Greetings Friends!
If you have five minutes and have read ‘Earn the Sunrise,’ you’d make this writer very happy if you could write a short Amazon review! Social validation from you is my greatest marketing tool.
If you haven’t done so already, you can buy Earn the Sunrise in paperback or eBook. It is also available in Kindle Unlimited.
I have little to report on the next Olive and Arrow story other than to say I am still progressing on the Sambisa adventure – not settled on a title yet. I am juggling writing with other demands on my time.
Inspiring Rescue from Afghanistan
I recently listened to Jocko Willink’s Chad Robichaux interview Jocko Podcast 375. As a Force Recon Marine Veteran, MMA Champion, undercover cop, and a soldier rescuing abandoned allies and friends in Afghanistan, Chad has an incredible life story. His charitable rescue work sounds like a movie script from the 80s about rescuing Vietnam POWs. Chad and his team risked life and limb for their friends, soldiers – even abandoned orphans. His book, Saving Aziz: How the Mission to Help One Became a Calling to Rescue Thousands from the Taliban, covers his life in the Marines, his fighting, spiritual transformation, and rescue work.
I highly recommend you listen to Jocko’s podcast interview because Chad talks about his life before the events described in the book. Likewise, you should buy the book since it covers details about the Taliban, Afghanistan, and the rescue mission far beyond what the men discussed in the interview. Chad’s life story could be made into four separate action/thriller movies. I am quite certain his Afghanistan rescue work will inspire another Olive and Arrow story.
My Time in Turkey
Chad’s description of Afghan culture reminded me of the Turkish people. Lori and I lived in Adana, Turkey for three years from 1994 to 1997 while I worked for the Air Force at the Incirlik Air Base. Operation Provide Comfort and Operation Northern Watch sorties flew out of Incirlik Air Base during my tenure working for the Environmental coordinator as the Base Environmental Engineer. I learned a great deal about how the US military works within a war zone. I first thought of the idea for Earn the Sunrise during my time in Turkey.
The base hosted French, British, Turkish and Air guard units from all over the US. Admittedly, our lifestyle there was not much of a burden. We enjoyed the benefits of having access to American goods through the Air Force BX and Commissary while living on the local economy.
Being immersed in a new culture makes it easier to learn language, and customs. Americans often improperly characterize people in this region as Arab or Middle Eastern, but Turkey spanned both Europe and Asia. Turkish people have a unique historical background along with cultural values from both continents. Given Adana’s eastern locale within Turkey, people of this area tended to exhibit Asian cultural practices. Like Chad’s depiction of the Afghans, I found the Turks family oriented and very hospitable toward strangers. Meeting a Turk often meant sitting with them and sharing a drink – usually chai. My first son, Jake, lived the first year of his life in Turkey. Turkish people always showed genuine kindness to Lori and baby Jake. Turkish strangers would approach Lori with smiles and admiration while complementing her about Jake, always offering to assist her. In stark contrast, mothers with babies were generally regarded as nothing special in the US.
Earn the Sunrise Moves in John Wick
Not sure what inspired her, but Lori watched the first two John Wick movies this past weekend. I saw them immediately on their release (obviously), so it has been a while since I saw them. As I walked into the room, I noticed a scene in the first John Wick movie featuring Wick performing a move like Avery’s move on Keith in the basement.
Wick shoots a bouncer in the chest and shoves his body, crashing it through a set of black double doors. At the 52:18 timestamp another bouncer approaches Wick from his left, so he dropped to the floor on his back hooking his calf behind the bouncer’s thigh and pushes the bouncer backwards. As the bouncer falls back, his leg pulls Wick up onto his knee and he shoots two other attackers before shooting the bouncer in the head.
It is hard to see the move due to the chaos and the shifting camera angles during the scene. I took a screenshot with my camera of the scene paused just as Wick starts the move. I added a few annotations in the screenshot to show what is about to happen.
Avery performed the same move to get Keith to fall backwards while pulling her up into a seated position where she tucked Keith’s toe into her armpit securing the heel-hook move. In general, I did not give blow-by-blow descriptions of the fights but I focused on the character’s thoughts. I tried to describe the moves so that someone experienced might recognize the move.
I am always happy to hear from you. Reach out on my socials or email anytime. Make yourself stronger, faster, and smarter.
Take Care,
Scott R Hofmann