeks. Over the course of that time period different family members such as my nephew, his wife and three girls, my best friend, my MIL and SIL, and my oldest son and his family, all came to share the time with my husband, my youngest son and myself. Some visits overlapped and some missed each other, but most importantly we all had a great time. There were times before we tried this that we worried it would be too much and we might not blend well in a confined area for days on end but we filled the days with sun, surf, shopping, sightseeing, good food and lots and lots of family time together. It was a huge success, so much so that we can home and began searching for a vacation place for next year. Plus my brother and his wife want to join us on the next vacation. By the time everyone splits the cost of the vacation, it’s more reasonable than a boring, on your own vacation! It’s never too late to start making great family memories or to start a fabulous tradition. All you have to do is invite them and they will come! *g*

Summer Fun at the Water Park

By Opal Carew

This month’s topic is about Labour Day weekend, such as memories about family traditions or trips. I don’t like crowds and avoid them if at all possible, so I tend to avoid doing trips on Labour Day weekend. Also, with the kids going back to school the following week I’ve always preferred to have a nice settled weekend before launching into the hectic fall schedule.

We do have an August tradition in our family, though. It all started after we had our first child. This tiny baby kept my husband and I pretty busy, as all babies do, so after a year with no time to ourselves, we decided a little couple’s time would be a good idea. My sister-in-law agreed to take care of our son while hubby and I went away for an overnight trip. We had nothing definite in mind, but decided going to our neighbouring province, Quebec, would be a nice change. We live about two hours from Montreal, but we didn’t want to go to the city, so we found a nice bed-and-breakfast about a half hour north of Montreal in the Laurentian mountains.

It was a lovely place and the setting was gorgeous, but we wanted a little more excitement and discovered a water park nearby. Since we both love water parks, we decided to check it out.

Well, we were astounded. The park is part of a ski resort in the mountains. You actually take chair lifts to the top of the mountain for several of the water rides. One is a white water rafting experience, but I find that one a bit bumpy and cold. The one I really love is where you ride a tube through a series of water slides down the face of the mountain, connected by pools of water. It is wild and seriously fun!

It usually takes about twenty minutes to travel down the mountain. There’s a mild current in the pools, so your tube gets caught in a circular motion rather than going right down the next slide. Then more tubes come down and bump into the tubes already in the pool. Suddenly, you find yourself gliding over the edge and on down. See a video of this water slide (click on ride #11 on the map.)

My husband and I were thrilled to find this park and it immediately became a tradition. Every year we would get someone to take our kids (we had a second son within two years) and we’d head off to Mont Saint- Sauveur and our favourite water park. Once the kids were old enough, we started making it a family affair. Soon they invited friends to join us. Since it’s an hour and a half away, we’d drive up early in the morning, then when the park closed at 7 p.m. we’d go to a restaurant for dinner, then drive home. It makes for a long day, but one we thoroughly enjoy.

Once the kids were old enough to drive, they’d sometimes go on their own, with a carload of friends, but we always make time to go as a family, too. This year my eldest son graduated from university and he’s taking a gap year to earn money so he can go to the UK for his Masters next year. That might be preceded by an internship in Belgium next summer, so that means there might be an interruption to our tradition, but I hope it continues once he returns.

I think it’s great having traditions like this with shared adventures, and it helps a family stay close.

Do you enjoy water parks? Do you have any unusual ones to tell us about?

http://www.OpalCarew.com
http://www.facebook.com/OpalCarewRomanceAuthor

Labor Day and Transitions

I grew up on the east coast and back there, school started right after Labor Day. Since it was a holiday, Dad was home and that meant we got the grill fired up. It also meant one final day at the beach.  As long as the tide was in, we were at the beach. It helps that it was only two blocks away. We all trooped down to the beach safe in the knowledge that even if our mother wasn’t there, someone’s mother was always available to keep an eye on things.

September is viewed by many as a time of transitions.  It’s hard to talk about fall when it’s going to be 110 here in a few days. I’ll give it a shot.

One of my favorite things about fall was the leaves changing. Yes, we could take rides up to Vermont and New Hampshire for some fantastic views. But my favorite was tramping through the piles of red, yellow and green leaves that spilled onto the sidewalk from someone’s front yard.

 Here in Southern Arizona we do have season changes, just not as severe. It gets cold, it does snow, just usually up in the mountains. It can stay there as far as I’m concerned.  I still like the fall, the temperature goes down under 100. This makes me happy, even if there are no colorful piles of leaves to walk though.

What is your favorite thing about Labor day and how do you handle transitions?

Guest Romantic Suspense Author -- Robin Weaver

Although I’m living in the south again, I’m a long way from my childhood home in Tupelo, Mississippi.  One day—in that very rural setting with cotton fields in the background and the ever-present hum of insects, my grandmother said something that made a profound impact on my life.

“If you don’t stop telling stories, the devil will come up through that ground and get you with his pitchfork.”

By stories, my grandmother meant lies.  Did I mention she’s very southern?

So what did I do?  Being a smart-butt-in-training, I made up a story about Mr. Satan.

You might think a story about the man-down-under would be set in Hell, but in those early days, my stories lacked any kind of setting.  Even after I started writing “seriously,” I struggled to find the right mix of time references, scenery, and locale.   In my dumb-ble opinion, setting detracted from the story.

Now, I know better, but I have to work harder on setting than any other aspect of my writing.  When I created the first draft of Blue Ridge Fear, I knew I wanted the story set in the mountains, but I had no specific locale (and thus no title).   I’d been to Linville Gorge and being a writer, I didn’t just see beauty.  I sensed the terror a character might feel if she couldn’t hike up the trail.  And to appease my grandmother, I must admit my real inspiration came from the huffing and puffing on the two-mile uphill trek required to get back to civilization.

So I had my opening:

The noise hadn’t spooked her—the mountain forest hummed with activity.  It was the sudden silence that sucked the air from her lungs. Someone, or something, hovered behind the dense foliage.

Sienna Sanders sat alone at the bottom of Linville Gorge—one hiking boot on, one off, unable to walk. The injury to her ankle negated hours at the gym and more hours in kickboxing class.

Her gaze darted in all directions, but she saw only trees and vertical rock. “Is someone there?”

After the opening, I needed a mountain cabin, a small town, some isolated locations, and a three-legged rooster.  Okay, kidding about the rooster, but I signed onto the internet and did some serious research on the area surrounding Linville Gorge.  Then, the real fun commenced.  My family and I made not one, but three trips to the area.

Based on my research, I set a pivotal scene on North Carolina’s Grandfather Mountain.  Feeling sure the setting would work, we made a day trip to the area to validate my idea.  Once we arrived at the mountain, I knew I’d have to find another spot.  Oops.  My heroine, Sienna, had a sprained ankle and would never be able to navigate the trails.

Rather than scrap the scenic mountain completely, I incorporated some of the interesting points.  How?  Sienna’s pesky cousin plans to spend the day at Grandfather Mountain, but to the cousin’s dismay, her new boyfriend feels sorry for Sienna and invites our heroine along.

“Lars, I’d love to have Sienna come along.” Bethany’s tone vibrated as phony as her Prada bag. “I just don’t think she can handle all the walking.”

What a crock.

“We planned to hike to the highest point, remember?” Bethany continued.

Lars scrunched up one side of his face. “I suppose you’re right. Wait.” His sudden smile transformed his face and seemed to push the negative emotion out of the room. “Let’s go to Chimney Rock instead. Sienna can take the elevator while we hike up the steps.”

Naturally, I had to go to Chimney Rock.  This time, our trip proved my research accurate—the Chimney was a perfect setting.  However, if I had relied on facts without actually visiting the locale, I would never have known an elevator ride really can be emotional.

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to breathe through her nose. She prayed the ride through the one hundred ninety-eight feet of shaft would end soon. Thirty seconds later, the torment ended with a ding.

And who knew setting could actually enhance the plot (for those of you who don’t know me—apply sarcasm here).  While my husband and daughter ooh’d and ahh’d at the seventy-five mile views which encompass Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake (The Last of the Mohicans was filmed in the area), I was looking up.  About one-hundred feet about the chimney, there’s a ledge called an Opera Box.  My novel had another twist:

Her gaze flashed toward the Opera Box, a ledge on the mountain approximately one hundred feet above. Her body stiffened when she spotted a shape beneath the rocky overhang.

“No way,” she whispered, re-tasting the bad coffee she’d gulped down for breakfast.

The silhouette hadn’t really looked like her mystery man from the gorge. She just wanted it to be Carson.

She hobbled to the pay-to-view telescope and fumbled in her pocket for a quarter. She inserted the coin and focused the telescope lens on the ledge. The Opera Box was empty. Naturally.

The examples above are just a few of the numerous improvements I incorporated after my field trips.  Not only were my Blue Ridge excursions just plain fun, visiting the settings allowed my family to be a part of my book.  The trips also took some of the “daunting” out of this writer’s setting phobia.

If possible, I encourage every writer to visit the place where you set a novel.  Live the sights and sounds through your character’s eyes.  Setting really can be another character.

Thanks so much for allowing me to be a part of your busy day.  I look forward to meeting you as we research our next setting.

Sincerely,

Robin Weaver
Author of Blue Ridge Fear, Available November 23^rd @ Amazon.com & TheWildRosePress.com