1970
Will has known Bran since he first taught him to swim, when Bran was eleven years old. But now, seven years later, Bran has returned from a year of hard work on a ranch outside of Houston and he is no longer the boy Will remembers. He is now eighteen, quite grown up, and making no secret of the fact that he’s interested in a sexual relationship with Will. At first, Will is horrified. He has a hard time forgetting the Bran he knew as a child, and given their seventeen-year age difference, he can’t understand why Bran is interested in him. But everything changes when he finds out that Bran has been drafted.
Will and Bran will have only two weeks together. But two weeks may be enough to change Will’s life.
You can buy One More Soldier from Silver here, or buy the Kindle edition here.
*****
A month or two ago, my good friend Ethan Stone sent me a story to read. It was one he had written several years ago, and was trying to decide if it was worth doing anything with. Although it was decidedly too porn for my taste, it did inspire me. I liked the characters and the premise. I thought it had potential.
Ethan and I spent a day or two tossing it around. We thought maybe we could expand it into a novella. We debated trying to co-author it. But after much discussion, Ethan told me that he wasn’t really feeling it, and that I should just take it and make it my own. Once I started writing it, it changed quite a bit. It became shorter than I had envisioned (it’s only about 13,800 words), and it moved back in time to the late 60′s. Isn’t it odd when that happens? I ended up doing more research for this little story than I’ve done for any of my novels.
Once it was finished, I sent it to Ethan and told him I was going to submit it for publication. I offered to put his name on it too, but after reading it, he felt I had changed it so much that it wasn’t warranted, and so it will be published under my name alone. But Ethan still gets all the credit for getting those little wheels in my head a-spinnin’. Therefore, all proceeds from the sale of this story will go into a pool which will help keep Ethan and I fed and a slightly buzzed at Folk Fest this year! :-)
One More Soldier is not related to my Coda stories in any way, shape or form.
*****
Spoiler Warning: There are many spoilers in the comment section below, so you may not want to read them if you haven’t read OMS yet.
Marsha
/ September 1, 2010I finished One More Soldier last night and it just broke my heart. Beautifully done and you definitely need tissue with this one. Thank you!
Marie Sexton
/ September 1, 2010Thanks so much Marsha! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Vicki
/ August 29, 2010Oh wow… My heart is broken. That was so moving, sad, wonderful. I’m trying to hide my tears from my husband who is sitting beside me. Sandy is nuts. Ut was perfect. Thank you Marie for reminding us there isn’t always a HEA.
Marie Sexton
/ August 29, 2010Thanks Vicki. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Vikki
/ August 20, 2010Oh Sheesh….CRY! My god i’m still waiting to stop….BRILLIANT, heartbreaking and TOTALLY amazing.
Once again you have blown me away.
Vikki xx
Marie Sexton
/ August 20, 2010Thanks Vikki! I seem to make people cry with that one a lot. If it ever goes to print, maybe I’ll have kleenex included.
Glad you liked it!
nicole
/ August 12, 2010You have yet to put out a book that I ‘ve disliked and that includes this novella. Someone said you packed a whallop in 13k and they were correct. I think it shows your depth as an author that you can not only write meaningful books with HEA’s but also stories that do not have an HEA, yet still leave people full of feelings and thoughts to reflect. I thought One More Soldier was great, thank you.
Marie Sexton
/ August 12, 2010Thanks so much, Nicole! I knew when I wrote that it wouldn’t be for everybody, but happy ending or not, it was the story I needed to write. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Julie
/ July 24, 2010I have to disagree with Sandy. First off, it’s not a book, it’s a short story. Secondly, you explored the characters very well within the limited length of that short story. Adding pages would not have added to them in any way, other than padding the story with superfluities. Having talked about going to San Francisco made the reference to our people in Cali clear, as well as mentioning gays and gay milestones. And her contention that you had to explain that Bran died for something was absurd – he died because he was a soldier, in a war, and that has nothing to do with the feelings which people had for Viet Nam at the time. If they’d liked it or approved of it, he’d still have died, and that was the point. He was 18, he went to war and he died.
It’s a great story, Marie, and it says a lot in a few words. Great job!
Marie Sexton
/ July 24, 2010Thanks so much, Julie. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Whitney Broussard
/ July 23, 2010I disagree all of Sandy’s contentions. I was born after Bran died. I understood both points as they were. And the frustrations of the Vietnam war wasn’t on Will’s mind. The story wasn’t about Vietnam, or how people felt about Vietnam. Any more about that war would have taken attention off where it was properly placed…Will loved Bran and he turned his energy toward honoring the memory of a soldier.
@Marie you packed a wallop into 13k. You should be proud of this
Marie Sexton
/ July 23, 2010Thanks Whitney. I’m glad you liked it!
sandy
/ July 22, 2010I have enjoyed reading several of your books, Promises, A-Z, The Letter Z, and One More Soldier. You are a very talented and gifted author. But I have to say I was disappointed in the ending to One More Soldier for a couple reasons: a) you were telling a period piece to a new generation and many of those reader have no idea of your reference to “Our people in Cali” ….a second sentence was at least warranted in my opinion. b) you could have left the reader with a feeling of either that Brian died for something or at least put two sentences to explain the frustration of the Viet Nam war’s feelings at the time and why it was suggested that they go to avoid the draft. You did just did neither which I think make the book weaker. Sorry but I really liked these caracters and they deserve a full lenth novel that does them justice.. I’ve read better from you.
Marie Sexton
/ July 22, 2010Sandy, I’m very sorry that the story didn’t work for you. Thanks for your comment.
Jodie
/ July 3, 2010Oh, wow! That looks fantastic!! I can’t wait to read it