Chapter 1
335 Words
Susan Piazza backed The Great Chase tabletop strategy game based on this novel series for a Kickstarter fundraiser at the reward level of Join the Team for One Novel (Thank you so much, Susan.) This afforded me the opportunity to sit with her for several hours, share cheesecake and discuss knitting, quilting, and the curious twists and turns of her life.
The Great Chase Join the Team for One Novel Due to circumstances beyond her control, Susan was unable to continue the career she so loved in the US Navy past her first eight years. The decades since have done nothing to diminish her passion for the service or the continued joy it has brought her.
During her service, she was indeed the communications expert for an Admiral. In fact, most of her character’s past throughout this work is lifted from fact, not fiction. The fiction? I did my best to give her the career that she didn’t have the opportunity to fulfill. In the ending scene I created for her character, I also attempted to capture her joy of home that pulled so hard against her joy of travel and the challenges of the Navy.
Over the years, she has volunteered thousands of hours helping disabled vets, especially bringing her legal skills to their aid (she became an expert in navigating the complex paperwork for proving claims for veterans and their families). She is an active member of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) and a past Commander of both the Disabled American Veterans and the American Legion, her favorite charity. (You may donate to this amazing non-profit at: https://mylegion.org. Tip: local donations work locally, so contact your local chapter).
Tip:I gave her that same impressive rank in her fictional service. Any missteps her character makes in this book are the manufacture of the author. Everything she does right, came straight from the real-life Commander Susan Piazza.
To meet her was a joy. To know her, even a little, a pure pleasure.
- Writer
