In search of the truth about her work of fiction, based on real life issues currently facing our military, Lee L. Gibbons, author of newly released fiction title Limb Land: Letters, Life and Death from the Bowels of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars (iUniverse), looked no further than the VA Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. It was a short distance from her home.
During July 2009, Gibbons took an armful of stapled chapter copies into the waiting rooms, smoke, valet and transport areas of the VA Medical Center in Dallas. She then requested a ‘quick read’ from treating veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as any of their family members who were present with them that day.
Gibbons said she encountered little resistance, after explaining that the book catered to their life, work and war stories. She attached her phone number to the chapter, then wrote what clinic or department the veteran could be found in to retrieve it. After she met back up with the soldier or veteran, she would ask one simple question, “how did you like it?” The answers, some of which she wrote down in a notebook, were impressive enough for Gibbons to keep on her path to publishing, which she did with iUniverse, a self publishing titan in Bloomington, IN.
Limb Land: Letters, Life and Death from the Bowels of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars (iUniverse) is a collection of short stories with a unique look at war on many facets. There is the soldier who while in recovery pleads to bid his leg farewell. Another strengthens his cancer stricken father through letters from combat in a war zone. There are emotional stories of an attempted suicide, a child custody case, a missing persons reunion and other stories that Gibbons has stated was well worth the trips ‘across town’, to build her confidence in telling them.
Gibbons did her own “hands on research” to convince herself she indeed had an audience for the work. It boosted her confidence to take the book on to the next level, which was self-publishing. She has since hired Mavrick Software in Dallas to build a website for the book, http://www.limbland.com, where she is plans to blog and capture stories for a sequel.
EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests, contact:
Erin Solt
Tel: 800-288-4677 ext.5237
Fax: 800-355-4085
Email: Erin.Solt(at)iuniverse(dot)com
(When requesting a review copy, please provide a street address.)
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