Playing Army by Nancy Stroer | Spotlight and Guest Post ~ $25 Gift Card | #DomesticWar #Uplit @GoddessFish @Nancy_Stroer @nancy.stroer @koehlerbookspub
A book blog tour from Goddess Fish Promotions.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.
Book Details
Playing Army by Nancy Stroer Published by Köehler Books on June 25, 2024
Genres: Fiction, Family Life, Military, Fiction / War & Military, Fiction / Women, UpLit
Format: eBook, Hardcover, Paperback
Pages: 326
Can you really fake it till you make it? Lieutenant Minerva Mills is about to find out.
It's 1995 and the Army units of Fort Stewart, Georgia, are gearing up to deploy to Bosnia. But Min has no intention of going to war-torn Eastern Europe. Her father disappeared in Vietnam and-longing for some connection to him-she's determined to go on a long-promised tour to Asia. The colonel will only release her on two she ensures the rag-tag Headquarters Company is ready for the peacekeeping mission and she gets her weight within Army regs.
Min only has one summer to kick everyone's butts into shape, but the harder she plays Army, the more the soldiers-and her body-rebel. If she can't even get the other women on her side, much less lose those eight lousy pounds, she'll never have another chance to stand where her father once stood in Vietnam.
The colonel may sweep her along to Bosnia or throw her out of the Army altogether. Or Min may be forced to conclude that no amount of faking it will ever be enough to make it and, as was true for her father, the Army is an impossible space for her to occupy.
It’s rare to find a military tale like “Playing Army” with a female protagonist, and it’s even more unusual for it to be considered “UpLit” (uplifting literature). I hope the information shared in this post encourages you to learn more.
And if/when you read the book…don’t forget to leave a review on the book site of your choice!
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Excerpt from Playing Army
My heart raced, not in a good way, as a helicopter thudded overhead toward Hunter Army Airfield twenty miles away. Had my father died in a helicopter assault? The notification only said he’d gone missing in a fire fight, but he’d been assigned to the air cavalry. He hadn’t been a movie star like Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now, though—just another Air Cav soldier who disappeared in the Mekong Delta in April of 1969.
I imagined myself crouched backward over the skids of a Huey. Terrified, with the sound of AK-47s firing below and nothing to connect me to safety but a nylon rope. Nothing but the empty black maw of my ignorance waiting to swallow me whole. You would think, if my father had been liked and respected, the soldiers from his platoon would have responded to the letters I’d written but no one ever had, leaving me only questions so corrosive my insides burned.
It was strange how the absence of a person could occupy so much mental real estate, but the Army—all of America, really—was obsessed with the bodies of the soldiers left behind. The dead were probably at peace—I had to believe that—but those who remained were not. For me, nothing but boots on the ground in Vietnam would satisfy my relentless drive to understand, and Korea was the closest place to Vietnam the Army would send me.
Excerpt provided by the author/publisher for use in this post.
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Purchase Links for Playing Army
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Stroer, Nancy (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 326 Pages - 06/25/2024 (Publication Date) - Koehler Books (Publisher)
- Stroer, Nancy (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 292 Pages - 06/25/2024 (Publication Date) - Koehler Books (Publisher)
If the above links do not take you to your country’s Amazon page, please let me know, and I’ll gladly get a link for you.
Using my link does not change the price you pay. Amazon pays me a minimal amount out of their share. Every penny helps to support this blog.
Purchase Playing Army from your Local Bookstore
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About Nancy Stroer
Nancy Stroer grew up in a very big family in a very small house in Athens, Georgia, and served in the beer-soaked trenches of post-Cold War Germany.
She holds degrees from Cornell and Boston University, and her work has appeared in the Stars and Stripes, Soldiers magazine, Hallaren Lit Mag, Wrath-Bearing Tree, and Things We Carry Still, an anthology of military writing from Middle West Press.
She’s a teacher, trainer, and adjunct faculty member at the Ellyn Satter Institute, a 503(c) not-for-profit that helps individuals and families develop a more joyful relationship with food and their bodies. Playing Army is her first novel.
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Guest Post by the Author of Playing Army
Ten (pretty random!) Things Most People Don’t Know About Me
1) I’m not the world’s most confident person, but I know for a fact that I’m the best there ever was at finding four leaf clovers. Make it an Olympic sport and I’d win gold every time!
2) I’m obsessed with World War II in Germany. I’m obsessed with issues of morality in general, and the ways that Germany and Germans wrestle with issues of morality and culpability in war time, individually and as a country, are examples the rest of us should be emulating.
3) I sprained the shit out of my ankle at Airborne school (parachute training) but kept running and jumping on it for two more weeks because I didn’t have time to get recycled. One of the Black Hats noticed how swollen it was, one morning in the sawdust sheds, but didn’t tell on me. My ankle still gives out on me sometimes, even though it’s been literal decades and I’ve worked really hard to strengthen/stabilize that joint. It’s probably a metaphor of some sort, but I’m proud I made it through the school.
4) I’m a great secret-keeper. People have sworn me to secrecy about things and I’ve never breathed another word of it to anyone else. I have personal secrets I will take to my grave. Information is hard to hold onto when you’re a professional blabbermouth, so I think it’s kind of a rare ability!
5) My Aunt Peggy has Down Syndrome. She is perhaps our family’s greatest treasure.
6) I’m crazy about doll houses and miniatures. If I had loads of expendable cash I’d build a whole village of doll houses and spend all my free time there. If you’re ever in North Yorkshire, go see the collection of houses at Newby Hall: https://www.newbyhall.com/things-to-do/dollshouse-exhibition/
7) I love shitty pop music, dance music, and disco. There, I said it. I mean, I grew up in Athens, Georgia, where it’s a cultural expectation that we listen to everything! Except mainstream music! But I do love just about every kind of music, even the stuff that comes out of the commercial grinder. It’s controversial, but I feel the same way about a lot of books. And food.
8) A year or so ago, after many years of making fun of people for doing the same thing, I got myself a Mensa card because I was sick of being talked down to at work (and in life, let’s face it). I thought I’d keep for myself in my wallet, like the Scarecrow who just needed a diploma to feel smart, not an actual brain. But as it turns out, I love being part of an organization full of people who revel in being INTERESTED in things. It’s not a snobby organization at all! So I renewed my membership this year.
9) I’m an Army veteran. I mean, people who know me know this about me. But you can’t tell this about a woman just by looking at her, and most women don’t wear their veteran status on their sleeves. A friend even told me that her time in the Army feels like a dream to her. This way we keep our military service on the down low puzzles me about us, y’all. It’s a theme I want to explore in my writing and speaking.
10) And because of this I’ve felt rather alone in my writing about ordinary military women. I’m starting to lead some writing workshops for women in military communities and it’s been the greatest thing to connect with others. I haven’t heard an unworthy story yet! Stay tuned for much, much more, I hope! And if you’re out there feeling alone with your writing, please get in touch!
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Giveaway!
A randomly drawn winner will be awarded a $25 Amazon/BN gift card.
Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!
Official Tour Page for Playing Army
Full Tour Schedule:
June 4: Sandra’s Book Club
June 6: Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read
June 11: Literary Gold
June 13: Kenyan Poet
June 18: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
June 20: Westveil Publishing
June 25: Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books!
June 27: Celticlady’s Reviews
July 9: Gina Rae Mitchell
July 11: Author CA Milson
July 16: Fabulous and Brunette
July 18: The Faerie Review
July 23: Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – review
July 25: A Wonderful World of Words
July 30: Country Mamas With Kids
August 1: Hope. Dreams. Life… Love
August 6: Edgar’s Books
August 8: The Avid Reader
August 13: Christine Young
August 15: Teatime and Books
August 20: It’s Raining Books
August 22: Joanne Guidoccio
August 27: Let me tell you a story
August 29: Welcome to My World of Dreams
September 3: Dawn’s Reading Nook
September 5: Long and Short Reviews
September 10: Our Town Book Reviews
September 12: Hollies, Happiness, and Healing
September 17: Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin’
September 19: travel the ages
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Looks like a very interesting book.
Thank you, Sherry!
You’re right, Gina. You don’t see stories about women in the military very often. This sounds like a good story. I do like Uplit.
I was definitely writing a book I wanted to read, and the response to it has been great from other female veterans so far!
That’s awesome, Nancy.
This sounds really interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by today Marcy!
I liked the excerpt.
Thank you, Rita!
Thank you for hosting Playing Army today! I’m happy to answer any questions about it that your followers may have! best, Nancy
I’m happy to have you here today, Nancy!
Your website is really great! Lots of good stuff here!
Thanks! Come back anytime.
This looks like a thrilling read. Thanks for sharing
Thank you! If you end up reading it, I hope you’ll let me know what you thought about it! best, Nancy
Thank you so much for hosting today!