Mary J. McCoy-Dressel ~ Contemporary Romance

Sensual romance. Heartwarming stories. Strong family ties.
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel ~ Contemporary Romance
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    • Research at Work #MFRWauthor Week 13

      Posted at 8:49 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on March 30, 2018

      If you see a post this week, then that’s great. This means I was able to post it. We’re at Week 13 in the Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge. I don’t expect to do each week this year. Some of the topics don’t fit anything I could write about. I’ll find a filler for this time slot.  🙂

      Week 13: What I learned while researching my book

      Mary J McCoy-Dressel, western romance

      Jason and Period Images did a special shoot for me with military and cowboy shots including the shirtless image on the book cover. (Sidebar)

      Hashtag: #MFRWauthor

      I’ll use the third book in my Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight, Of the Cowboy’s Own Accord, for this week’s topic. The hero in this book is an Army Ranger. I’m happy to say this title came to  me through research by way of–Sua Sponte (Of Their Own Accord) Rangers Lead the Way is the 75th Ranger Regiment’s Regimental motto. I learned so much about Army Rangers. Wow, deep respect.

      I’ll be referring to the Army here because that’s what I researched.

      I wrote the draft using the knowledge I did know about military life since I come from a family of military people and it continues with second cousins. Recently a third cousin entered right out of high school.

      However, when I started revisions, I had to be specific when dealing with this subject.

      RESEARCH

       

      The most important thing I learned is to triple the respect I already had for the military and their special forces, including their military working dogs.

      My research came from military websites, documentaries and interviews on the DoD Channel, movies like Black Hawk Down, soldiers I know personally or online, non-fiction books written by soldiers, but my major research came from an Army Lieutenant who answered my questions while still in Afghanistan who wishes to remain anonymous. To have him confirm my research or explain a better way to describe it, was such a big help to me. Without his help and his confirmations at how I had handled certain aspects, I wouldn’t have been able to keep certain things in the book if I’d had to guess. I’m so grateful.

      A handful of what I learned while researching this book:

      • How to communicate with family while deployed overseas.
      • Out-processing.
      • ACUs- Army Combat Uniform.
      • Deployment mobilization and in, out processing from Fort Benning, GA.
      • What a tough box looks like. My contact basically said, “It’s a big black box.” Think footlocker.
      • Uniform and rules while wearing. I believe U.S. Army uniforms changed to dress blues during the writing of this book in 2014. Do you know Rangers wear tan berets?
      • When to wear white mess uniforms.  Wow, my hero was hot in his in Heartbreak’s Reward #2.  ❤
      • Duties of an NCO- Non-Commissioned Officer.
      • Rank order and responsibilities.
      • Canine PTSD. Military Working Dogs & PTSD. My hero’s retired MWD has PTSD. (Oh, I loved his character in the book. His name is Boston.)

      Double Dutch Ranch Series, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, Western Romance

      I don’t have to use everything I’ve learned, but it’s important that I know. The extra research allows me to live in the world I’m creating. Yes, there is more, but I’ll stop there.

      I don’t write military romance or consider this to be in the Military Romance subgenre, but by the time I finished this book, I patted myself on the back for seeing it through.

      OH, NO!

      One thing I’ve learned the hard way in researching is to check and double check. Triple check!. Then check again. As much as I hate to admit it, I did get burned by using a particular site’s view of streets and the word of another instead of double checking myself. I’m always adamant about double or triple checking facts. Except that time. Use all the options you have to get it right.


      Wow, a scary thing happened. I added a video up there in the bullet point area, and it wiped away every word and image below it. Then I discovered I had lost links in my post and recent edits. I didn’t know WordPress had a “History” feature. Thank goodness, but I’m not sure what I lost that I didn’t add back.

      I have no affiliation with the links I’ve shared.


      Since this is a BLOG HOP, join me in in reading what other authors have learned in research. Thanks for reading.

      Photo credits: Pixabay. Dreamstime- the German Shepherd.

      Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor | 14 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, 52-week blog challenge, Army, Army Rangers, blog hop, Double Dutch Ranch Series Love at First Sight, mary j mccoy dressel, military, Military working dogs, Of the Cowboy's Own Accord, Research, Research at Work, western romance
    • Check This Out From The Military Wallet: 2015 Veterans Day Free Meals and Discounts

      Posted at 8:30 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on November 11, 2015

      This was posted yesterday on The Military Wallet, but I saw it a day late, so I’ll post the link today on Veterans Day November 11. They also have a Printable PDF List of Veterans Day Meals & Deals. Enjoy.

      Thank you!

       

      From The Military wallet. Written by by Ryan Guina:

      Updated: Nov. 10, 2015. Veterans Day is soon approaching and there are many restaurants and companies who want to thank our veterans by providing them with discounts or a free meal. To those companies offering veterans a free meal or discount, the military community gives a collective thanks!


      All credit goes to The Military Wallet. Please visit their page for an updated list. http://themilitarywallet.com/veterans-day-free-meals-and-discounts/

      American Flag

       

      Posted in #AmWriting | 2 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, #VeteransDay, mary j mccoy dressel, military, Of the Cowboy's Own Accord, Veterans Day 2015, Veterans Day Free Meals and Discounts
    • Sending CHEER to Military Families #SOCSunday

      Posted at 11:50 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on November 13, 2011

      Today I’m choosing to do a brain dump for a good cause. A great cause actually so this might be more than 5 minutes. I hope this is okay for this weeks #socSunday.

      Cheerios is teaming up with the USO and sending CHEER to military families with something as simple as a post card you cut from a Cheerios box. Please follow my links to see what I’m talking about. All it will cost you is a box of Cheerios and a postage stamp. This is important and I’d like to spread the word. I was watching The Talk on TV the other day. I don’t usually watch TV this time of day but I needed a break from NaNoWriMo writing and I turned it on. I’m glad I did. The show had a spokesperson from the USO and there was a military family on the show, minus their dad. Please watch the VIDEO for the show that day. I think it will touch your heart. Everyone in the audience had a CHEER card filled out to be sent to a military family. So, Cheerios is sending cheer to military families during the holidays. Cheerios is forwarding post cards that you send to them for military families on bases and to the USO. Did you know the USO still existed? You don’t hear much about it anymore.

      Buy a box of Cheerios and cut out the post card around the word CHEER in CHEERIOS then write a message, put a stamp on it and send it on. It’s preaddressed so no worries about where to send it. I think this is important this time of year for these military families to find cheer in any way they can, and I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel good to know I can make a lonely child, wife or husband, or parent smile.

      Please check out the pages through the links I’m including. Again, all it’s going to cost you is a box of Cheerios and a postage stamp, but it will mean a whole lot more to people who have to make sacrifices this time of year and all year long.

      Forgive me if this isn’t considered a brain dump. Hope this counts.

      This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

      • Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
      • Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
      • Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
      • Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
      • Link up your post below.
      • Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

      Now…

      1. Grab the button

      2. Write your post.

      3. Link up here–  All Things Fadra

      Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments | Tagged #socSunday, all things fadra, CHEER, Cheerios, military, postcard, the talk, USO
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