Very fine writing about a subject we all need to understand and respect and admire – the important role of women in the USMC. Highly recommended." Grady, Goodreads
Description:
Published: January 13th, 2018
Molly Monroe had her future planned out for her. When she makes an impulsive decision to join the Marine Corps, her boyfriend breaks up with her, her brother bears the burden of guilt, and her mother feels betrayed. The people in Molly’s life have always tried to protect her, but she wants to protect herself.
Molly Monroe had her future planned out for her. When she makes an impulsive decision to join the Marine Corps, her boyfriend breaks up with her, her brother bears the burden of guilt, and her mother feels betrayed. The people in Molly’s life have always tried to protect her, but she wants to protect herself.
As a Combat Camera Marine, Molly observes and records her environment from behind the lens, where image shapes day-to-day life. After she is wounded during a combat deployment, her dreams are frightening, and her memories are a kaleidoscope of scattered and chaotic scenes; a collision of past and present, real and unreal. Snapshots in time. Glimpses of war. Fragments of love: lost and found.
This story unfolds through multiple perspectives and as the negatives and positives develop, an image of the Model Marine is sharpened into focus.
GUEST POST
Gemini Writer
I am Gemini, therefore I think. And think. And think!
I spent more time thinking about the characters and
situations of Model Marinethan I did
writing about them. I analyzed every aspect of how I should write this book. I
initially tried it in first person point of view. In true Gemini fashion, I
changed my mind and switched the narrative to third person. I also began this
novel with only the protagonist’s point of view. However, I realized I needed
multiple perspectives to show how one’s viewpoint can influence perception of
reality. Often, even from multiple angles, we only see a fraction of the truth.
So I switched gears again and began writing from the point of view of all of my
characters, allowing their thoughts and assumptions to seep into the narrative.
I agonized over how
to tell this story. My main character would suffer from traumatic brain injury
and post-traumatic stress disorder, so how would I let the reader know how that
feels? By writing this story in fragments. There is a patchwork of memories and
dreams woven in with the forward moving storyline. What is memory and what is
dream? What really happened and what is imagined? These questions can be a challenge
for wounded warriors, and so also the readers of this story.
I thought about the message I wanted to give readers about
an organization that is special to me, but certainly isn’t perfect. I wanted to
reveal the oddity I felt as a woman constantly surrounded by some of the
biggest egos in America—men who thought the women they served with either
needed to be seduced, protected, or ejected (from “their” beloved Corps).I
thought about how to reveal these truths, and more, through my fiction. I
didn’t want to glamorize or demonize the Marine Corps. I wanted to create
characters and a setting that veterans would recognize and civilians would want
to understand.
I thought so much about this book that it took me ten years
to get from conception to publication. I began writing Model Marinewhile working on my Master of Fine Arts in Creative
Writing degree. I had other stories I wanted to tell, but this one mattered
most to me, so it was the one I cultivated throughout the program. But by the
time I finished my degree, I had moved on to other career pursuits. (Need I
mention yet again that I am Gemini?)
Model Marine
marinated for almost five years. I woke up one morning in
the spring of 2017 determined to finish this story and publish it. It became my
weekend obsession. I thought about the events of the story, stared at a
blinking cursor, and worried over whether I was getting it right—until I
finally knew I was ready to let it go.
Several of my readers have asked for a sequel, but my Gemini
self really wants to move on to the other stories in my head. Oh, the dilemma!
Feel free to make a recommendation: sondrasykesmeek@gmail.com.
About the author:
Sondra Sykes Meek is originally from Florida, but she has lived in several locations in the United States and abroad. She is a wife and mother of two, a retired Marine Corps Master Sergeant, and a Project Manager in the Defense Industry. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and has several stories in various stages of progress. She hopes to write full-time one day, but for now, she writes in the spare, quiet moments of her life.
Sondra wrote and published Model Marine: A Novel to reveal the courage and sacrifices of Marines and their families. She wanted to offer readers another kind of hero: someone who is not supernatural, immortal, or from the future. Although the events of this story are fiction, the setting and characters are influenced by her experiences as a Marine. The narrative is as authentic as it can be without excluding civilian readers. The protagonist is named after a Marine Corps icon, “Molly Marine.” This is especially relevant now, as 2018 marks 100 years since the first woman joined the United States Marine Corps.
Sondra hopes all readers enjoy this emotional journey of love, loss, and sacrifice. There are real heroes hidden within the pages of her debut novel. She invites you to meet them, love them, and remember them.
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