Fortune Favors the Bold: (Epilogue to the Walter Reed Scandal Story)

Author's Notes and Acknowledgements

Author's Notes:

This is a story that is still in progress. My hope is you will follow as I go and provide feedback:

Did you connect with the story in any way? If so, how?

Did everything make sense to you, or should I expand on certain elements of the story?

Do you see symbolism anywhere in this story?

Does my dialogue need more work?

How about the pace? Too fast? Too slow?

Do you agree or disagree with a comment another reader made?

What suggestions would you give to make this story better?

As I move through the writing process and share the chapters of this story, I would love to hear from you. Be honest. Don't tell me what I want to hear. Tell me what I need to hear! This helps me become a better writer. This also gives honor and respect to the very characters in this story that mean the most to me: My husband, my family, those who served ...and those who sacrificed in service to their country, either directly or indirectly. I hope you'll share this story too. The more people read and understand our collective stories, the better.

My writing style and approach:

Fiction writers have the benefit of using their imagination to create their story from beginning to end. Non-fiction (ie. memoir) writers tell their story after everything is said and done. It's a recount of their past. Both type of writers generally follow a story structure with concept, theme, plot points, subplots, character development, character arc, etc. This story is still playing out and doesn't yet fit into a model of any kind. I don't know the ending because it hasn't happened yet. As a result, I will be doing two types of writing as I go: I'll be outlining the Walter Reed book with the structure found in most books. This series won't have that benefit, so the structure will be fairly loose. The chapters of this story will be shared as they happen. Please keep this in mind as you read through.

My goal is to share my truth. Names may be changed to protect the innocent. Other names may be kept intact to identify the not-so-innocent.  As Anne Lamott said in her book, "Bird by Bird":

“You own everything that happend to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better."

As a reminder:

No part of this story may be republished without permission or distributed without proper attribution. Just link back to this story in its original format, please. Thank you for reading and sharing!

Acknowledgements:

I'd first like to give thanks to my husband, Dan, for his bravery both on and off the battlefield. You are the love of my life and I am truly honored to be your partner for life. Thank you for being my biggest fan.

To my children: Dominick, Talon and Drake. I still can't believe my oldest son went off and served in the Army. And, after everything we've been through, his two younger brothers want to do the same? My boys have sacrificed too much in their short lives, but my heart swells with pride more and more each day. Just remember: Mom is proud of each of you, no matter what you grow up to be.

To my amazing daughter-in-law, Mariah. I am incredibly blessed to have you in our life. We won the lottery when you became part of our family!

And, to my granddaughter, Larraine. You are the most beautiful girl I've ever laid my eyes on. My dream is for you to know our story and know where you came from. I want you to be proud of who you are. Be proud of being bold. It's what you are made of.

To all who have been cheerleaders along the way: My writing workshop peers, my writing mentors, my real-life friends, my online friends, and for the family who actually gave a damn... Thank you. ...I couldn't have done this without you.

And, to Schonna: I miss you with all my heart. I owe you for everything and I know I can't ever repay you for your friendship. Once this book is written I am coming to see you. I'll kidnap you and we'll run off to Fiji. You deserve a medal AND a vacation.

What you can do to help:

If you are interested in providing a custom book cover at a reasonable price, send me a message.

If you like this story, please share it.

If you really like this story, tell me.

If you are not sure you like this story, follow it anyway.

If you don't like this story, tell me.

If you would like to suggest an agent, send me a message.

If you are an agent interested in representing this story, send me a message or email me.

You can also visit and subscribe to my blogs:

www.torreyshannon.com

www.plotflashes.com

Now, let's get started on this journey...