More Than a Soldier, based on a true story is Angelo DiMarco’s powerful story of survival,
resilience and courage.
Book Title: More Than a Soldier: One Army Ranger's Daring Escape From the Nazis
Author: D.M. Annechino
Category: Adult Fiction, 316 pages
Genre: Historical Biography, WWII
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release date: April 2017
Tour dates: April 24 to May 19, 2017
Content Rating: PG-13 (A few four-letter words and violence associated with war)
Book Description:
Feeling a patriotic duty to defend his country after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, seventeen year old, Angelo J. DiMarco, enlists in the U.S. Army. Severely short of frontline fighters, the Army rushes Angelo through Ranger training and sends him to Italy as part of the 1st Ranger Battalion. Their objective: stop the German invasion.
Fighting on the front lines in Italy, the German’s teach Angelo a sobering lesson on life when they capture him during the bloody battle of Cisterna. Against insurmountable odds, Angelo miraculously escapes in a way that stretches the imagination. He survives behind enemy lines for over five months, hiding from the Germans and trying to outmaneuver them. He begs for food, sleeps in barns and suffers from many ailments, including dehydration, malnutrition, malaria and exposure to the elements.
More Than a Soldier is Angelo DiMarco’s powerful story of survival, resilience and courage.
Buy the Book:
Praise for More Than a Soldier:
Annechino colorfully draws the actions scenes, and richly brings the supporting cast of characters to life. A moving tale of survival in war-torn Europe.
- Kirkus Reviews
Nuanced and eloquently written, More Than a Soldier adds to the body of WWII literature an extraordinary story of survival and a deeply affecting portrait of a soldier’s coming-of-age.
- The iRead Review
Meet the Author:
Daniel M. Annechino, a former book editor, wrote his first book, How to Buy the Most Car for the Least Money, while working as a General Manager in the automobile business. But his passion had always been fiction, particularly thrillers. He spent two years researching serial killers before finally penning his gripping and memorable debut novel They Never Die Quietly. He has written and published five novels—all thrillers. But his latest work, More Than a Soldier, is a Historical Biography set in Italy during WWII.
A native of New York, Annechino now lives in San Diego with his wife, Jennifer. He loves to cook, enjoys a glass of vintage wine, and spends lots of leisure time on the warm beaches of Southern California.
Connect with the Author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook
Guest post With D M Annechino
Believable Characters
The two primary goals of any novelist are to create multidimensional, true-to-life characters, and to evoke emotions in the reader. No matter how riveting the plot or lush the language, if a writer does not fulfill these two objectives, he or she has failed.
Stephen King—like him or hate him—is a master at creating fascinating characters. He can take an ordinary person, place him or her in an extraordinary circumstance, and bring to life a truly interesting character. If you think that King can only work his magic with horror, then you should read The Green Mile or Shawshank Redemption.
When it comes to stirring emotions, a reader cannot be fully invested in a story if he or she doesn’t feel something. If your readers are lukewarm on the characters or don’t feel churning in their gut as they turn pages, then the writer has not met his or her responsibilities.
The interesting thing about emotions is that negative ones—fear, anxiety, concern, dread, trepidation—engage a reader more than warm and fuzzy emotions. When a character is walking into a dark room and the reader feels it in their bones that something evil is lurking, it builds much more drama and suspense if the reader cares about the character’s welfare.
Villains, in particular, are difficult to create and make believable. The biggest pitfall for a writer is trying to create a villain that is totally evil, devoid of even one redeeming quality. Pure evil doesn’t exist. A truly gifted novelist can create an evil character that is so charismatic and alluring, that the reader struggles whether to hate him or love him.
Remember, when you’re “creating” characters, you’re competing with God. And that’s a mighty tall order.
BOOK SPOTLIGHT TOUR:
April 24 - Library of Clean Reads - book spotlight / giveaway
April 24 - Puddletown Reviews - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
April 25 - Working Mommy Journal - book spotlight / giveaway
April 26 - A Mama's Corner of the World - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
April 27 - Books, Dreams, Life - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
April 28 - 100 Pages A Day - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
April 28 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - book spotlight
May 1 - My Reading Journeys - book spotlight / giveaway
May 2 - Il Mio Tesoro - book spotlight / guest post
May 2 - Leels Loves Books - book spotlight
May 3 - fundinmental - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
May 4 - A Soccer Mom's Book Blog - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
May 4 - T's Stuff - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 4 - Writers and Authors - guest post
May 5 - Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine - book spotlight / guest post
May 7 - Writers and Authors - book spotlight / giveaway
May 8 - Cheryl's Book Nook - book spotlight / giveaway
May 8 - Deal Sharing Aunt - book spotlight / giveaway
May 9 - Kristin's Novel Cafe - book spotlight / author interview
May 10 - Nighttime Reading Center - book spotlight / giveaway
May 11 - Books for Books - book spotlight
May 12 - Celticlady's Reviews - book spotlight / giveaway
May 12 - Rockin' Book Reviews - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 15 - The Autistic Gamer - book spotlight
May 16 - Bound 2 Escape - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
May 17 - Blooming with Books - book spotlight / giveaway
May 18 - Lukten av Trykksverte - book spotlight / giveaway
May 19 - Essentially Italian - book spotlight / giveaway
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Thanks so much for Spotlighting More Than a Soldier. I appreciate your support.
ReplyDeleteD.M. Annechino
This sounds like a fascinating book. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! I enjoyed reading the guest post and learning more about this book. Looking forward to checking this book out!
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