The Final Salute by Kathleen M. Rodgers has been acquired by Deer Hawk Publications!

The Final Salute, a story of honor, integrity, dedication and survival.

At a small air base in Louisiana, family man and seasoned fighter pilot, Tuck Westerfield's life could literally crash down around him. In this business of flying fighter jets, the odds of staying alive are stacked against him.

Haunted by the memories of dead friends killed in air mishaps, this Vietnam vet and father of three must deal with a devious commander, an animal-crazed neighbor whose husband hates pilots, a beautiful, but suspicious wife and a rebellious teenage daughter. The last thing he needs is another war.

But when Iraq invades Kuwait in the middle of a muggy Louisiana summer, duty calls. Tuck and the other pilots in his squadron head to the Middle East.

Back in Louisiana, Gina Westerfield and other military wives learn that war is hell on the home front, too.

Later, when tragedy strikes, everyone at Beauregard Air Force Base must pull together and live on or forever be consumed with grief.

Although fiction, this story has just as much to do with fact. Kathleen’s husband, Tom Rodgers, flew fighter jets for the United States Air Force for twenty years and then for American Airlines for twenty-two years until his recent retirement. Their real life experiences, both personal and professional, shine through in this military tale; close friends were lost in war as well as training exercises. This book, before and now, is dedicated to her husband/best friend and those who have flown west.

Kathleen Rodgers’ work has appeared in Family Circle Magazine, Air Force, Army & Navy Times, Family: The Magazine for Military Families, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Albuquerque Journal, Clovis News Journal, and in the following anthologies: Because I Fly, McGraw-Hill, Lessons From Our Children, Health Communications, Inc., Stories Of Faith And Courage On The Home Front, AMG Publishers, Inc., and Home of the Brave: Somewhere in the Sand Press 53. Her essay, “Remembering Forgotten Fliers, Their Survivors” will be published in a new anthology forthcoming August 2014 from University of Nebraska Press (Potomac Books). This essay is the seed that grew up to become The Final Salute. “Red, White and True” http://www.potomacbooksinc.com/Books/AuthorDetail.aspx?ID=27489

The Final Salute was previously published by Leatherneck Publishing in 2008. It sold out the first thousand book print run when Leatherneck closed its doors. In that short time, it was selected in 2009 by Army Wife Network as their July book club pick and Military Writers Society of America awarded it the Silver Medal. In 2010, USA-Today, The Associated Press, and Military Times ran stories about the author’s sixteen-year journey to bring the novel to life. The novel soared to #2 on Amazon’s Bestselling Military Aviation paperback list. In 2011, Navigator Books released the Kindle edition and the novel hit #1 on Amazon's Top Rated War Fiction the following year. So far it has garnered over a hundred reviews and sold over 6000 ebook copies. Now, it will be resurrected and reclaim its center podium! Published by Deer Hawk Publications www.deerhawkpublications.com. Tentative release June 2015.

Rodgers’ novel, Johnnie Come Lately, has been acquired by Camel Press, an imprint of Coffeetown Press, with a release date of February 2015. In addition to all this, Rodgers is working on the sequel to Johnnie Come Lately. She is an active member of Military Writers Society of America.  www.kathleenmrodgers.com

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com