The Dream Jumper's Secret
Page 26
The next novel in the DREAM JUMPER series will be out in the spring of 2015. As of February 2015, I’m still in the process of rewriting and editing, which is actually the longer process.
If you have a minute to spare, I’d really appreciate a quick review on Amazon. As a new author, reviews help me gain footing in this market (and justifies why I sit at the keyboard so much!). Also, Amazon Kindle Publishing rewards books with more reviews with perks in the form of free advertising.
Thank you so much!
http://amzn.com/B00JTMDO7G
Acknowledgements
As I researched the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, I realized how little I knew of the soldier’s life and what went on over there in the early years. The details are gruesome.
I want to thank all the women and men of the American Armed Forces who volunteer for this selfless job. What you do to serve your country humbles me. My family and I are forever grateful. In particular, to Dan Flynn who was my main source of information about living as a soldier in the early years in the Sand Box, the configuration of Kandahar, and how it feels to be a soldier. You rock, Dan and Ashley!
This novel came together using a new writing process that involved penning the bones of the story in one whirlwind month. Even though I had an outline and scenes planned out, the month was an absolute blast as the story organically took shape. To the good people over there at National Novel Writing Month, I say thank you for making November my month to get crackin’. The story poured out of me and even though I took four months to clean it up, I’m grateful for NaNoWriMo.
To my readers who waited patiently for this book. I didn’t forget you. I just had to figure it all out first.
To Ryan Hurd and all the other dream researchers out there who help explain the mysteries and intricacies of dreaming. It’s a fascinating subject!
To Christine M. Fairchild and Laurie Rowell, amazing writers, who keep me on the right track as a novelist, who give of themselves to help me realize this dream of a second book in this series. We’ve had countless cups of coffee as we red-inked each other’s stories at Rococo in Kirkland. To Alec who bravely joined our group and contributes greatly. To Lisa Costantino who inspires me to make each sentence count. To Geri Frick who always answers the call. We Are Writers!
To my friends who support my writing like it makes the world a better place. You know who you are, and I know who you are, and it matters to me greatly. I don’t want to name you in case I forget someone and I know you understand this. But yes, it’s you.
And to my sister, Susan, who is an awesome writer herself and always has my back.
To my wonderful beta readers who dropped everything in April of 2014 to help, even though none of them have ever met me in person. I’m in awe of your generosity: Anna L. Walls, who took several passes at the manuscript with unlimited dedication, Ilsa, Lisa, Courtney, DeeAnn, Teri, Mary D., Nancy, and Diana. You ladies didn’t have to help me, but you did.
To the men who read this series, I say thank you! I didn’t expect you, but your support has given me a broader audience and put a smile on my face.
To Jeannine Henning, my cover artist who is a joy to work with, even when I’m not. She makes magic out of a vague idea.
To my editor Alicia Dean/Ally Robertson Clary who took her magnifying glass to this manuscript and years ago gave me a reason to be proud of my writing when hope was in short supply. I’ll never forget you did that.
To my children, Jack and Ila, who might one day read this book and realize what Mom was doing at her computer for months on end. I love that you’re proud of me without knowing why. And to my husband Roland, who inspired me to write Jamey as a sweet, forgiving, unselfish champion of his woman.
Research of the War in Afghanistan during this time period
Readers: I added this to the manuscript, thinking some of you might find this interesting. There is so little I can use of the actual material in a novel like this without sounding like Wikipedia, but all this information helped me to create a tone for the scenes in Afghanistan.
The Dream Jumper’s Secret --Afghanistan
May 5 Eleven men released from Camp X-Ray in Cuba on May 5 arrived in Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, where they remained in custody. The men no apology or compensation for their time, but they did receive a bag containing a new pair of pants and tennis shoes, a jacket, underwear and a bottle of shampoo. Two of the men expressed bitterness at being sent to the prison in Guantanamo Bay without being questioned first at home.
May 9: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage met President Karzai and other senior officials in Kabul. Security concerns along the Afghan-Pakistan border were discussed. Armitage said the U.S. did not support a recent appeal by the United Nations for international peacekeepers to be deployed outside Kabul. He also handed a check to the Afghan government for US$100,000 to help refurbish Afghan National Museum.
In New Delhi, Indian federal civil aviation minister Shahnawaz Hussain told Afghan civil aviation minister Mirwais Sadiqthat India would assist Afghanistan in building its aviation infrastructure. The assistance was contingent on Pakistan opening its airspace to India.
May 10: An Afghan soldier was killed and a U.S. special forces soldier wounded in firefights the Khost area of Afghanistan. A U.S. A-10 aircraft and AH-64 helicopters were called in to kill the remaining opposing fighters.
May 11: Southeast of Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan, six people were killed in a clash between loyalists to Abdul Rashid Dostum and another faction.
In Afghanistan, demonstrators rallied against an amnesty offer that President Karzai made to some Talibanmembers.
May 12: In Afghanistan, dozens of state truck drivers blocked a highway to protest against non-payment of wages.
A report by the independent Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit found that land-ownership disputes were the most common conflict in Afghanistan.
May 13: A second group of 13 medics from Hungary were scheduled to leave for Afghanistan. The first group left on March 8, 2003.
In the northern part of Kabul, Afghanistan, two Norwegian soldiers with the International Security Assistance Force were shot and wounded. A soldier with the 8th Afghan National Army division was arrested.
The British Army announced it would establish a base in Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan to work on rebuilding and security.
The State Bank of Pakistan imposed a ban on opening of Letters of Credit for the import of 18 items meant for Afghanistan. The items were tobacco substitutes, non-cotton yarn, dyes, PVC and PMC materials, black tea, capacitors, art silk fabrics, vegetable ghee, cooking oil, tyres and tubes, refrigerators, air conditioners, televisions, soap and shampoos, auto parts, telephones, razor or shaving blades, and video cassettes.
May 14: Iran signed an agreement to train Afghan pilots and to help rebuild Afghan airports in Balkh Province and Herat Province.
Pakistan hosted the first-ever meeting of the Tripartite Commission in Islamabad with the government of Afghanistan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to discuss the ongoing return and reintegration of Afghan refugees.
May 15: The World Trade Organization is expected to consider the application of Afghanistan to their body.
Clashes between rival forces loyal to Ustad Atta Mohammad and to General Abdul Rashid Dostum took place in the Gosfandiarea of Sar-i-Pul Province, killing at least two followers from each side. Atta's men imprisoned a Dostum commander during the exchange. Fighting between the rival forces also took place in the Daraye Souf region in Samangan Province.
In Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, one person was killed and three others injured when a bomb exploded in a small mosque at the local municipal authority's office. It was believed to be a suicide bombing.
A British soldier was slightly wounded in Kabul, Afghanistan when an Afghan man threw a grenade at a British peacekeeping base.
Gunmen attacked a Mine Evaluation Training Agency vehicle on Sathi Kandaw pass between Gardez and Khost, Afgh
anistan, prompting the United Nations to suspended travel along the route. The driver was shot in the chest and one mine clearer suffered superficial head wounds. The incident also prompted the U.N. to provide escorts for its vehicles.
May 16: The Asian Development Bank allocated $500 million for Afghanistan's reconstruction.
May 17: After completing a physical training run, a U.S. soldier died at the Kabul Military Training Center in Afghanistan.
U.S. special forces troops seized a weapons cache near Jalalabad. The cache included nearly 400 mortar rounds and over 70 rockets.
In caves at Maymana, near Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan, special forces discovered tank rounds and small arms ammunition, and transferred them to the Afghan National Army.
A U.S. military vehicle struck two Afghan boys in Gardez, killing one and injuring the other. The accident occurred after the two boys ran across a street as a three-vehicle convoy was passing. The injured boy was treated and released.
The Confederation of Indian Industry announced the signing of a Preferential Trade Agreement between India and Afghanistan.
May 18: The Afghan government launched a training program to create a 50,000-strong national police force and 12,000 border police by 2008.
May 19: In a speech broadcast on Afghan television, President Karzai threatened to dissolve the government unless provincial leaders started paying their taxes. Karzai said he would call another Loya Jirga to form a new government in the coming two or three months if the situation did not improve.
May 20: The twelve provincial governors of Afghanistan signed an agreement to deliver millions of dollars of customs revenue owed to the central government. The finance ministry said that customs revenues exceeded half a billion dollars in 2002, but only $80 million reached Kabul. Under the agreement, Uzbek leader, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, would no longer serve as President Karzai's special envoy for the northern regions and other officials would have to follow the suit.
In the Gardez region, Afghanistan, a U.S. Special Forces soldier was wounded when a homemade bomb exploded near a U.S. military vehicle.
Pakistani Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Water & Power Aftab Ahmad Sherpao met with President Karzai to discuss repatriation of Afghan refugees.
May 21: Outside the U.S. embassy In Kabul, U.S. troops shot dead three or four Afghan soldiers and wounded four others when they mistakenly thought they were about to come under attack. "The U.S. soldiers thought the Afghan soldiers were aiming guns at them", a U.S. intelligence official said. "They panicked and opened fire."
May 22: In a Belgian court, the trial opened of 23 alleged Islamic militants linked to the murder of Afghan rebel Ahmad Shah Masood and the planning of anti-U.S. attacks in Europe. The two main defendants were Nizar Trabelsi and Tarek Maaroufi.
In Paris, France, drug experts and foreign ministers from Europe and Asia met to address the massive flows of opium and heroin coming out of Afghanistan.
May 23: In collaboration with the Afghan Ministry of Health, the Afghan Ministry of Internal Affairs launched child census and polio vaccination campaign.
Afghan Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani announced that the government would appoint new provincial customs directors to organize the flow of revenue to the central government.
South of Jalalabad, two Afghan employees of Agro Action were hurt in a bomb attack.
May 24: About 80 demonstrators marched through downtown Kabul for several hours to protest the accidental slaying of three or four Afghan soldiers by U.S. troops on May 21. Some demonstrators hurled rocks. Some chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Karzai." A demand was made that the U.S. soldiers involved in the incident be handed over to the local authorities. At least one ISAF soldier was hurt and two vehicles damaged.
In Afghanistan, unknown assailants threw grenades into the Jalalabad offices of Medair causing material damage but no injuries.
May 25: Afghan authorities arrested Mullah Janan, a suspected military commander of the former Taliban regime, and two of his aides. The authorities accused Janan of plotting attacks on Afghan government buildings.
May 26: A Ukrainian plane crashed near the Black Sea city of Trabzon in northeast Turkey, killing all aboard. The plane carried 13 crew-members (12 Ukrainians and one Belarusian) and 62 Spanish soldiers returning from a six-month peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. Initially, the cause of the accident was blamed on thick fog, however some witnesses stated that the aircraft was afire.
Afghan VP Nimartullah Shaharani arrived in Beijing, China for a five-day visit.
Twelve shots were fired at an ISAF survey team from the Mine Dog Centre and the Mine Clearance Planning Agency in Rooza, Afghanistan.
May 27: Command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan were handed over from the U.S. Army's XVIII Airborne Corps to the U.S. 10th Mountain Division. Lt. Gen. Dan McNeill also ended his tour of duty. In a ceremony on the helicopter runway of Bagram Air Base, Maj. Gen. John Vines took over command.
Taliban leader Mullah Ghausuddin and associate Mullah Mohammad were killed in a gun battle in Zabul province. An Afghan government soldier was wounded.
In Beijing, Chinese VP Zeng Qinghong and Afghan VP Nimartullah Shaharani signed a US$1 million aid agreement for the Afghanistan reconstruction trust fund. The two leaders also agreed to re-establish the China Afghanistan Friendship Association and set up ties between Peking University and Kabul University.
In Karachi, Pakistan, a seminar on the potential Turkmenistan-Afghanistan–Pakistan–India pipeline took place under the auspices of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Pakistan Section. Over 75 professionals attended.
Iranian Minister of Commerce Mohammad Shariatmadari arrived in Kabul to inaugurate Iran's first executive industrial and commercial exhibition in Afghanistan.
May 28: Near Khost, Afghanistan, attackers set off a remote-controlled bomb near a vehicle carrying U.S. special forces. There were no casualties.
In Gardez, Afghanistan, attackers fired two rockets toward a U.S. base. The rockets, however, fell far short of their target.
May 29: Fifteen kilometers south of Camp Warehouse near Kabul, Afghanistan, a German ISAF vehicle hit a mine killing one peacekeeper and injuring another.
A team of U.S. investigators arrived in Kabul to investigate the deadly shooting on May 21 in which U.S. Marines guarding the American Embassy killed three Afghan soldiers.
In Afghanistan, two men were killed by an exploding mine at Kabul's former royal palace, apparently while planting the device.
May 30: As a U.S. special forces was moving along a road 50 kilometres south of Kabul, a homemade bomb was detonated, lightly wounding an Afghan soldier travelling with the group.
Attackers fired two rockets toward the U.S. base in Orgun, in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. There were no casualties.
May 31: Attackers fired a rocket toward the U.S. base in Asadabad in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. There were no casualties.
And now, for something completely different:
Pops’ Seafood Chowder
Serves 20
Pops says – “It’s fattening but lip-smacking good on a cold, rainy night. Get one of those fancy chunks of bread to clean the bowl after you’re done.”
Ingredients
2 large onions, diced
3 carrots, sliced
7 potatoes, cubed
1 pound salmon, cut into chunks
1 pound cod, cut into chunks
1 pound scallops
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 ounces cooked lobster meat, shredded
1 can (6 ounces) crabmeat, drained, flaked
4 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups half & half
1 ½ cups butter, cubed
Salt and pepper
Directions
Fill a large pot halfway with lightly salted water, bring to a boil. Add onions, carrots and cook until slightly tender. Stir in seafood, cook over medium heat until salmon and cod are firm but slightly transluce
nt in center (10 minutes). Drain half the water, add heavy cream and half & half. Add butter, season, cover and simmer until fish is fully cooked (30 minutes).
Millie’s Three-Hour Pot Roast
Ingredients
½ cup all-purpose flour
Black Pepper
3 ½ pound Rump Roast
¼ Cup Butter
½ envelope Dry Onion Soup Mix
1 Can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
½ cup Dry Vermouth or White Wine
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and black pepper to taste. Dredge the rump roast in the flour and cover evenly. Shake off excess.
In a large pot over medium/high heat, melt the butter and brown the roast on all sides. Place in a 4 quart casserole dish with lid.
In a small bowl, combine the soup mix, mushroom soup, and vermouth or white wine; pour over roast.
Cover and bake in preheated oven for 3 hours or until desired doneness.
Millie adds – “When Tina is home to visit, she likes this served with roasted potatoes and carrots. Elizabeth prefers creamy mashed potatoes with gravy poured on top.”