Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform to help USA Cares serve post 9/11 Veterans

TAMPA, FL 
Jeffery Hess served six years in the Navy during the Cold War where readiness was the most he could offer. Aboard two different ships, he traveled to many points in the northern hemisphere in a show of strength orchestrated to preserve democracy, but he’s always wanted to do more. 

As a way of giving back in some small way, he began working with veterans, sharing with them the knowledge he has acquired over the years with the hope that the writing process would give them and their families some of the joy and clarity it has given him. In conceiving this anthology, it was his goal that the stories would honor those who have served in uniform. While putting the book together, however, he saw an even greater opportunity to help and honor veterans by donating a portion of the sale of each book to an organization that assists the brave men and women of America’s military. In researching military related charities, Hess said, “I connected most strongly with USA Cares because of their practical approach and enduring commitment.” 

According to Kim Moorman, Director of Business Development for USA Cares, “Jeff heard about USA Cares and what we do to assist post 9/11 Veterans and their families on The Dennis Miller Radio Show and wanted to do something to help.” 

The book will be available this Memorial Day. USA Cares will receive 10% of the retail price for each copy of Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform sold at the full retail (non-discounted) price. The charity will also receive 10% of the wholesale price for each copy sold at wholesale (40% off retail) through the publisher Press 53 or any of its wholesale distributors. 

On May 23, the book’s editor, Jeff Hess, and publisher, Kevin Watson of Press 53, will be attending a Memorial Day Concert plus all of the days events being held at Boonedock’s in Vine Grove, Kentucky. The concert and other events are to raise funds for USA Cares. Several other authors who contributed to the book will also be on-hand to autograph copies which will be available for purchase. 

About The Editor of the book
Jeffery Hess served six years in the U.S. Navy before earning a BA in English and a MFA in Creative Writing. He’s held writing positions at a major daily newspaper, a Fortune 500 company, and a university-based research center. In addition to being the editor of the anthology Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform, his writing has appeared in various corporate publications and websites as well as in The Houston Literary Review, American Skating World, the Tampa Tribune, and Writer’s Journal. He lives in Tampa, Florida where he’s completing a novel and also leads a creativewriting workshop for military veterans. 

About USA Cares
USA Cares is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that helps post 9/11 military families bear the burdens of service with financial and advocacy support. Its mission: To help with basic needs during financial crisis, to assist combat injured Veterans and their families and to prevent private military home foreclosures and evictions. In five years, USA Cares has received more than 16,000 requests and distributed more than $5.5 million in grants. Military families anywhere in America can apply for assistance through the USA Cares web site, www.usacares.org/ or by calling 1-800-773-0387. For more information on USA Cares contact John Revell, jrevell@usacares.org or call (270) 352-5451. 

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Writers included in the anthology are: Tim O'Brien, Tobias Wolff, James Salter, Kurt Vonnegut, Pinckney Benedict, Chris Offutt, Robert O'Connor, Gabe Hudson, Benjamin Percy, Amber Dermont, Roman Skaskiw, Zoe Byrd, Valerie Hamilton, Blaise Weller, Sarah Davis, Mary Akers, Tracy Crow, Kevin Jones, Hannah Huber, Bruce Overby, Peter Schilling, Tom Sheehan, Doug Frelke, and Max Ruback
More information will follow as it develops.

Just in time for Opening Day, my friend, Peter Schilling, has a new book in stores now...

The End of Baseball is a fictional reimagining of the 1944 season when Bill Veeck, Jr., fields the first all-black team in major league history.

You should rush out and by it, not just becasue my name appears on the acknowledgement page, but becasue it is a great read.

Publishers Weekly says:

" With this debut, sportswriter Schilling has written one of the best baseball novels since Howard Frank Mosher’s Waiting for Teddy Williams. Using actual events, Schilling has fictionalized a fantasy scenario in baseball history-the integration of black players into the major leagues in 1944. Bill Veeck Jr., a Marine veteran from a prestigious baseball family, buys the Philadelphia Athletics in 1943, becoming the youngest man to ever own a major league club. Veeck is a genius at publicity and promotion who wants to win the World Series-but using black players. He signs the best of the Negro League to the Athletics, against all conventional feeling and the opposition of Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, the vicious commissioner of baseball. The Athletics romp through the 1944 season behind the on-and-off diamond antics of real-life stars like Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Roy Campanella, with Veeck struggling to raise money, avoid race riots and flummox Judge Landis. This exciting, fast-paced story is a fine commentary on baseball lore, race relations, and American sentiment during World War II, and it will have the reader hanging on every pitch, wondering how Veeck and his players will overcome racial discrimination to prove they can play in the major leagues. "

How can you not be interested in that? Happy reading.

Revision, which is different from editing and polishing, is the opportunity to re-imagine and check your vision of your story.

Consider craft elements:

• Structure
• Point of view
• Themes 
• Conflict/Stakes
• Character
• Setting (including sensory details)

Don't be afraid to break some eggs:

• Spread out the entire piece to get a sense of flow
• Physically cut and rearrange to experiment with organization
• Ask questions or have someone else ask questions about the story
• Rewrite a scene from a different character's perspective
• Consider point of view and narrative distance
• Consider the beginning. Is this the best place to start the story? Does the beginning hold the end in it?
• Walk away and let it cool to gain objectivity (days, weeks, months)
• Without consulting the first draft, completely redraft a piece to see how it comes out.

Write a summary of what you envisioned for your story and then write a summary of the actual story as it appears on the page. Compare and contrast these two summaries and check for balance.

Write one sentence that captures what the story is all about.

In order to get the story "off the page" read it aloud. Revise as necessary.

Read as many stories and novels as you possibly can. Read actively, searching out all the relevant elements of craft. Mark these in the margins. Point out what you like and figure out why that is so. Also look for things that are not working and determine the cause.

Borrow and/or model elements that you admire.

Take risks in your writing.

The good people at the Tampa Tribune were kind enough to run a short article about the local workshop I'm beginning. The reporter was nice enough during our twenty-minute phone interview and despite the typos I think the article captures the essence.

Check it out the online version at http://www.tbo.com/westchase/MGBYZXC5M9F.html

Is it just me, or is the following article an example (or is it a symptom) of how seriously fucked up the the state of literacy has become in this country?

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Borders Adds TV Watching to Its Bookstores' Entertainment

Thank you to everyone who ever wore a uniform. No matter the roles we played while we were "in" we should all be proud to have served.

Happy Veteran's Day!

It's hard to believe, but the University of South Florida, my "little commuter school" is ranked in the top 10 for college football. The USF Bulls are number 6 in the AP poll and number 9 in the USA Today poll. Either way, it's a huge deal for the USF Bulls, including alums like me who graduated before the football team even existed.

The best part is that I was one of the 67,012 screaming fans in attendance at Raymond James Stadium as the Bulls beat then-ranked number 5 West Virginia University (can someone explain that annoying finger-flutter, hand-clap thing the WVU fans do when their team gets a first down?).

Go Bulls!

I've been had. Usually, I ignore things like this, but there is no denying Valerie. So, for the sake of MySpace Kharma (or is that Karma?) I'll indulge her...

The rules state:

"Each player starts with eight random facts/habits or embarrassing things about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog."

So:

1) Most people know of my cigar prediliction, but few know that my nicotine addiction started when I was thirteen and had my first pinch of Copenhagen.

2) I lived on Guam for two of the longest years of my life.

3) My first love was my third grade teacher. She was smart and hot, but alas, I was only eight years old.

4) When I'm not writing or reading or working out or smoking cigars and/or drinking, I like to play the drums. (I suck at it, but that's cool.)

5) Speaking of music, I'm still, and always will be a HUGE Metallica fan.

6) I wrestled in high school (but had been street fighthing since second grade). And, yes, I wore the required uniform.

7) I was in the Navy when Top Gun came out, and for that entire year, I didn't mind wearing the dress whites.

8) In college, I missed graduating with honors by .04 becasue I got an F in algebra the semester I met Lauren.

9) I write poetry in addition to everything else.

10) I'm not comfortable enough with this web stuff to include pictures here.

Now for the eight people to tag:

Jeff, Barbara, Pete, Sheryl, Claudine, Jason, Kevin, Pinckney