Protect the Heart, by guest blogger LK Hunsaker

Protect The Heart

LK Hunsaker

At the end of my most recent release, Protect The Heart, is an old photo. In it, five men of different ages stand posed with a barn in the background. The gray-haired man in the middle is my great grandfather. The others are his four sons, my great uncles. The two directly beside him are in uniform: one in dress uniform, the other in his bomber jacket. They were both Air Force pilots during WW2.

My ancestry is full of those who fought for this country, dating back to the Revolutionary War. Although I haven’t done so yet, I’m eligible to be a member of the DAR. The two younger ones in the photo also joined the Air Force as they became old enough. My grandfather tried to join but medical issues prevented it. He did do factory work that helped with the war effort. My uncle was in the Navy. My husband is a now-retired career vet with war service.

Perhaps that makes us sound like a bunch of scrappers, as they used to call them. Maybe there is some of that, but more true is that we have a very strong belief in standing up for what matters to us and fighting to protect it. My female ancestors were among those fighting for women’s rights. They were among the first women to attend college and receive masters degrees. They also held down the home front when their sons and brothers were away fighting.

I didn’t see my great uncles a lot when I was young, as they all lived elsewhere. When they did come to visit, I found them fascinating, as a child does when “distant” relatives come and are suddenly “part of” the family when you hardly know them. As I grew, I heard more of their stories. They didn’t talk much about their service. In particular, the eldest didn’t talk of his war experience, at least not to us young ones. It was in my nearly grown years when I finally “met” Max. He’s the one in full dress uniform, his hat tipped lightly to the side. I had seen a photo of him on Grandma’s wall every time I visited. He didn’t come home from the war, so I could only meet him through stories which didn’t come often. His loss was too hard on the family.

His story fascinated me through the years. That also tends to happen when you hear bits and pieces of something that has a certain draw to make you want to know more. Apparently, he had at least a bit of a scrapper streak and a lively personality. He was shot down over Japan. His brother, who met and fell in love with a Japanese woman, was taken out on her family’s property to an American plane that landed in their field. It was Max’s plane. Can you imagine being there at that point in history?

Of course there was some conflict in one son bringing a Japanese wife home after the other had been lost there. However, family is family and she did become part of it. I also found my Japanese great aunt fascinating when I had the chance to see her. She was a lovely woman with a pretty, contagious smile and her confusion about why Americans wasted so much land space on grass brought a new cultural outlook we never would have considered. Only recently have I found out that her husband, the uncle who did come home, was very highly decorated.

For many years during and after the war, our German heritage was kept quiet. Back in those days, it was necessary to keep it quiet. That fear and imposing guilt remained with my grandma throughout her life. We were Swiss, we were told. She would never say otherwise, except for the bit of Native, English, and French heritage. Well, yes, and maybe a bit Swiss. For the most part, we are German and Celtic. But first and foremost, we are Americans.

So, my newest release is a tribute to my family, past and present. It is set mainly in southern Idaho, on my husband’s old stomping grounds, and infuses some modern warfare experience with the feel of older days, to include the era of my great uncles and beyond that. It is not “historical” in the defined sense. It has an historical feel. It also has timeless societal issues. It is a “sweet” home front novel, complete with bits of poetry by Catherine Moore, whose father was also a soldier. Part of each *direct sale of Protect The Heart goes to BooksforBoots.org to provide emergency funds for recovering soldiers in military hospitals.

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Protect The Heart

Entrenched on his father's farm in southern Idaho's Snake River Valley, Abraham Luchner pulls up roots to join the war effort. Joined by his friend Cameron Terry, an impulsive adventure seeker, Abe determines to sever ties at home in order to minimize distractions. His greatest connection with his beloved canyon and farm is in the form of charcoal sketches he works on each night to escape his present conditions, as well as the letters Cameron reads aloud from his beloved.

Maura Laerty has been claimed as Cameron's betrothed in the eyes of the community. Determined not to become a war widow or caregiver of one more soul who needs her ongoing assistance, she refuses his proposal, at least until he returns. Despite her efforts, Maura soon finds herself saddled with responsibilities that tax her resolve and turn the townspeople away. Her greatest ally comes from a twist of fate as winding and unpredictable as the great Snake River itself.

Elucidate Publishing

May 2010

ISBN 978-0-9825299-2-8

*Direct sales are from ElucidatePublishing.net for print books and from Smashwords.com as ebooks. It is also available from most major online retailers.

Read the first two chapters here: http://www.lkhunsaker.com/ProtectTheHeart/main.htm

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Bio:

LK Hunsaker is the author of Finishing Touches, the Rehearsal series, and Off The Moon, all of which center around the arts. As a military spouse, she traveled widely, moved several times, and held down the home front during Operation Desert Shield/Storm. She has received inspiration from her family of recognized artists and highly honored service members, and education in the form of arts and psychology degrees. She is now settled in western Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.

Website: http://www.lkhunsaker.com

Giveaway: a copy of Protect The Heart either as pdf directly from the author or from Smashwords.com in the electronic format of your choice, plus signed bookmarks if a mailing address can be provided. To enter, comment on this post and ask to be entered.

Note: 3 print copies of Protect The Heart are now on Goodreads as a giveaway. If you’re a member, be sure to join in!