About Invisible Enemy and Veterans

So, I wrote another novel.

It’s a novel I’ve written about previously, so that’s nothing new.

But, as a veteran and current serving reservist, I thought I’d release the novel on Veteran’s Day. All blocks set up, paperback linked, etc. No problem, right? Except there was a problem (at least for me).

Normally, you’d spend a lot of time promoting your new book and sending it out into the ether, generating interest. I had (and still have) a big emotional block of trying to promote a work that is written by a veteran on a day for veterans. I could have written—’For Veteran’s Day, pick up my book, written by me, a veteran’. That’s self-serving, which I suppose it would have worked well. But I didn’t, which is my problem. Why does that bother me? Is it any different from the reverse?

For the genre Invisible Enemy belongs in, there are hundreds of people writing military style science fiction with no military experience at all. That’s not a problem at all, and they are successful at it. It’s not a requirement to have that personal knowledge, though having some working knowledge of military rank structure, even if you will play with it and rearrange it, is necessary. It’s less of a requirement than say historical fiction, where details matter.

Enough detail matters in military science fiction to drive the story. Suffice to say that colors my perception of military science fiction—there needs to be enough detail for me, probably more so than for other readers. Some writers (with or without the background) get it right. Plenty get it wrong or not enough. That is my opinion and no one else’s.

I’m justifying why it doesn’t matter that my book doesn’t have to be written by me, but there’s another side of the coin—if you support your veterans and thank them for their service, supporting their post-military work is a high compliment. I have no problem doing this myself, but promoting myself in the same way? Seems off-putting (and this is from someone who works in sales).

I released Invisible Enemy anyway, because it was the book I wanted to write. It has the details that matter to me and it doesn’t matter who wrote it, but that it is read and enjoyed.