Dog Tagged by James Brock
On October 11, 2019 by Jaye
Dog Tagged by James Brock
🍸🍸🍸1/2
Blurb
Drill Sergeant Clay Norris has his military life running right on schedule. Career focused he appreciates that he joined up when his sexuality is at least acknowledged under Don’t Ask, Don’t tell, even if he doesn’t get to act on his urges as much as he likes.
In formation with his new trainee group he locks eyes with Chevrolet Banks and his life, their lives, are changed forever.
Dog Tagged is an insta love military romance based on real life incidents.
Links
Amazon ebook:Â https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WFJ32JT
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dog-tagged-james-brock/1112322162?ean=2940163309085
Kobo:Â https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dog-tagged-1
iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/dog-tagged/id1476473628?mt=11&app=itunes
From The Author
When each of my older brothers came home from Air Force and Navy basic training they told us that some guys cried in their bunks at night because they were homesick.
I vowed if I ever went to basic that I would not cry.
Of course it never dawned on me that if I ever admitted my sexuality that it would be illegal for me (at that time) to join any branch of the military. I’ve known my whole life that my sexual attraction was to guys, never a question, shame or doubt about that.
I did not know at the time how lucky I was to be in a family who had no trouble at all with a glitter-showtune-doll loving kid. My G.I. Joe spent more time in rag-tag drag than in his boots and uniforms.
Eventually I did join the Army, shipping out to Fort Lee, New Jersey in the late summer of 1976.
In the two plus fall months I spent doing push ups and pull ups and squat thrusts I went from 199 pounds on entry to 149 at the end of training. I’m Tom Cruise height (ish) so, yeah. The training paid off, in a physical and mental way I went into the Army as a civilian and came out the other side as a soldier.
I’ve written several stories about the military themed books but Dog Tagged is the most personal. It does contain some events which happened to me while I was in the service, a time when I had to lie to join as it was still illegal to be gay or lesbian in the military at that time.
Dog Tagged is set in a more recent time, when under the ruling of Don’t ask, Don’t tell you could admit your sexuality, but could not admit that you acted on your orientation. Eventually the government realized that joining the Army was not the same as joining Match.com and ended the ban on sexual discrimination in the service branches of the military.
Young Drill Instructor Clay Norris has his career path set. He meets his physical needs off post and keeps his focus on climbing the ladder of rank.
His path is planned and set, until he locks eyes with trainee Chevrolet Banks.
The world of both men are changed in that moment as their soul connection happens.
Neither knowing the orientation of the other, and Clay being the direct supervisor to Chevy, means there is really nothing which can be done to further the yearning they each privately feel.
Until there is.
Dog Tagged, a love story between soldiers living under Don’t ask, Don’t tell and torn apart during a time of conflict, their hearts eventually overcoming all of the odds set up against them.
Review
Dog Tagged was an interesting book, both for its uniquely authentic voice (see above) and for its effect on me personally. Every author brings their own perspective to a book, and every reader experiences a work through their own lens as well.
For me, there were two lenses to deal with – like a pair of sunglasses worn over bifocals. We open with Drill Instructor Clay Norris doing Drill Instructor things, which involve a lot of shouting. I have a low tolerance for shouty men, especially shouty men in “authority.” (This would be why my father strongly discouraged me from enlisting, by the way. The word “Leavenworth” came up. Repeatedly.)
The other lens – the “sunglasses” in my example – was the lens my father passed down. He served in the Army, not by choice, and some of the experiences described in the book were a little too close to things I’d heard before. Bob is one example.
While the pure authenticity of Brock’s voice is why I had to look away a few times, I don’t want to make it seem like it was a bad thing. On the contrary, I have great respect for how he was able to bring his experiences into the story and make the reader live them. Bringing DADT into it was another choice that reads like an eerie, unwelcome ghost. I can remember when that policy was announced and being very confused by it. Watching it play out on the page was helpful for vaguely-adolescent me, and definitely helped to cement the story in time.
The beginning of the story – again, due to my own lenses – made it difficult to like Norris. The end still brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. There are some events that happen in the middle that made me scratch my head a little, I don’t want to spoil them for you. The ending helped me forget all of them.
I’d recommend Dog Tagged to anyone who likes military romances. I’d also recommend it to anyone considering a military vocation.
Author Bio
James Brock is an Amazon number one best selling author, with fifteen M/M romance novels published and two family autobiographies.
Once upon a time he sold comedy to Joan Rivers and Phyllis Diller, was published in every gay men’s magazine on the market (when there was a market, those dinosaurs were killed off by DVD, which were in turn eaten by streaming and on demand…), the Seattle Gay News and Seattle Standard and essays with the late great Alyson Publications.
James lives in Seattle.
Author Website: JamesBrockBooks.com
Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/Men-Overboard-100109810041126/
Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamesbrockbooks
Giveaway
James is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this cover reveal – enter via Rafflecopter:
Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d4790/?
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