Texas Nights - Book 13 of the Damned of the 2/19th

Author's Note

This book was difficult to write. I had to bring in several female soldiers, both enlisted and commissioned, that served in the late 1980's and early 1990's, as well as female medics. Each chapter would be read by these alpha-readers, suggestions would be made for tone and viewpoint to move from my (very much) male writing style to more within how these women felt serving as female soldiers.

This book ended up both longer and shorter than I meant it to. Many chapters were cut, not because of massive mistakes or the consultants disliking them, but to make room. The chapter of Cromwell and Jane driving Blackrazor up and down Turkey Run Road over a 100 mph after NTC was cut; Cromwell visiting Peel on the Fifth Floor of Darnell; two more chapters with Cromwell and Jane going out drinking and picking up men at Austin clubs; the chapters at NTC; and many more. Including going out to Bomber's farm and Taggart's farm to relax. The reunions with Taggart and Bomber felt important to me, since Captain Jane went with Cromwell with Bomber's farm, and Cromwell took all of Lima-Six-Actual with her to Taggart's farm to heal up.

I cut roughly 30 chapters from the books, sadly. I felt there was a loss of character development by cutting those chapters, but this book already clocks in at 100+ chapters. I worry that removing those chapters makes certain sections feel choppy, that the book loses some of the romance between Chuck and Cromwell, that we lose a lot of Captain Jane in it, as well as characterization for Cromwell's Actual.

I've been asked why I cut out combat and the like during the deployments, and that was a conscious choice in order to emphasize the more difficult part of Cromwell's shift from a jaded enlisted to a jaded Chief Warrant Officer.

I like this book a lot. I like the concept, the subject, and how it's put forth. Over time I began really enjoying writing in Cromwell's "voice" and using her as a protagonist. It was enjoyable to show Stillwater in a way we don't see him in the books where he is the protagonist. To show him, at this time, as a barely holding it together, tired, and severely damaged machine that is slowly breaking down from cumulative damage.

I feel this book shows the difference between the "Regular Army" and "Special Weapons", the difference between the world Stillwater lives in for the entire series, and the brief taste of normality that Cromwell got to experience.

I might go back and reinsert the chapters, after all, this is an extremely rough draft of the book.

On that, I hope everyone enjoyed it.

Addendum: Some people have told me they'd like see edited back in the sections where:

Chief Henley picks Cromwell up at Walter Reed and drives her to the airport for Warrant School.
Some bits from Cromwell at Warrant School.
A few flashbacks like Cromwell at: Chernobyl, the Atlas Detonation, the War Fighter Tunnels, where she got the scars from being drug out the window, Desert Storm, and Just Cause.

I'm seriously considering just adding it all, since, as was pointed out, this is an eBook, so the length is all right, and those feel integral to the story.

Like Chuck and Cromwell out at Belton Lake fishing and drinking beer in the rain.

I like the ending. Both the last two lines and the award letter for Captain Jane. The award letter just seems to sum up the whole thing.