James A. Brandt, Army Veteran and Author, on How Service Shaped His Writing

James A. Brandt, an author and retired soldier who works as the Coffee County Veterans Service Officer in New Brockton, Alabama, is sharing how his military career shaped his writing. He served in the United States Army from August 1989 to December 2011 and has since published nine books. His titles are available on Amazon, and his books and blog are at jamesabrandt.com.

Brandt enlisted as a Fire Support Specialist (Forward Observer) after graduating from Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, and trained at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. His first combat mission took him to Panama during Operation Just Cause. The years that followed included three assignments at Fort Lewis, Washington, two tours in Korea, postings at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and Fort Irwin, California, and two combat deployments to Iraq. After retiring in 2011 he served as a liaison between the Center for Army Lessons Learned and the Stryker Brigades, then as a Special Task Force Instructor for the Marine Corps in Okinawa, Japan. He discovered his interest in writing while earning his degrees: an Associate's Degree in Humanities, a Bachelor's degree in Business Management and a Master's degree in Business Administration.

That background runs through his books. Odds, Ends, and Other Adventures: A Collection of Random Short Stories gathers twenty-five short stories covering love, loss, forgiveness, family, faith and military service, and is a Booky Award winner. Charlotte's Journey Home, a Literary Titan Gold Award winner, follows a four-year-old girl sent to the English countryside after the bombing of London in 1940. How to A.C.T.: A Guide to Salvation through Jesus Christ, also a Literary Titan Gold Award winner, is built around the acronym Accept, Confess, and Testify/Teach. In the preface, Brandt explains that the book grew out of a short message he delivered after being unexpectedly invited to preach in Okinawa, Japan. He also posts short fiction on his blog, including the story When the Soldier Kneels.

Brandt's books can be bought on Amazon. Readers can see all nine titles and his blog posts at jamesabrandt.com, and the site has a contact form for author talks and events.

About James A. Brandt

James A. Brandt is an author of short stories, historical fiction and Christian guides, with nine published books including Odds, Ends, and Other Adventures: A Collection of Random Short Stories, Charlotte's Journey Home, and How to A.C.T.: A Guide to Salvation through Jesus Christ. He served in the United States Army from August 1989 to December 2011, with service in Panama, Korea, Iraq and Okinawa, Japan. He holds an Associate's Degree in Humanities, a Bachelor's degree in Business Management and a Master's degree in Business Administration, and works as the Coffee County Veterans Service Officer in New Brockton, Alabama. His books and blog are available at jamesabrandt.com.