No Pistol Tastes the Same
A PTSD Novel
PTSD Disaster Book Series
Book One
by Jacob Paul Patchen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Suspense (Military
/ PTSD)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
JP’s pistol tastes like bourbon.
Sergeant
JP Grimm didn’t pull the trigger. Now his Marine brothers are dead. All victims
of a child in a suicide vest…a child that resembled Sgt. Grimm’s very own. But
how are you supposed to take a child’s life? How can you kill someone that
looks just like your own son?
Those
same hazel eyes he saw in his scope continue to haunt him long after he left
the desert death lands as he tries to reconnect with his son, Adin. JP battles
another war at home against PTSD and the worthless, dejected thoughts that he
is the reason his friends are dead. His wife, Lisa, struggles to let her
stubborn husband work it out on his own terms. She does all she can to give him
space, support, and strength—but her love can only go so far.
As
the world shows signs of impending doom from a weakening magnetic field and
flaring sun, JP, too, shows signs of his own impending doom. After pushing
everyone away, JP must face his nightmares to restore his relationship with his
son, save his marriage, and save himself before the modern world burns out in a
fiery, electromagnetic disaster.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
It
was obvious in that
still
jerk-tight
grip,
and
that
still
wide-eyed
yank hard left
of
that fresh sweat and ArmorAll
sticky
steering wheel
that
time
that
I rattled my shining jeep
through
a cold,
shallow
mud
and
dead leaf ditch
still
still
still
searching back-road garbage for wires
and
IEDs
in
the third week back home
from
those shit and death streets.
It’s
right there in that
take-cover
jolt
and
ready-to-swing clenching
of
a rough shovel handle
at
the crack
of
each tailgate Boom
from
dad’s old dirt-and-rust dump truck.
Or,
on that whiff of black cloud exhaust
from
a tired diesel engine
fast
rolling those screeching tracks
and
I’d be back
to
up-gunning
that
machine gun
again;
dark
bandana over my breath
on
a squinting, peppered face,
scanning
for the dead
in
the sand and sulfur
of
a death land.
And
it’s there just as obvious,
in
my cousin’s shock-and-awe face
while
hunting for deer,
when
I dropped
to
a raised-gun knee
instincts
aiming in
behind
the cover of a fallen tree
as
a camouflaged hunter’s nearby shot
rallied
up from the gully.
The
Welcome Home party was great—a little overwhelming, but great. Everyone
gathered at the farm on a hot October afternoon. Everyone was there: family,
old high school buddies, and all the small-town friends that showed up when
they knew someone who knew someone. Even Mayor Todd graced them with his
presence.
Lisa
had been glued to his side all day, squeezing his hand to see if he wanted to
escape whenever the questions dug too deep. But he stayed there, as sturdy as
he could muster, trying not to let anyone see the bloody movie reel flashing in
his eyes each time they asked, “What’s it like over there?” She was his rock,
rubbing the tension from his neck when he was forced to listen to his buddy,
Ben, complain about how exhausted he was from working another fifty-hour week
out on the road. Lisa quelled the anger that swirled inside of him when Chris
had changed the discussion from his impending divorce to his belligerent
opinion that this war was just another pointless war on a long list of
pointless wars in the Middle East. She was there to lead him away and back to
the table of strawberry pies when he told Mayor Todd to “kiss his ass” after he
suggested all returning vets should get a mental evaluation.
And
when Adin slammed the barn door, and JP lit into him like Hellfire, she saw the
damage inside of him. It was only her calm words, gentle embrace, and tender
kisses that brought him back down from boiling after his reaming of their
confused little boy. Stress, she thought, from over-stimulation, the noise, the
people, the excitement. Even as she caressed the back of his neck and stared
into his, I’m so sorry eyes, she was steady, firm, and a sturdy place for him
to fall.
He
was sorry. She knew that. But as bright as the sun shined down on their family
and friends, something rigid, something sharp, something dangerous lurked where
the soft folds of JP’s laughter used to be. Something quite different from the
husband and father she used to know. Something that kept a discerning distance
from the excited little boy who tugged on his daddy’s arm when he refused to go
hunt snakes with him in the barn. Surely, she thought, it was just JP’s way of
adjusting to the months, space, and tragedies that came between them while he
was away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Jacob Paul Patchen is an award-winning author
and poet of inciting fiction and provocative poetry.
Jacob
earns his inspiration through experience and believes every book has a purpose.
He writes powerful, emotional, and thrilling stories about mental health, war,
social stigmas, and other taboo subjects in order to bring awareness, change,
and hope to those who need it.
Raised
in Southeast Ohio, he’s a sucker for fast workouts, long laughter, and power
naps. Snacks are his love language, and he thinks he’s a Pisces. Check him out
and join his newsletter at Jacobpaulpatchen.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
https://amzn.to/3kTPDNY
Amazon US Paperback:
https://amzn.to/3w84meZ
Amazon CA Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B09YMT14ZW
Amazon CA Paperback:
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Book Depository Paperback:
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Bookshop Paperback:
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Jacob will be
awarding a Signed Copy of the featured book, “No Pistol Tastes the Same,” to a
randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the book tour. Please note that although this giveaway is
open to US and INTL residents the prize item does vary based on winner’s location.
If the winner selected is a US Prize
Winner they will receive a Print Copy of the book. If the winner selected is an INTL Prize
Winner they will receive a digital eBook Copy of the same featured book. There will be only ONE winner selected
regardless of their place of residence.
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