Countdown to
8/7/06
9 days (and counting to Into the Storm, in stores on August 15th)
Note
from Suz: Before we start! Some
late-breaking news for readers in the
Thoughts on When Frank Met Rosie
I hope you enjoyed reading last week's three-part story of how Frank met Rosie.
As I said earlier in the countdown, it was originally my intention to write light-hearted stories using popular characters in the Troubleshooters series -- and in When Frank Met Rosie, I did neither. I mean, Frank O'Leary...? Not exactly winning popularity contests among readers, probably because the man is dead, killed in a terrorist attack in a hotel lobby in Over the Edge. This is the book, remember, where SEAL Team Sixteen goes to dangerous Kazbekistan to participate in the take-down of a commercial airliner that has been hijacked by terrorists.
At the time I was writing OTE, I purposely chose to kill off Frank for a number of reasons -- the first being that someone needed to die. I wanted to make sure that my readers understood how dangerous K-stan was. It's a fact that SEALs put their lives on the line all the time, as do all of our servicemen and women. And it's also a fact that people die serving our country. This was the third book in the series. It was, I felt, time for casualties.
Okay, so I could've killed off anyone -- it didn't have to be Frank. But it did have to be one of SEAL Team Sixteen's snipers. See, I wanted a reason for FBI Alyssa Locke (and former Navy sharpshooter extraordinaire) to actively take part in the take-down of the hijacked plane. As a point-of-view character, I wanted Alyssa to move from her role as observer to that of shooter.
Now, I could've killed Duke Jefferson, who was also a sniper, instead of Frank. But I'd only just introduced the Duke in Over the Edge. He was, I felt, much less well known. Killing him wouldn't have had the same impact on readers as killing an established character. And thus, I found myself eying Frank O'Leary.
Frank was the perfect character to kill. I'd used his name in a number of books, but I hadn't spent much time and page space letting readers truly know who he was. I'd revealed that he was a sniper, and he was laconic, and very little else. Killing Frank wouldn't have been as devastating to readers as killing off a more established character such as WildCard would have been. And yet, killing Frank was guaranteed to be way more powerful than killing off a stranger such as the Duke.
So Frank got his pink slip. So to speak.
So here it is. Years later. And I'm wandering around my office, aware that I've promised readers that the Countdown to INTO THE STORM will be a collection of short stories featuring Troubleshooter series characters, knowing that sooner or later I'd have to get my butt into the chair in front of my computer and get writing.
But Frank O'Leary wouldn't stop haunting me.
But I couldn't not write his story. It just wouldn't leave my head -- he would not leave me alone.
It's going to sound for a second as if I'm completely changing the
subject, but I'm not. See, a few
years ago, my editor went to
Each one of those markers was a life lost. Each one of those markers signifies a family and friends who mourned the loss of a loved one -- a son, a brother, a buddy, a husband -- forever gone. It was hard for me not to well-up with tears as I looked at those photographs. It's been over fifty years since those men died, but I am still grateful and awed and devastated by their sacrifice.
Body counts are part of war. But
numbers are cold and hard to comprehend. What
does it mean, 2,591? Or how about
53,714 -- the number of Americans killed during the
53,714 Americans who never came home. 53,714 lives that did not continue.
53,714 Rosies.
Frankly, I don't know what makes me more sad -- thinking that each and every one of the brave men and woman who have died serving this country had their own Rosie, who grieves for them, or thinking that they hadn't lived long enough to find their Rosie yet.
During my reader event in
The hour long session was enormously entertaining. But it also contained moments that made all of us get choked up.
Alesia Holliday told a story that continues to haunt me. Both women brought to our attention the fact that they have had to fill out a form that includes the name of the person they would want to notify them in the event of their husbands' deaths. Alesia told us that she had put down the name of a good friend and close neighbor, and was horrified one day to find this friend at her door along with a uniformed officer.
See, she knew that if Judd had been killed, she would get the news from an official Navy representative, in the company of her friend. They wouldn't call first, they'd just show up, together, at her door.
As Alesia tells the story, she freaked out at the sight of them standing there. She burst into tears and refused to open the door.
As it turned out, the officer was merely lost, hoping to get directions. And the friend was just dropping by. It was a bad coincidence, an unfortunate mistake -- one that nearly made Alesia's heart stop.
But it made me think about all of the visits that weren't a mistake. About all those Rosies whose hearts did stop, because their Frank had died.
So I sat down and wrote When Frank
Met Rosie because, since we went into
Frank really wanted me to write his story -- the good part. Before he lay dying in helo pilot Teri Howe's arms on that hotel lobby floor. Before he knew that that fortune teller was right -- that he was going to break Rosie's heart.
The most important part of Frank's story was that he didn't wait.
He ran -- at full speed -- into a relationship with a terrific woman who saw him clearly. This was a good thing because, even though he didn't know it, the blind palm reader hit the nail on the head -- he was almost out of time.
Life is way too short, and Frank and Rosie embraced it -- and each other -- completely.
Although you better believe that Frank spent the entire rest of their time together trying to make up for the fact that their first time together was fast and furious. He -- as Cosmo said in HOT TARGET -- spent a lot of time romancing Rosie -- something she didn't need, but I'm sure she enjoyed completely. (Still waters run deep!!!)
You know, I mention Garth Brooks frequently in my earlier books, because I have always been impressed not just by his superstar quality (dude has mondo charisma for an average looking, kind of chubby guy) but also by many of his song choices.
One of my all-time favorite songs was recorded by Garth on his first, self-titled album. It's called THE DANCE.
It's Rosie's theme song.
I'll reprint the lyrics here, risking the wrath of the copyright gods.
(Let me appease them by saying that if Garth's album "Garth Brooks:
The Hits" isn't in your CD collection, you are seriously missing out.
"Calling
The
Dance
Written by: Tony Arata
Looking
back
on the memory of
The dance we shared
beneath the stars above
For
a moment
all the world was right
How could I have known
you'd ever say goodbye
And
now
I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end
the way it all would go
Our lives
are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd've had to miss the dance
Holding
you
I held everything
For a moment
wasn't I the king
But
if I'd only known
how the king would fall
Hey who's to say you know
I might have chanced it all
Yes,
my life is better left to chance
I could have missed the pain but I'd've had to miss the dance
Last but not least, I've got some recommended reads (and a recommended viewing):
First, a documentary video called PAPERCLIPS, which chronicles a small, rural school's attempt to understand the Holocaust. Teachers and students alike wanted to try to comprehend the fact that six million Jews were killed by the Nazis. And they decided to find out exactly how much six million really is -- by collecting six million paperclips. It's a wonderful, wonderful movie, available at Blockbuster. I'm sure NetFlix has it, too. I've got a copy on my keeper shelf -- it's that good.
Also! Three of my favorite auto-buy authors have new books out right now:
(In case you're looking for something good to read before August 15th...)
And I've recently "discovered" the Brotherhood paranormal series written by the talented JR Ward. If you haven't yet picked up DARK LOVER, and the second book in the series, LOVER ETERNAL, you must. I highly recommend them!
The heroes are a gang of vampires, and I've got to admit that, being a huge Buffy/Angel fan myself, I picked up DARK LOVER with some trepidation. How could JR Ward possibly compare to my wonderful Buffy?
Truth is, there's not much of a comparison. The two worlds are so totally different. Two pages into the book, and Ward had me by the throat.
If you like dark, gritty, dangerous heroes and multibook story arcs, I recommend JR Ward.
Okay, that's our countdown for today! Thanks for being patient, and again, my apologies for the delay in getting this onto my website!
Love, Suz
That's all for now! Be sure to come back tomorrow for the next installment in the Countdown to INTO THE STORM!
(Note from Suz: I'm going to try to post each new day's countdown page before noon eastern time. Please be patient if I'm a little late...)
See you tomorrow!