Wednesday, June 26, 2002
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Wednesday, June 26, 2002 |
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Former "Weekend Warrior" publishes first novel By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
Fayetteville resident Jerry M. Moore was a Naval Reservist who missed the Cuban Missile Crisis. Readers of his first novel, "Weekend Warriors" would swear that he was not only enlisted during that period but that he was in the thick of things during that tumultuous time. Moore entered the Reserves after the crisis had passed but heard tales told by other members of his squadron. Those tales may have been the seeds that grew into his book. Moore was a Plane Captain in the Naval Reserves, much like Mac McRee, one of the main characters of the novel. He attended a trade school in south Georgia, became a licensed aircraft mechanic and was used in this capacity during his 12 years of service. The job of a Plane Captain was to refuel the plane after landing and to pretty much go where he was needed during flights. Often times this meant that he would be in the nose or in the back with a camera, searching for freighters off the coast of Florida. "It was like a rollercoaster at times," said Moore, recounting the sharp figure eights the planes would carve over the water, sometimes flying for 14 hours at a time. "Weekend Warriors" is a fictional story based on actual events that took place before, during and after the Cuban Missile Crisis. The dates and times of some of the events in the book are accurate, as are the names of the ships mentioned throughout. "I tried to tie in as much fact as possible, said Moore. "I did a lot of research to make it sound believable." The novel focuses on Mac McRee and David Wood, two Naval Reservists or "weekend warriors" as they were sometimes called. After their plane is mysteriously shot down during a routine surveillance exercise, the two become embroiled in a tale of conspiracy and espionage that seems destined to lead the world into World War III. There is a lot more to the story, including Russians searching for missing nuclear warheads, Cuban exiles in limbo after the Bay of Pigs invasion, rogue CIA agents and much more. "Weekend Warriors" was Moore's first novel and the process of research, writing and editing took seven years. Moore had five editors look at the book during that period, including the late Dave Hamrick, former managing editor of The Citizen, who edited the book in both its early stages and late stages. "They say the first book is always the hardest," said Moore. "I must have made thousands of changes to the book while writing it. It is also very hard to get publishers to look at an unknown author." To get his novel published, Moore went to 1stbooks.com. They are a profitable, print-on-demand and eBook publishing company. Authors can go to the company with a finished book and get it published. Since it has been published, Moore has taken his novel to military fairs as well as local bookstores. "Weekend Warriors" can be ordered at Barnes and Noble, either in store or on their Web site, at www.1stbooks.com, or at Moore's own Web site, www.Moore2000.com. Moore has lived in Fayetteville for 24 years. He resided in both East Point and College Park before moving to the area and attended Russell High School. The book is dedicated to Moore's brother, a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, who died with eight Navy SEALS in a helicopter crash in Vietnam. Moore's connections to the military are evident in the details of the novel, making it hard to believe that the work came from a new author. Moore describes the book as "the untold, semi-fictional aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis." "I truly believe that if people read this book, they will like it," added Moore. |
