LSBBT Uvalde Raider by Ben H. English

 

 

THE UVALDE RAIDER 

A Templar Family Novel

BY BEN H. ENGLISH

Publisher: Creative Texts Publishers

Publication Date: April 17, 2021

Pages: 229 Pages

Categories: Historical Fiction / Military / Texas

 

The time is the eve of the First Gulf War. The place an abandoned World War II emergency landing strip for heavy bombers, nestled amid the near countless miles upon miles of wide openness in West Texas.

Here a climactic battle will be fought, while the rest of the world focuses on what would become known as Operation Desert Storm.

But in some ways, the stakes here are even higher as men from other places and past conflicts gamble all that they are, and all they ever were, to prevent a catastrophic terrorist attack unthinkable before on an American city.

One group seeks wholesale slaughter, the murder of helpless civilians on a massive scale. The other strives to stop this evil in any way possible, and by whatever means necessary.

The key to either side’s success or failure?

One old Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, an enduring symbol from another war and ensuing catastrophe of a different era. This relic of a not so distant past is named ‘The Uvalde Raider,’ and this is its story…

Purchase: Amazon | Front Street Books

Personalized Copies: http://thestablealpine.com

INTERVIEW WITH BEN H. ENGLISH 

 

Has Texas influenced your writing in any way?

Ha! How could it not influence my writing? 

 

I am an eighth-generation Texan, coming from a long line of pioneers, cowboys, peace officers, and military members. That influence has been there from the day of my birth and every single day since. Everything I have written is Texas-centric, specifically West Texas. 

 

When I sit down to tell a story, I have one goal in mind: to share the sagas of the people whom I come from, to an audience made up of fellow descendants of those same sort of people, and to do so authentically and without apology.

 

For without my fellow Texans and this singular land that spawned them, I would really not have much I’d care to write about.

 

 

Where did your love of books, reading and writing come from?

There have been many influences helping in that development, coming from friends, mentors, teachers, family members and others who understood the importance of books worth reading.

 

But I suppose my two greatest influences were my grandfather, as well as my father. My grandfather had only a fifth-grade education but read voraciously and shared his books with me starting at a young age.

 

My father was much the same way, though he did graduate high school and even had a chance to attend West Point. He could converse on a variety of subjects that would put most college professors to shame. I can recall him saying that if all you have to read is a cereal box, then read it. You’ll learn something.

 

He also taught me the best education of all is an actively engaged self-education.

 

 

What kind of writing do you do?

I write both fiction and non-fiction, in somewhat equal portions. My non-fiction has been about my rearing and life in the Big Bend country. My family has been here since at least the early 1880s and were men and women of the land one and all. It is my birthright, and I still spend every moment available prowling through its environs.

 

My fiction consists of a dozen volume historical series, two of which have already been published. Again, they are Texas-centric concerning a family that first comes here during Spanish rule, and of their lives and challenges as the centuries pass by. There is a great deal of fact contained within my fiction, persons, and events that most Texans usually have little knowledge of.

 

 

Are you a full time or part time author? How does that affect your writing?

Though retired now, I consider myself only a part-time writer as I have so many competing interests that tend to distract me. I have never been one whose life is made up solely of an office, a lectern, or a computer monitor.

 

Those four walls can only be there so long before they start closing in. So I end up grabbing a pack, a rifle or a set of wrenches to put my mind to other pursuits.

 

One bit of advice concerning writing: The more successful you become, the more the business side of that success will eat into your available time to write.

 

Part of that business, the most essential part, are your readers. They are more important than all the literary critics, agents, blogs, awards, advertising, or workshops put together.

If you do anything else, take care of your readers. They are the ones who brought you to the dance, and without them you are a writer that no one reads.

 

 

What do your plans for future projects include?

I mentioned before my historical novel series, and that two volumes have already been published. Those would be Destiny’s Way, first in this series and now The Uvalde Raider.

A third volume is in the works. It is tentatively entitled Cristeros, regarding the ‘La Cristiada’ rebellion in Mexico, and of a group of refugees fleeing retribution to relocate in Texas.

 

Again, these future novels will have a great deal of history inside their covers. Together they tell the story of the Templar clan, and how their tales weave through the different times and challenges such strong-willed families faced.

 

Each character is based upon someone I’ve known. Either while growing up in the Big Bend, my two hitches in the Marines, my career as a peace officer, or in my subsequent wanderings following retirement. They say there are no heroes left. Well, there are. But you have to share their company and know of their deeds to realize so.

 

I am also writing another non-fiction book about my years in the Texas Highway Patrol. It will not be so much about myself as those others who gave their all, including their lives. This is not easy for me to write but it needs to be written, especially with what is happening in our country at present.

 

As stated before, there are still heroes in our midst. I just pray that I do right by them.

 

 

Do you have a mantra for writing and/or for life?

I could write a book about that one subject, and it would be a fairly thick one. But in the interest of brevity and being succinct, I leave you with the words of four-star Marine General James Mattis:

 

“To think like men of action,

And to act like men of thought!

To live life with intensity,

And a passion for excellence!”

 

 

I reckon that about says it all.

 

 

 

 

Ben H. English is an eighth-generation Texan who grew up in the Big Bend. At seventeen he joined the Marines, ultimately becoming a chief scout-sniper as well as an infantry platoon sergeant. Later he worked counterintelligence and traveled to over thirty countries on four continents.

At Angelo State University he graduated Magna Cum Laude along with other honors. Afterwards Ben had a career in the Texas Highway Patrol, holding several instructor billets involving firearms, driving, patrol procedures and defensive tactics.

After retirement he decided to try his hand at writing. His first effort, Yonderings, was accepted by a university press and garnered some awards. His second, Destiny’s Way, led to a long term, multi-book contract.  This was followed by Out There: Essays on the Lower Big Bend and now his second fictional work, The Uvalde Raider.

His intimate knowledge of what he writes about lends credence and authenticity to his work. Ben knows how it feels to get hit and hit back, or being thirsty, cold, wet, hungry, alone or exhausted beyond imagination. Finally, he knows of not only being the hunter, but also the hunted.

Ben and his wife have two sons who both graduated from Annapolis. He still likes nothing better than grabbing a pack and some canteens and heading out to where few others venture.

Just as he has done throughout most of his life…

Find out more about Ben English's Adventures on Facebook, Amazon Author Page, or visit Ben on his Website

Click to visit the
LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE
for direct links to each stop on the tour, updated daily, or visit the blogs directly:

6/28/21	Review	Reading by Moonlight
6/28/21	Kick-off Promo	Hall Ways Blog
6/29/21	BONUS Promo	LSBBT Blog
6/29/21	Author Interview	The Book's Delight
6/29/21	Excerpt	StoreyBook Reviews
6/30/21	Review	Julia Picks 1
6/30/21	Character Spotlight	Chapter Break Book Blog
7/1/21	Review	Librariel Book Adventures
7/1/21	Guest Post	All the Ups and Downs
7/2/21	Review	The Clueless Gent
7/2/21	Series Spotlight	Missus Gonzo

Book Touring Services Provided By: