Jessica Scott

Well, in order to stop focusing on all the things in my unit that I have no influence to change, I’m starting a new book. Actually, I’d written the first few pages about a week ago when I had the start of the idea that will eventually form into the new project but I threw most of that out as it wasn’t quite right.

What’s really interesting about this book is the research that’s going into it. I have to learn a ton about how the mind works and the different aspects of PTSD other than nightmares.

And I’ve chosen to make this book a comparison between the Iraq war and Vietnam. I find it amazing that when I talk to Vietnam vets, their stories are remarkably similar regarding the anti war sentiment. I spoke with an active duty major today whose father was in Vietnam and he made an interesting discovery.

He said that soldiers are still regarded with contempt. He was very blunt when he said that people pay lip service to the ‘soldier as hero’ but when it comes right down to it, soldiers will still be condemned for the actions they are expected to in order to come back home.

His thoughts and the thoughts of other Vet’s who’ve already talked with me really got me thinking about our society. About what’s really important. My mom told me that during Nam, the nightly news was about the body count. Every night was the latest news from Nam. A retired Air Force colonel told me that where she was in Vietnam that the protests were surreal and far away from the realities of the war. Different people, different places and different perspectives.

I find it interesting that an active duty officer would say that the people who praise the soldiers aren’t really supportive. I find it interesting that some civilians who support the troops would never support their children entering into the military. And most interesting is the perception that if you can’t find anything else to do, join the military. Its only an option for people who have no other way out. Hell, that’s how I got here and it was the best decision I ever made.

So learning about my parent’s generation and my parent’s war is very interesting so far. The soundtrack to my WIP is all classic rock, despite working on a contemporary novel. We’ll see where it goes.

I just hope that the people who’ve helped me so far and continue to offer guidance will enjoy the final product.

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Okay so I need help.

I’m starting a new book and I really want to tie in PTSD from Vietnam to my new character home from Iraq, who is seriously screwed up. I’m hoping you’ll take a look and email me with answers, impressions or anything else you think I might be able to use.

I guess the first thing I’m looking to know is who did you know that went over there? What was it like when they came home? How bad was the anti soldier sentiment? What did these guys do when they came home? How were they different? What did they say? Did they talk about it? Where there any significant events that started people changing the way we as a society looked at our soldiers (when was the turn around from baby killer to hero?) I know Dad didn’t go and he was busy protesting and all but what was it like for you and him back here at home? How did you feel when you watched the news? How is the media coverage different today than back then about the war?

Seems like that should be a good starting point. And I know you, you’re going to rally the troops and get me all kinds of information. I want this to be personal observations, not like Wikipedia entries…

Does that makes sense? Any and all help will be greatly appreciated

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I was craving a book that had a real emotional impact. I wanted some characters that I could care about, that I would cheer for and truly be happy when the end came for them. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d find it in an author I hadn’t read since I was a teenager.

You’ll recall a couple of weeks ago, I posted about how Laura Kinsale was cool enough to fire me off a sample chapter of her new book, Lessons in French. I thought it was pretty neat, considering that A) she’s quite possibly the best romance writer out there and B) I’ve been a fan of hers for years. One of the few books I’ve held on to over my many PCS moves has been The Shadow and The Star.

Somehow, I’d never read Seize the Fire and as I’d fallen away from historical romances in general as I moved from adolescence into adulthood, I’d set her books on my shelf. But when my idea sparked for my next book delving into PTSD, I thought that I needed to go back to the true master of tortured heros. I’d originally planned on My Sweet Folly but discovered that Seize the Fire was truly about a tortured war hero.

It takes a lot to make me cry. I haven’t cried at the end of a fiction book in years. But when I finished Seize the Fire, I felt this incredible sigh, this powerful emotion. She wrote it years ago, when VietNam was still a fresh wound on our nation’s veterans. There were still VietNam vets in the army back then and they were still held up among our younger soldiers with the eyes of a generation untested in war’s dark secret.

Ms Kinsale did wrote an absolutely amazing story. I’m grateful that she did not trivialize what her hero had done and that the heroine loved him regardless. I only hope that all of our returning heros somehow find the same love and acceptance from their families and our society when the war is long gone.

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