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AUTHOR EDWARD HOCHSMANN DIVES DEEP INTO HIS LATEST BOOK 'BRAVELY AND FAITHFULLY' WITH DEMODE

Writer's picture: DE MODEDE MODE

Updated: Aug 25, 2023

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED | DE MODE OF LITERATURE JUL-AUG 2023 GLOBAL(VOL VI. ISSUE XXXII)

Article Published on: 23RD AUG 2023 | www.demodemagazine.com


'BRAVELY AND FAITHFULLY' - BY AUTHOR EDWARD HOCHSMANN

After successfully completing an extremely sensitive and hazardous mission to avert a nuclear war, the Coast Guard patrol boat Kauai is upgraded and her crew is provided special operations training with black budget funds provided by the Director of National Intelligence for sensitive missions the Navy cannot handle in southern Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean.


The fundamental conflict in the novel involves young Lieutenant Haley Reardon, assigned to succeed Kauai’s popular commanding officer. Her leadership style differs from his, leading to strife with her Executive Officer, Lieutenant Junior Grade Ben Wyporek, and the senior enlisted personnel. Ben himself is overcoming the challenges of a courtship of a special needs woman, Victoria Carpenter (genius with mild Asperger’s), and the transfer of his best friend (the former CO). These struggles take place against a background of tension and danger as the boat is assigned a dangerous sortie supporting a Defense Intelligence Agency spy mission with geopolitical implications.


Bravely and Faithfully is principally an action/sea adventure set among the islands of The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and the Caribbean. It is a very human, character-driven story, with a strong point-of-view narrative that puts you in the scene, experiencing the action and intense emotions of the crew. But you also see the perspective of those affected by their efforts: the despair of a father facing the death of his young family in a hurricane and his elation at their rescue by Kauai; the young Romanian woman experiencing the horror of sexual slavery before she and her companions are liberated; Victoria’s desperate love for Ben and concern for his safety; and finally, Haley’s wealthy father, fiercely proud of her achievements but beset with a parent’s fear of the risks she must take.


More than anything, this book is about a group of ordinary people whose association allows them to meet extraordinary challenges. It illustrates that you do not have to be a superhero or super-soldier to make an enormous difference.

DIRECT LINK TO BUY 'BRAVELY AND FAITHFULLY' IN INDIA - CLICK HERE

DIRECT LINK TO BUY 'BRAVELY AND FAITHFULLY' IN ALL COUNTRIES - CLICK HERE


THE JOURNEY OF AUTHOR EDWARD HOCHSMANN
EDWARD HOCHSMANN

Born and raised in Northern Illinois, Ed started as a Coast Guard officer on a cutter based in Florida and, after two years of counter-drug patrolling in the Caribbean, fulfilled his dream of becoming an aviator. He continued serving as a helicopter pilot for 18 more years, retiring as a commander. He knocked about as a defense analyst in the private sector for a time, then joined the federal workforce as an operations research analyst with the Army, Coast Guard, and Navy, before settling into his present position with the Department of Defence Joint Staff.


After coworkers pointed out that he should write things more entertaining than technical reports, the full-time analyst and part-time college math instructor gave fiction writing a try. He entered the arena of published authors in 2020 with a pair of science fiction novelettes set in an alien society established by two races who found common ground a century after nearly annihilating each other. He expanded into the military thriller genre the next year with Dagger Quest, the first book of his Cutter Kauai Sea Adventure series featuring the crew of a small U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat drawn into the world of high-stakes espionage and transnational crime. Caribbean Counterstrike Bravely and Faithfully followed, taking the newly upgraded cutter and her crew into new adventures of search and rescue, law enforcement, and secret geopolitical operations. He is hard at work on the fourth book in the series, a further adventure rolling in eco-terrorism and a dangerous rescue mission during a volcanic eruption.


In addition to his impressive military background, Ed's analytical prowess and strategic acumen have made him a valuable asset in various capacities within the defense sector. His dedication to service and commitment to excellence continue to drive his contributions to national security. Outside of work, Ed enjoys exploring the great outdoors and spending quality time with his family, instilling in them the same values of integrity and perseverance that have defined his illustrious career.


OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF AUTHOR - www.edwardhochsmann.com

FOLLOW THE AUTHOR ON INSTAGRAM.


EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW OF AUTHOR EDWARD HOCHSMANN WITH DE MODE

Q: Can you tell us about your background as a retired coast guardsman and how it has influenced your writing in the military thriller genre?

A. I graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and served on ships and as an aviator, retiring as a commander. I had a wonderfully rich career, from patrolling for drug smugglers in the Caribbean to flying search and rescue missions in conditions from fair weather to hurricanes. The banter and some vignettes in the books are directly from these experiences.


Q: The Kauai Sea Adventures series is set in a unique location. What inspired you to choose Kauai as the backdrop for your military thrillers?

A. Kauai is not a place, but a patrol boat named for an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. I based Kauai in South Florida, allowing an adjoining Caribbean canvas of 33 different nations, dependencies, and territories for the settings of my novels. Also, the wide variety of missions within this particular area furnishes a wealth of fresh material for the stories.


Q: "Dagger Quest," the first book in the Kauai Sea Adventures series, introduces readers to your protagonist. What motivated you to create this character, and how does he reflect your experiences in the Coast Guard?

A. Ben Wyporek, a young lieutenant and second in command of Kauai, is the principal point of view throughout the stories and provides the anchor for the readers to be drawn into the scene and experience the action in each novel and across the series. He is a composite of the best of the fine people with whom I served.


Q: As a defence analyst, how do you balance the authenticity of military operations and technology in your science fiction works to keep them engaging yet realistic?

A. My SciFi novelettes feature an alien society founded by two species who nearly obliterated each other in a genocidal war but found common ground a century later. To pull the reader into the stories, I had to make the science as real and aliens as relatable as possible, so the characters and dialog are very much like the U.S. military.


Q: "Caribbean Counterstrike" takes readers on a thrilling journey through various international settings. How do you conduct research to ensure cultural accuracy and a genuine sense of place in your writing?

A. I set Caribbean Counterstrike in South Florida, The Bahamas, and the Caribbean, all of which I visited during my active duty service. Before going into a foreign port, you receive a briefing on the cultural do’s and don'ts, hopefully equipping you to not make an ass of yourself. This experience, plus my great friend Wikipedia, keeps me culturally safe.


Q. In "Bravely & Faithfully," the third book in the series, what challenges did you face in developing the plot to keep the story fresh and exciting while maintaining continuity with the previous books?

A. Freshness was a challenge at this point, so I replaced Kauai’s original (male) captain with a female officer who was thrust into the fight on day one and worked to establish trust with her elite crew. I stretched the emotional boundaries by including the horror of human trafficking along with the grief surrounding a crewman’s death in action.


Q. The military thriller genre often involves intricate plots and detailed knowledge of weaponry and tactics. How do you approach crafting a well-paced and gripping storyline without overwhelming readers with technical jargon?

A. Military thrillers force the author to strike a balance between keeping the story plausible and readable without overwhelming the reader with technical terminology and jargonized dialog. I employ a compromise, removing all the “Militaryspeak” I can from the dialog and supplying a front-matter glossary of technological terms and jargon I had to use in the story to maintain verisimilitude.


Q: As an author, what aspects of human nature and military life do you enjoy exploring in your writing, and why are they important themes in your books?

A. These stories reflect the best of small-unit military life. The characters are a group who share mutual respect and dedication. They are not superheroes or super soldiers, just good people bonding together to achieve extraordinary things. The reader is pulled into the scenes and made a part of this quasi-family such that they are sad to leave by the story’s end.


Q: Can you share any specific instances where your experience as a Coast Guardsman directly influenced a pivotal moment or plot point in one of your books?

A. A Bravely and Faithfully scene features a young family trapped on a disabled sailboat in the path of a major hurricane. Their rescue by Kauai’s crew replicates a situation when a seized drug boat I was commanding encountered a major storm and began to sink. Through a similar heroic effort, our escorting cutter rescued us just before the boat foundered.


Q: As an author of both military thrillers and science fiction, how do you approach world-building in your science fiction works, and how does it differ from creating real-world settings in your military thrillers?

A. SciFi does open the door to a lot of things impossible in military thrillers, but there is a trap. If the world you create is excessively exotic or dynamic, many readers could lose track of the story while trying to figure out what is going on in the background. A finite and coherent world is essential to any action story.


Q. How do you handle character development across a series like Kauai Sea Adventures? How do you ensure your characters grow and evolve with each new installment?

A. As Kauai faces new challenges, her crew must adapt to survive. Specifically, the main character Ben develops professionally as he becomes more experienced mature, and emotionally in his courtship of Victoria Carpenter, the beautiful, neurodiverse genius DIA analyst he meets in Dagger Quest. They grow together as soulmates and eventually marry across Caribbean Counterstrike and Bravely and Faithfully.


Q. The military thriller genre can be emotionally intense and action-packed. How do you strike a balance between tense, high-stakes moments and quieter, character-driven scenes to maintain the story's momentum?

A. I always open with an action scene to reassure the reader they are in the right place, but these are character-driven stories. My style is to use a quieter segment bridging the action scenes, both for stage-setting/world-building and to let the readers catch their breath and enjoy some personal time with characters via amusing vignettes and banter.


Q. Your background in the Coast Guard and as a defence analyst brings a unique perspective to your writing. How do you incorporate real-life experiences and challenges faced by military personnel into your books?

A. The Coast Guard is unique among services in the degree they push authority and responsibility down to very low levels. This requires an enormous amount of trust and leadership investment to keep things working. The stories narrate this process and the challenges faced by the servicemembers, most of whom have loved ones who miss them and worry about their safety.


Q. In the Kauai Sea Adventures series, how do you maintain an element of surprise and unpredictability, even as readers become more familiar with your writing style and the world you've created?

A. No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy, a principle my readers will agree is threaded throughout the books. The characters are always pushed into situations they have not experienced before and must adapt on the fly to the unexpected. This is the most realistic aspect of the stories and a factor I experienced many times as a coastguardsman.


Q. Can you share any specific instances where your experience as a Coast Guardsman directly influenced a pivotal moment or plot point in one of your books?

A. A Bravely and Faithfully scene features a young family trapped on a disabled sailboat in the path of a major hurricane. Their rescue by Kauai’s crew replicates a situation when a seized drug boat I was commanding encountered a major storm and began to sink. Through a similar heroic effort, our escorting cutter rescued us just before the boat foundered.


Q. As an author of both military thrillers and science fiction, how do you approach world-building in your science fiction works, and how does it differ from creating real-world settings in your military thrillers?

A. SciFi does open the door to a lot of things impossible in military thrillers, but there is a trap. If the world you create is excessively exotic or dynamic, many readers could lose track of the story while trying to figure out what is going on in the background. A finite and coherent world is essential to any action story.


Q. What can readers look forward to in future installments of the Kauai Sea Adventures series, and do you have any other writing projects or genres you plan to explore in the future?

A. The next installment of the series will include vignettes involving ecoterrorism and a dangerous rescue mission during a volcanic eruption. I hope to have this book on sale before the holidays. I am also giving some thought to launching a cozy mystery series featuring Ben and Victoria, this one with Victoria in the lead as the neurodiverse amateur detective.


AUTHOR EDWARD HOCHSMANN BOOK 'BRAVELY AND FAITHFULLY' is listed in "Page-Turners Unleashed: 11 Engrossing Books You Can't Put Down IN 2023" in the AUG 2023 issue of DE MODE.


CLICK HERE to read the magazine article.

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