A Soldier's Promise

Cheryl Wyatt's debut novel is entitled A Soldier's Promise. This is not your mama's cheesy Christian romance (and while I tease about cheesy, I do love them all! so it's not a diss, I promise...). And if my debut novel is even half as good as this, I'll kiss Cheryl Wyatt's feet.

So who is this Cheryl Wyatt?

Cheryl Wyatt's closest friends would never dream the mayhem she plots during announcements at church. An RN-turned-SAHM, joyful chaos rules her home and she delights in the stealth moments God gives her to write. She stays active in her church and in her laundry room. She's convinced that having been born on a Naval base on Valentine's Day destined her to write military romance.

Prior to publication, Cheryl took courses through Christian Writers Guild. An active member of RWA, FHL and ACFW, she won numerous awards with multiple manuscripts. Visit her on the Web at www.CherylWyatt.com. Sign up for her newsletter for news and chances to enter contests with great prizes. Hang with her on the web at www.Scrollsquirrel.blogspot.com. You can also find her skittering around Steeple Hill's message boards as "Squirl" at www.SteepleHill.com .

And what is this book about? Let's glance at the back cover:

"My name's Bradley. I'm eight and have cancer. I want to meet a Special Forces soldier more than anything. Well, almost anything. Having a family would be nice."

U.S. Air Force pararescue jumper Joel Montgomery promised to make a sick child's wish come true. Well, not the family part—not with Joel's past. And so despite vowing never to set foot back in Refuge, Illinois, Joel parachuted onto the boy's school lawn to a huge smile. But another smile unexpectedly stole Joel's heart: that of Bradley's beautiful teacher, Amber Stanton, who was trying to adopt the boy. And trying to show Joel it was time for new vows.

I asked Cheryl why she chose to write about the military, and she was gracious to give me this awesome answer:

I was raised with a great respect for our military. My father served as a Marine in Vietnam and he rarely talked about his experience there. As a youngster that set me on a quest to understand what war was like, and why Vietnam was a taboo subject in our home. I'd sneak into my mom and dad's room and pilfer through my dad's military memorandum. Pictures, emblems, anything I could do to appease the unquenchable child curiosity. I became fascinated with our military. I remember the one time my father spoke about Vietnam, was after The Deer Hunter movie came out. A contraversial documentary/movie about Vietnam.

My mother and my grandmother, seeing my insatiable curiosity and relentless questions, would tell me as much as they knew about my father's experience there. My grandmother still has a letter from the military, sent to her when my father ended up MIA for a short time. They found him in a hospital in Japan and delerious beyond comprehension with malaria. He didn't even know who he was at the time. He, and they, have no idea who rescued him, or how he got to the hospital because he collapsed in the jungle as far as we know.

I recall my dad saying that movie most accurately portrayed what it was like. Then recently, when he found out my book sold, we sat around the table with family and extended family. He actually talked about his time in Vietnam more that day than in all the previous years put together. So I'm glad my book opened that up in him. The valor, the bravery, the sacrifice of these men and women captured my heart and imagination. My respect for those serving and their families soared. I started writing military stories as a way to honor them and their sacrifice to keep our country secure.

Cool, huh? I love it when authors answer my questions! She rocks!

My Review:

A Soldier's Promise has dynamic characters, a realistic and uncontrived plot, and enough real details about the military that it's completely believable (and the things I wasn't sure of, my Air Force Chaplain Hubby explained and verified for me....DUDE, Cheryl knows what she's writing about!!!).

In short, I truly and honestly enjoyed this book and it is now one of my top Love Inspired novels of all time.

What makes me all giddy is that this is the first in a SERIES!

Bring them on, Cheryl. I'm ready to read more!

PS: Cheryl is very happy with my review. Check out her comments here!