Tag: Biography

Review: We Were Soldiers Once and Young

Posted in Blog, Books I've ReviewedLeave a comment

There is a movie based on this book. I read the book before seeing the motion picture. I was very surprised when I saw the movie. They had left out the second battle. It was a battle that was just as bloody as the first, but without LTC Moore commanding.

General Moore and Joseph Galloway have written a fine book. It should be must reading for every military officer and politician. I found this book to be consuming my attention. It was very hard to put down. The narrative of the training, deployment, battle, wives back at Fort Benning, battle, deaths and death notifications by cab drivers, and the stupidity of the leadership that lead to the second battles terrible losses.

We Were Soldiers Once and Young is terrific book!

I was in junior high school when the battle of Ia-Drang took place. I remember it vividly. My dad had returned months earlier from his first duty in Viet-Nam. I was living in a military family on a military base. I watched soldiers march to and from training daily from my school’s playground.

I can still vividly recall the CBS evening news story with Walter Cronkite discussing the impact of all the deaths on Fort Benning and Columbus, Georgia. I wish I had read this before I served as a US Army Infantry platoon leader.

Buy it, read it, and keep it in your library.

Rule Number Two – Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital

Posted in Books I've ReviewedLeave a comment

Tales of the fearsome camel spider are told throughout Iraq. In truth, it is about the size of a human hand, and it is quite fast. It runs at five miles an hour, sometimes even more, determined to stay in a newfound shadow – a slow-moving Humvee, for example, or a clinical psychologist on her way back to her barracks from the shower.

Rule Number Two: Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital is a first-hand account of seven months with a Marine Corps surgical company, immersed in Iraq, earth-shaking artillery rounds, and the all-encompassing desert. Dr. Heidi Squier Kraft chronicles the “good-egg days” and “bad-egg days”, orange sunsets and red sunrises, and the feeling of long-sleeved combat fatigues in 132 degree heat. She deployed to Iraq with less than two weeks notice, leaving fifteen month old twins at home. Rule Number Two conveys the agonizing experience of a mother separated from her children – and the ways that people help each other through unimaginable situations.

More than anything else, though, Kraft’s story is about a sense of awe at the soldiers who were brought to her combat hospital – some with severe injuries from battle, and others bearing wounds no surgeon could uncover – and the painful truth of the two rules of war, as told in the television show M*A*S*H: rule number one is that young men die, and rule number two is that doctors can’’t change rule number one.

Heidi Squier Kraft received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine in 1996. She joined the Navy during her internship and served as both a flight and a clinical psychologist. She left active duty in 2005 after nine years in the Navy and now serves as the deputy coordinator for the U.S. Navy Combat Stress Control Program. She lives in San Diego with her husband and children.

Writer’s Life: Thinking and Liberal Arts Curriculum

Posted in Blog, Poetry, WritingLeave a comment
Albert Einstein said, “The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.

“My undergraduate education is a liberal arts education. My major was history and my minors were English and military science. My Master of Arts degree is in Religious Education. My broad-based liberal arts education did more than prepare me for a job. It allows me to compete in the marketplace of ideas.

It has been thirty-seven years since I heard then university president Dr. Wendell Nedderman say I had met the requirements for my bachelor’s degree. Within minutes of his pronouncement, I raised my right hand and received my commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army through the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).

I did not make the military a career. Three years of active duty followed then I headed to graduate school. I was amazed at how ready I was for graduate work. I knew how to read, write, study, do research and research papers, and how to think.

My University of Texas at Arlington liberal arts education taught me how to think independently and make sound judgments. I learned how to expand my horizons, discover new perspectives, and acquire the tools to defend my point of view. My education helped me learn to reflect on life, have a moral and historic compass where I can distinguish good from evil, justice from injustice, and what is noble and beautiful from what is simply useful.

How have I paid the bills? Working as a commissioned officer in the US Army, a minister, corporate trainer, Internet Coordinator, IT Support Analyst, and IT Systems Administrator have been my day jobs supporting my thirty-one plus years of freelance writing.

Employed in Information Technology I find it interesting to see how many persons have an undergraduate degree in the liberal art disciplines. These people know how to think outside the box. They have excellent critical thinking skills. They have great oral and written communication skills. They accept, embrace change and know how to successfully deal with it.

What else have I done with my history degree? All the above plus I have published over two dozen magazine and trade journal articles in over a dozen publications though the years. I have published poetry through the years. I have written over one-hundred book reviews. I have a website “Kepler’s Military History Book Reviews”. The site is a 100 best websites for history buffs. I read and review military history books published under more than a dozen different imprints. I have a publisher/editor reading the first five chapters of the historical fiction novel I am working on.

Younger coworkers often ask how I know so much about a variety of disciplines. They say I am a modern renaissance man. My answer: I have a liberal arts education from UT Arlington.

How committed am I to liberal arts education? I have three grown children and a son-in-law – all have liberal arts degrees. One is employed in a senior business management position, a second is a teacher, and the third has worked in customer service and information technology fields.

Writer’s Life: The Personal Nature of a Rejection

Posted in Blog, Writing2 Comments
Click on picture to read rejection email.

You’ve heard it all before … never take a rejection personally … send out that manuscript (poem, story) to another market and keep on keeping on when you get the rejection.

We’re constantly told by day job co-workers, family and friends that less than one percent of all writers “make-it”. “Make it” is defined as being able to quit the day job and live on the earning from their writing.

You know the stories. You’ve heard the tales. You could share all the negative garbage well-meaning others have dumped on you.

It’s hard not to take the rejection personal. I received two rejections this week. One was especially hard to accept. The magazine had sent me an initial email back in January saying they liked the short story enough they were referring it to a “review committee”. I wish they had never told me it was going to the review committee. That got my hopes up just to be shot down two months later.

I chuckled a little when the rejection email arrived. I had this bizarro version of Sally Field’s second academy award best actress acceptance speech come to mind. I could see myself with tears streaming down my face screaming “you hate me, you really hate me”.

I knew they were illiterate and didn’t recognize good speculative fiction … then I was honest to myself … it didn’t meet their current needs. I knew what I had to do. I would rework it, pray over it and ship it out to ambush the next unsuspecting editor.

The editors have a heck of a job, don’t they. I would hate to read all the wanna be writer fiction they get.

What am I trying to say? Hang in there. In the last week I sent the first five chapters to a publisher who only agreed to read them because one of her authors recommend me to her. This is either a kind, courtesy read by the editor/publisher or a massive example of good luck or providence on my part.

On the flip side, I am looking for some computer contract work to help pay the bills. I have two writing conferences I want to attend later this year. I need a sale or two, a contract with a nice advance, or some contract work to get the needed conference money. One of the conferences is near my home in Dallas, Texas this September. It is the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Conference.

Even if you’ve heard it before I want to remind you — don’t give up your passion for writing. I was told in a  college senior level creative writing English class that it takes about 10,000 hours to master a craft. That’s true for playing the guitar, piano, writing poetry, or writing the next great novel. If one works 40 hours a week for the 52 weeks in a year that’s only 2080 hours. 10,000 = 5 years+ of full-time work.

So, get to writing … and master your craft. I’m still working at it. As an editor told me back in the 1980s … you’re not the best writer, but you write saleable copy, write to specification, and meet deadlines. It’s writers like you that will ultimately succeed. I’m still trying … and I’ll make it.

Interview: Author Susan Elaine Jenkins (Scandalon: Running From Shame and Finding God’s Scandalous Love)

Posted in Blog, Books I've Reviewed, WritingLeave a comment

I recently conducted an interview with author Susan Elaine Jenkins.

Susan grew up in California as a PK, (“Preacher’s Kid.”) The eldest of three children in a parsonage gave her an early passion for knowing the Lord and studying the Scriptures. She was also given a unique view into what goes into church life behind the scenes.

She began to travel the globe in 1980, as a part of a Study Quest, where she – along with forty-nine other young graduate students – spent three months traveling to twenty-eight countries, studying leadership styles of people making a spiritual impact in the world. In fact, it was on this trip that her love affair with China began.

Susan moved to Asia in 1997, where she taught performing arts, first at the International School of Tianjin and then in the southern region of the country at The American International School of Guangzhou. She is now beginning her twelfth year of teaching in China, at a school not far from Shanghai.

Prior to moving to Asia, she taught for nineteen years, mostly at The Dorris-Eaton School in Walnut Creek and the San Ramon Valley Christian Academy in Danville, near San Francisco. She also served a public school district as a Resource Specialist and coordinator of a Gifted and Talented Program for public school district in northern California.

Susan recently spent one year back in America, living, teaching and writing in the ski resort community of Park City, nestled in the Wasatch Mountains. She taught music in a mountain school where classes ended every Friday just after lunch so that students could hit the slopes.
(From her biography)

You can buy Scandalon by clicking HERE. A review of the book is HERE as well as until 3/9/2012 get a free Kindle download by clicking HERE .

Question One: Tell us about yourself, your family growing up, and your interests in life.
Answer One: I grew up in a family of preachers and teachers. I used to play school as a child and always knew I’d become a teacher when I grew up, just like my imaginative, story-telling Mother. I was encouraged and surrounded with books, and I grew up loving to read and write stories. My favorite toy was an old, heavy, black typewriter and I lugged it around with me everywhere I went, typing stories like mad to share with schoolmates and patient grandparents.

My family was also a very musical group – creating music was something my parents did all the time and my brothers and I sang together from the time we were small children – in three-part harmony.

My father was a preacher and my two brothers and I loved going to church three times a week (or more). Church was fun! We enjoyed the atmosphere of loving support and spiritual joy, never dreaming that all would be changed dramatically someday.

I naturally followed in my Mother’s footsteps and became a teacher after graduating from Point Loma Nazarene University in 1977. My career has taken me into the hearts and lives of many unforgettable students. Much of my time is occupied with continuing education and professional development opportunities, which opens up new areas of thinking and learning as I go.

After teaching in California private schools for 19 years, I moved to China, where I have focused on teaching performing arts in 3 different international schools. I am a seasoned foreign expatriate these days and yet, the daily adventures of living in Asia continue to surprise me.

Question Two: What motivated you to write your book?
Answer Two: A friend from the UK convinced me to begin a blog. The idea of sharing my stories was inconceivable, at first, but as time went by, I got to know my readers. Little by little, I opened up the pages of my journals with them, interspersed with a few of the details of daily life in Asia. To my surprise, my online friends began commenting and sending me private letters filled with their own pain. I wanted to let them know that there really is healing and light ahead, that God’s promise really is authentic: He is a God who heals.

Question Three: Do you journal? When I read your book some sections seemed like I was getting an intimate look into your private thoughts. Did you use your journals as a primary source?
Answer Three: Yes, I have always journaled, for as long as I can remember. And, yes, much of my book was taken directly from those journals – especially the conversations between Dr. Travis and me. Those three difficult months were mind-numbing days. Writing everything that happened at the end of every confusing day helped me make more sense of it all.

Later, once I was in China, the conversations with Ouyang were important to me, as well, and I also kept detailed accounts. I knew I needed to have those talks recorded somewhere where I could retrieve them – they were too special to forget. The experiences I was having with my Chinese friends were very precious; China was rapidly developing and nothing would be the same again. I recently visited Tianjin and was stunned to see the progress made – the sleek commercial buildings and tall apartments that have replaced the ancient hutongs near the streets where I once lived and worked.

Question Four: In your book did you change any of the person’s names to protect their privacy?
Answer Four: I did change most of the names, yes. The only names I did not change were Ouyang’s and Mrs. Hua’s. I gave Ouyang a list of three possible names I wanted him to choose from, and he said he preferred I use his real name. My brothers each selected their names for the book, as well. It was important to me to allow for as much anonymity as possible, as the issues in this book are very intimate and potentially embarrassing.

Question Five: Your mother has passed away since you wrote the book. Was she supportive and/or understanding of you writing such a personal memoir?
Answer Five: My Mother was extremely supportive of this book, absolutely. She always encouraged my dream to become a writer, ever since I was a child at play. Later, when I mused about writing a book someday about the changes our family life encountered, I’d express hesitancy at discussing my Father’s issues in such a public way and she used to dismiss that, saying, “I don’t think you should worry too much about that, Susan.” When I was finally busy compiling all my journal notes into the actual book, I did much of the work while visiting her that last summer. She lay very ill in bed and encouraged me throughout the process. I left a copy of the manuscript with her when I returned to China and she told me a week before she died that she had read it. She gave her blessing to me, expressing that she hoped its message would find its way to the hearts of those who needed encouragement.

Question Six: The obvious follow up question is how did your two brothers and father respond/react to the book?
Answer Six: Do you know if your ex-husband has read the book or had any comments concerning the book? I sent both of my brothers copies of the manuscript and asked them to make any editorial changes before it went to print. I really desired their input and suggestions, because I knew that my point of view might differ from their recollections. ‘Steve’ who teaches in China, chose not to read it at all and says he probably won’t ever read it. He has been very positive, however, and has told me many times, “Whenever someone writes a book about their family, someone is bound to have hurt feelings.” Steve is not just a brother; he’s probably my best “male” friend and confidante. He has been so supportive.

My youngest brother, ‘Paul’, also elected not to read the manuscript, giving me a verbal “go-ahead”. At the time, I questioned, “Are you absolutely certain you don’t want to check it first?” He said, “Don’t worry about my opinion. Just focus on the message of the book.” I thought that was quite generous of him at the time. Later, when he actually picked up a copy, he was very upset with me for putting so much of our family’s private story into the book. He didn’t read any of the sections about China at all – he only read the portions that referred to our family life. I have phoned and written to him many times this year in an effort to understand his thinking and to discuss his feelings, but he has been unwilling to communicate. He is really quite upset. I am praying about this and hoping our relationship can heal from this pain the book has caused him.

I emailed my former husband to tell him the book was coming out and sent an additional message to him via Facebook (that incredible social phenomenon). He has not replied to my letters. I do not know if he has read it or not, but I would doubt that he would. He remarried four years after our divorce and is, by all accounts, happy. I hope he is and I wish him well.

My Dad has been truly incredible. Very supportive and understanding. He and I have a very special closeness that I treasure and this book has only brought us closer together. I am grateful.

I was disappointed that the final version of the book had the last chapter completely omitted. In that chapter, I explained the way my Dad had been taking such amazing care of Mom during her last days. I also talked about the wonderful changes in my Dad. I am still sorry those pages were left out of the final copy. I have had to learn that publishers make decisions based on many factors, and some of those might not be to my liking…but I am still thrilled with Cladach Publishing and the spiritual approach they took towards this book.

Question Seven: While your book tells of your personal journey it is a book about China. Why a book about China?
Answer Seven: I used the double journal literary device to portray my story as it occurred both in America and in China, where I’ve lived for the past twelve years. It is really a combination of two lives: my life in California and my life in Asia; two very different worlds.

I think it seemed very natural at some point, to write of a remarkably poignant journey that met in a healing point while living in a crumbled country, broken by its own history. My life at that point seemed very much the same – broken, falling apart, and dark.

Question Eight: You moved to China. How has living away from the United States assisted in dealing with the memories of the difficult situations you have experienced?
Answer Eight: Living in Asia has been wonderfully healing for me. I am certain God would have gradually healed me wherever I was living on this earth, but life in China gave me a unique perspective. There was space, for one thing, which helped me to gain both emotional and physical distance, affording me a better look at what had happened to me in California and what God wanted to do within me. The new friends I made in China taught me all kinds of lessons that illuminated God’s truth from Scripture and caused me to see the person of Jesus Christ more clearly.

I was surprised to finally feel “at home” in China. That, for me, involved a great spiritual healing and coming back to a point of rest within God’s heart; being glad to be in His loving presence; knowing that all my sins are utterly forgiven and cast away; and, sensing His divine heart of grace. Home has literally – for me – become His own Heart.

I am so thankful that God used some humble people in this vast country to teach me so much about His love and grace.

Question Nine: Music is very important in your life. Please share what music and the piano mean to you.
Answer Nine: Yes, music is important to me! Especially the piano, which is my instrument of choice. I have found that God speaks through music, and especially so – at least for me – here in China. When I sit down by myself and play through the old gospel tunes and hymns I learned as a child, it’s as if the words that He wrote into my heart come back to mind on fresh winds of renewal. I often teach these same songs to worshipers at house or countryside gatherings of praise. It sometimes feels as if God has taken all the early interests of my childhood – teaching, music and writing – and is weaving an unexpected tapestry of ministry and beauty that I can share with many.

Question Ten: Your experiences are such that you may have questioned your faith in God and decided that men cannot be trusted. Have you given up on God or every having a meaning relationship with men?
Answer Ten: Another good question. (you ask hard questions, by the way!) As Scandalon points out, I have struggled with my faith in God, yes. But, never to the point where I stopped believing. I believed He was God, I just didn’t believe I was “welcomed” into His presence anymore. But as the book also reveals, I learned the glory of His grace in specific ways and began to enjoy a close walk with God once again.

I have known a string of men who were not trustworthy, yes. That is sadly true. My father, my former husband, and “Dr. Travis”. And there have been others along the way who have shocked me in one way or another, as well.

I am circumspect when it comes to relationships, yes, but I have not given up, by any means. I still hold dreams of a wonderfully strong and happy intimate marriage. I pray for the right man to come into my life, although it is difficult meeting people while living here in a semi-remote region of China. I pray about this and trust God. I really do.

I have hope in the future because I hope in the Lord. Without Him, I have nothing and with Him, I have everything. That brings me huge joy and great hope.

Review: Scandalon

Posted in Blog, Books I've ReviewedLeave a comment

From time to time I will share reviews of books by authors I personally know.  “Scandalon: Running From Shame and Finding God’s Scandalous Love” is written by Susan Elaine Jenkins.  I have read and recommend the book.  I  will have an interview with her in the days ahead and it will be posted.

Have you thought what it would like to get to know, work with the people in China, and live with them? Have you wondered what it would be like to grow up in a minister’s family? Susan Elaine Jenkins paints an insightful and sobering picture that answers these questions in her very skilful memoir, “Scandalon: Running From Shame and Finding God’s Scandalous Love.“

As I read the book her narrative format had me feeling like I was sitting in a recliner with a cup of coffee and she was sitting across the room telling me her story of how not just one, but a series of scandals hit her life. Some of events were self-inflicted. Other events were of someone else’s making. I found a bit of myself and my struggles as I read her story. Her writing and story were so interesting I didn’t want to put the book down! Yet, I feared I would read it too fast. I love the way her personality permeates the book.

In 1980, after three years of teaching in the USA in a private school (and saving her money) Susan made a trip to China. It was part of a gift she gave herself – a trip around the world. It was a prelude. In 1997 Susan accepted a two-year teaching position in Tianjin, China. She would stay in China.

Susan employs a wonderful method of telling of her adventures in China with reflections on what took place in her earlier life in the USA. The transition between the USA story and the China story is via a short statement of spiritual truth or insight. It is these earlier events in the USA that lead to her seeking refuge half way around the world. We see God’s handiwork in her life. We see her improving her language skills, her understanding of the Chinese culture, and how her American culture sometimes exasperated her Chinese friends, especially Ouyang. We reflect back on her life adventure that includes how she was used and mistreated by those in positions of authority over her and learned he had previously mistreated others. We also see how she survived!

Susan stories range from hilarious to tear inducing. I have two favorites. First, the story about her being invited back stage in Hawaii to meet Don Ho. Her parents encourage her to go. Don Ho wanted to do more than meet her. I could feel the confusion she felt from her parents encouraging her into such a situation. I wanted to take her dad aside and say you are supposed to protect your daughter! Second is the story at the Friendship Store of the two broken vases and how Susan came to the rescue of the Chinese couple. She demanded they not have to pay for the broken vase since she didn’t have to pay for one she broke a week earlier. We learn how the Chinese have two sets of rules – one for foreigners and one for other Chinese. I could feel the compassion and empathy Susan has for others.

The book is a good read and would be a valuable addition to all community and church libraries. It would also be a good study book for women’s group and even for counseling. It gives a realistic insight into the struggles we all face. The book gives answers about Chinese culture, running and finding God and finding one’s self.

Written by Jimmie A. Kepler

Writer’s Life: Why I Love Writing Book Reviews

Posted in Blog, Books I've Reviewed, Poetry, WritingLeave a comment

Over twenty years ago I read Louis L’Amour’s book, “Education of a Wandering Man”. It is one of my all time favorites. L’Amour kept a journal recording the books he read year by year. The idea seemed unusual to me at the time, but I started doing it. About the same time I attended a writer’s conference in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Author Calvin Miller was the featured speaker. He also suggested keeping track of what you read. He added maybe writing a one page summary of the book and your thoughts about the book would be a good record to keep. He saw value in reading the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize Award winning authors as well.

I thought both gentleman’s idea was good and added a twist of my own. I would write a short book review. In the late 1980s I had my first book review published. Several years ago I stared posting my reviews on-line on Yahoo 360. About the same time I started Kepler’s Military History Book Reviews.  My oldest review on the site dates back to October 2007. Since then I have read and reviewed 107 military history or military historical fiction books. The website was name a 100 Best Blogs for History Buffs in late 2009. I receive about six requests a month to read and review books. Several publishers send me their books automatically. Some authors and/or their publicists contact me directly asking if I will review their book. I have about a six month backlog of books to review. Most authors who contact me want the book reviewed now. I tell them of the backlog and many withdraw their offer of a review copy of the book.

What do I get out of it? First, I get the enjoyment of reading the book. I love reading and history. This is a great way to read new material and get review copies of the books. Second, I share my love for history in general and military history specifically. Third, I try to be a good finder in what I read. I will read the entire book. Sometimes it is a struggle, but I look for the good.  I don’t say it is wonderful if it is tough to read, but I don’t read looking for the bad.  How blessed I am getting to review the books.

 

 

Review: I, Me, Mine

Posted in BlogLeave a comment

“I, Me, Mine” by George Harrison was an extremely challenging read. The book was at times boring, has poor structure, and lacked direction. You can feel George Harrison’s dry wit and humor in the pages of the book with the key word being dry.

Don’t expect to learn a lot about Harrison. The book lacks the tell all element that many want.

Harrison was obsessed with Krishna. He says in the text that he promoted his personal religious beliefs through his songs. He felt it critical to share his faith. Does that make him an evangelical Hare Krishna?

George does not describe much of his relationships with the other Beatles. Including the handwritten lyrics is a great bonus. This is a definite must-have for admirers of the Harrison. If you can find the book at the half-price book store or even you local library and love the Beatles and George, enjoy.