PLAYING ARMY by Nancy Stroer

 

PLAYING ARMY

Nancy Stroer

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GENRE: UpLit / domestic war

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BLURB:  It’s 1995 and the Army units of Fort Stewart, Georgia are gearing up to deploy to Bosnia, but Lieutenant Minerva Mills has no intention of going to war-torn eastern Europe. Her father disappeared in Vietnam and, desperate for some kind of connection to him, she’s determined to go on a long-promised tour to Asia. But the Colonel will only release her on two conditions—that she reform the rag-tag Headquarters Company so they’re ready for the peacekeeping mission, and that she get her weight within Army regs, whichever comes second. Min only has one summer to kick everyone’s butts into shape but the harder she plays Army, the more the soldiers—and her body—rebel. If she can’t even get the other women on her side, much less lose those eight lousy pounds, she’ll never have another chance to stand where her father once stood in Vietnam, feeling what he felt. The Colonel may sweep her along to Bosnia or throw her out of the Army altogether. Can you fake it until you make it? Min is about to find out.

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Excerpt:

I sucked in my gut and forced the top button of my BDU trousers through the hole. Pounds never melted off me like they did in the diet pill commercials. As I wrestled with my body’s ill-fitting container the latrine door opened and two pairs of boots tromped in. Specialist Pettit’s voice floated over the sound of running water. “Not to be mean or anything, but female commanders are the worst. And Lieutenant Mills is the absolute worst. I worked for her for two years in Personnel and she ragged on me the whole time.”

Whoa, shit. Enemy inside the wire. I stopped breathing altogether and leaned so close to the stall door my eyes crossed.

“Hey, now.” That was Lieutenant Logan, my replacement at my old job. Female soldiers carved their hierarchies along different lines, never straight down the military ranks, and new alliances were being tested. Would Logan stick up for me, officer to officer? “It’s a short-term thing. She won’t be here long.” Instead of reproach, Logan’s voice was edged with mirth. “The colonel needs a body in that chair until a real commander comes in, and now that I’m here, Lieutenant Mills is over strength. She’s the body.”

My face grew hot. Real commander? Body? I clamped my lips shut against the urge to burst out of the stall, roaring. I imagined inhaling the entire room then blowing them away with the release of my torso, all tightly packed plastic explosives and buckshot. These two, Logan especially, had no freaking clue.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Nancy Stroer grew up in a very big family in a very small house in Athens, Georgia and served in the beer-soaked trenches of post-Cold War Germany. She holds degrees from Cornell and Boston University, and her work has appeared in the Stars and Stripes, Soldiers magazine, Hallaren Lit Mag, Wrath-Bearing Tree, and Things We Carry Still, an anthology of military writing from Middle West Press.

She’s a teacher and a trainer, and an adjunct faculty member of the Ellyn Satter Institute, a 503(c) not-for-profit that helps individuals and families develop a more joyful relationship to food and their bodies. Playing Army is her first novel.

Social media links:

https://twitter.com/Nancy_Stroer

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49311942.Nancy_Stroer https://www.facebook.com/nancy.stroer/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-stroer-86213089/

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

RAFFLECOPTER

A randomly drawn winner will be awarded a $25 Amazon/BN gift card.

Fresh Grown by Andrea Kristin

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Andrea Kristin will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Written, photographed, and designed by Andrea, this book is filled with firsthand imagery and knowledge direct from the farm. For beginners and experts alike, its unique insights, stunning visuals, and practical approach make it an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to fully utilize and enjoy their fresh produce. Featuring over 50 types of vegetables (with applications for far more), from asparagus to zucchini and everything in between, it will help you reap maximum benefits, stretch your dollars, and make it all go farther than you ever thought possible while deepening your appreciation for nature's delicious bounty.

Filled with:
- stunning images
- staple recipes
- creative uses
- cooking + storage tips
- preservation guides

A book you'll return to time and time again— a staple in any home kitchen.

Read an Excerpt

I wasn't always passionate about vegetables. My first memorable encounter with fresh vegetables was the evening Denis (the cute guy I had been dating for a couple of months) first brought me to visit his family's farm. I was 17 at the time. Growing up in the suburbs, my only experience with produce up to that point was a few staples from the supermarket and frozen foods section. We had no garden and no real produce variety in my childhood home. Our family dinners involved the classics— carrots, potatoes, frozen peas, and the odd green salad thrown in for good measure. Farmers markets and CSAs were completely foreign to me; fresh was not something I thought about, and I had never seen or heard of most of the vegetables in this book.

It was a warm, sunny evening as 19-year-old Denis drove me through the agricultural landscape in his bright red compact car. Pulling into the gravel driveway of his parents' property, we parked next to a large, weathered, white barn. Hopping out of the vehicle, we were met by a few of his brothers coming in from the field with dirt on their hands and grins on their faces. It was an expansive, hundred-acre, organic vegetable farm that his parents had started from scratch and that he and his siblings grew up cultivating. There was so much pride in him around it and a real passion for the produce they grew. It lit me up to see the enthusiasm sparking in him to show me all of it, and I couldn't wait to discover this unique world that made him tick so vibrantly.

After enjoying an energetic outdoor supper with everyone back at the house, Denis invited me for a stroll to see the garden.

"Kick off your shoes," he said, tossing his own aside. We proceeded to walk barefoot through the acres of dirt and lush growth.

The sun was beginning to set behind the surrounding mountains, bathing the whole valley in a golden glow. The birds were chirping and flying overhead as he took my hand. I gazed in wonder as he proudly named the different kinds of plants. I thought he was teasing me when he pointed and told me the kale was something to eat. (That dark green, weird, leafy thing? That surely couldn't be food!) I look back and laugh now, but it was just so far from my food experience at the time.

I remember when he bent down to the damp earth, pulled a handful of carrots from the soil, and wiped the dirt from them with the old T-shirt he was wearing. Then he handed me one to munch on as we continued talking. It tasted incredibly crunchy and sweet— far better than anything I'd ever eaten from a grocery store. I was caught up in wonderment. What was this incredible lifestyle?

About the Author: 

Andrea Kristin and her husband have been growing vegetables on their organic market garden farm outside of Edmonton, Alberta for nearly a decade. They sell at farmers markets and feed their local community through their thriving CSA program (@greyarrowfarm). In this book, Andrea draws from her wealth of firsthand knowledge to walk the reader graciously through all the ways to use, store, and enjoy your vegetables. She shares a bounty of insightful information, including which parts of each plant are edible, how to use them, what to do with your excess, and the various ways to preserve them to last throughout the year.

https://andreakristin.ca/
https://greyarrowfarm.ca/
https://www.instagram.com/greyarrowfarm/
https://www.facebook.com/greyarrowfarm

https://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Grown-Essential-Guide-Vegetables-ebook/dp/B0D7QN6Q64

Andrea Kristin will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway