Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Final Salute, a story of honor, integrity, dedication and survival by Kathleen M. Rodgers is now available!

The Final Salute


The Final Salute, a story of honor, integrity, dedication and survival by Kathleen M. Rodgers is now available! Amazon  BAM  Wheeler's Books

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” was published in a new anthology 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, previously published by Leatherneck Publishing in 2008, sold out the first thousand book print run. 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. Published by Deer Hawk Publications www.deerhawkpublications.com Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
ENDORSEMENTS AND REVIEWS
A Captivating Tribute to Our Heroes in the Sky — There are not enough positive adjectives in the English language to describe what an incredibly fulfilling and beautiful story Kathleen Rodgers has placed within the pages of this unbelievable book. Having just completed it, I can only describe the dichotomy of emotions I feel right now as those of both pride and loss – pride for the years of military service I contributed to our great nation, and loss as I bid farewell to the enigmatic characters Rodgers has given us in Tuck, Gina, and the many others who bring this tale to life and make it dance on the page right before your eyes. Many have “told” readers countless stories of our brave men and women in uniform and the numerous sacrifices they make for us as they struggle to balance duty to country with duty to family; but Rodgers is one of the elite few who is able to make you “feel” their plight, their emotional battles, their physical pain, as well as their joy.
—    Amanda Matti, author of A Foreign Affair
***
“It's the details that change your life — Kathleen M. Rodgers' The Final Salute is a moving, compelling story of military life, yes, but of so much more. Rodgers writes with insight and knowledge of military life and just enough solid, factual detail to enthrall me, to make me feel as if I am experiencing that walking-the-perilous-edge along with the main characters. But it's the heart-tugging emotions that she weaves through the story that alert me to what a spellbinding storyteller she is. Ultimately, her tale is a realistic yet heartwarming and reaffirming assessment of life and love and dedication by the very people who guard our own lives.”
—    Parris Afton Bonds, New York Times bestselling author of Deep Purple & cofounder of Romance Writers of America and Southwest Writers Workshop
***
“Gripping Insider's Story of A Fighter Pilot's Life Out of the Cockpit —Kathy Rodgers' award-winning novel, The Final Salute, tells the story of Lt. Colonel Tucker "Tuck" Westerfield, an A-10 pilot, career Air Force officer on the cusp of promotion and senior command, loving husband, and devoted father of three who, while struggling to deal with the news of his best friend's death in an aircraft accident, finds himself in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong person when he stumbles upon his commanding officer in the middle of an affair with his female executive officer. What happens next is a series of escalating and emotionally wrenching actions and decisions that not only threaten Tuck's career, but also his marriage. Rodgers' characters are all well-rounded and complex and the story pulls you in from the very beginning. The novel's climax and its aftermath are one of the most moving and satisfying I have ever read.”
—    Dwight J. Zimmerman, New York Times #1 Bestseller writer of Lincoln's Last Days, President of Military Writers Society of America
***
USA Today ~ Air Force wife's novel set at fictional England AFB.
Military Times ~ The Final Salute: Giving voice to these ghosts.
Mobile, Alabama Press-Register ~ Rodgers has created richly layered characters that compel readers to keep flipping the pages.
Midwest Book Review ~ I recommend this novel as a good description of the military life and the inner works of the way things are done, including the cover-up process.
Fort Worth, Texas Magazine ~ Until the very end, readers are intrigued by her colorful cast of characters that bring everything from love to betrayal amid the added struggle of military life.
Winner of the Silver Medal for fiction from Military Writers Society of America
Amazon’s #1 Top Rated War Fiction
Rodgers’ novel, Johnnie Come Lately, published by Camel Press, an imprint of Coffeetown Press, has a release date of February 2015. In addition to all this, Rodgers is working on the sequel to Johnnie Come Lately, Seven Wings to Glory. She is also an active member of Military Writers Society of America.  www.kathleenmrodgers.com


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