1. When will your latest book, Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die, be released?

Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die was released in September 2025. It is available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book. All Amazon author royalties for the book will be donated to veteran-focused charities.

2. What is Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die about? 

Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die helps people navigate life’s challenges using the lives of twenty-six veterans to reveal important lessons about character and humanity. Each of the book’s fourteen substantive chapters begins with an interlude that discusses an important life lesson such as, “If you don’t see a path, blaze a trail,” or “Don’t accept adversity, challenge it.” The chapter then includes one or more veterans’ life stories to illustrate the lesson. These captivating stories about everyday American military heroes and the lessons we can learn from their lives provide the inspiration we need to make us, our relationships, and our communities stronger.

 3. What inspired you to write Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die?

Veterans have been my heroes since I was a boy growing up just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. In fact, my dad was an Air Force pilot and my uncle a Navy sailor. Given that, interviewing veterans and publishing their stories through my Voices to Veterans blog seemed like a natural outgrowth from my fiction writing. Although that was a good first step, I wanted to make sure the stories are permanently preserved and presented in a way that will be meaningful to people. That’s when I came up with the idea for Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die.

4. I understand you are donating all your Amazon author royalties for Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die to America’s VetDogs, a veteran-focused charity that provides guide and service dogs to veterans and first responders. Why are you doing that? 

I want this book to be a win for everyone involved. Most importantly, the book honors veterans and allows us to learn from their lives. The book also preserves their stories and the lessons they teach so future generations will understand what it means to serve. And, because my Amazon author royalties for Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die are donated to America’s VetDogs, readers will be directly helping veterans when they purchase the book.

5. If people purchase signed copies of Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die through your website’s bookstore, will any part of the proceeds be donated to America’s VetDogs?

Yes. I will donate to America’s VetDogs my net author royalties relating to the sale of signed copies of Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die through my website. Net author royalties equal the book price minus the cost of the book to me and any unreimbursed shipping costs I incur like the cost of shipping envelopes or boxes I use to mail the books to the purchasers.

6. How long did it take you to write Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die?

I have been interviewing veterans and publishing their stories through my Voices to Veterans blog since July 2017. To date, I have done over eighty stories, twenty-six of which I selected for this book to represent the whole. So, in that sense, the research for Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die began eight years ago, but the actual writing and editing of the book took approximately eighteen months.

7. You wrote the three-book Steve Stilwell legal thriller series before you wrote Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die. Do you intend to write another thriller?

Although I have the concept for another thriller in the back of my mind, this book, my monthly Voices to Veterans stories, and my Voices to Veterans podcasts are my current focus.

8. Where can readers buy Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die? 

Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die is available for purchase on Amazon. Signed copies can also be purchased through the bookstore on my website.

9. Why will Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die appeal to readers? 

Readers will enjoy Learning to Live from Those Willing to Die not only because it reveals history through the lives of the individuals who lived it, but also because of the life lessons drawn from each story. Whether the stories remind readers of their own service, help them better understand and appreciate their loved ones’ military experience, or enable them to vicariously experience military service through the lives of others, they will speak powerfully to everyone. Moreover, anyone navigating life’s challenges will find the life lessons invaluable.