Settling Blog Tour Post And Giveaway

I reviewed Shelley Workinger's Solid and Settling, both part of the same series, Settling being the sequel. As part of the blog tour for Settling, I asked Ms. Workinger a question which she is kindly answering here on Book Babe. 

First, if you haven't read the reviews yet, here are the links:
Solid: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2010/10/contemporary-ya-solid-by-shelley.html
Settling: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2011/05/settling-by-shelley-workinger.html


The question: You can't write such a convincing novel about military children with a military setting full of military people without being familiar with military life yourself. Where does your military expertise come from?


Ms. Workinger's answer:  It’s natural to assume that since the “Solid” series is based on a military experiment, I must’ve grown up an Army brat; well, that’s partially true. My father was a career military man, retiring as a Lt. Colonel after twenty years of service, but we never moved. Not once. Because of that, I think I romanticized the more traditional traveling Army life – wishing that I could move and reinvent myself every couple of years, probably in the same way nomadic Army kids wished they could just stay in one place!

So my father was obviously a resource at some level as I wrote, but with him having never even seen most of the bases I wanted to write about, it was easier for me to research those on-line. (And between my searches of military installments, genetic manipulation, handguns, and bandwidth hijacking, I’ve got to be on some sort of government red list now!)

My dad came in most handy with some of the minute and mundane details, like the name of the uniform cap Dr. Heigl puts in his drawer before descending into his secret “lab.” I laughed at how my dad hesitated with his immediate answer (“piss cap”), and even more so with his second offering (“c*nt cap”), but he eventually remembered the official name (“garrison cap”) so that I could finish my “Solid” prologue.

More importantly, the byproduct of this mini-collaboration was finally connecting with him. We didn’t have a bad relationship, just not all that much in common when I was growing up. He showed me how to shoot a handgun, which I liked, and had me throw bumpers and ducks to train dogs for field trips, which I hated. “Solid” was really the first thing of mine that I invited him to be part of, and now he’s become one of my biggest supporters, talking about the series to anyone who’ll listen. Who knew all it would take for us to bond was a wardrobe question and a some dirty words? J

Ms. Workinger, you're dad sounds like a cool guy. 

Now, for those that are interested in reading Settling, Ms. Workinger is providing a copy of the book for giveaway. Leave a comment on this post and July 20th, Jazzy the Japanese Chin will choose a winner from her dog bowl. Be sure to leave an email address so that I may contact you. 


The author is also doing something special. Check out her blog and be sure to click on "giveaways" the month of July. Solid Special