Book Nook: Hover

Disclosure: I received complimentary products to facilitate this post. All opinions are my own.

Forge Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, recently released new hardcover and e-Book title, Hover, by Anne A. Wilson, one of the first women to serve as a female Navy helicopter pilot. Hover is a high-energy story with action and adventure, but also romance and friendship.

Lt. Sara Denning wants to blend in and be competent in a man's world. Unfortunately, to do so, she has to bury her true self in defenses so deep, until Sara is chosen for a SEAL operation that creates conflict with the only other woman on the ship, her boss, and other pilots. 

I had a chance to interview the author to learn more.

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What was the inspiration behind the book Hover?

            Quite a bit of the story is based on my personal experience as a navy helicopter pilot. I write love stories, so I thought, why not use a U. S. Navy battle group as a setting? And once I got rolling, I added a thriller element with the addition of a highly classified Navy SEAL mission. Ultimately, though, Hover is the story of a woman’s growth. My main protagonist, Sara Denning, has shut off a good bit of her feminine side to make it in a male-dominated world. Like my protagonist, I served aboard a ship, where I was one of two women in a crew of five hundred. So I used the journals I kept at sea to fuel the narrative for HOVER, which takes you on a journey with Sara as she finds her true self.  

What sets this book apart from other fiction books?

            Hover cuts cross-genre, like many books do, but it’s a unique mix—women’s fiction meets military thriller. It’s also authentic. Some scenes are pulled straight from my journals, so you get a behind-the-scenes look into a world—a U. S. Navy battle group—that most don’t get to see. As a bonus, you get a strong, yet relatable, heroine, who’s not only figuring out how to make it in a man’s world, but she’s falling in love at the same time, and all while engaged in a high risk, high stakes military action plot. In other words, something for everyone!

What do you love most about writing?

            Escape. That’s what it’s all about for me. I get to create the world I want to “live in” for the many months it takes to write and edit. I also get to be in charge of the story’s ending, which, for me, is a happily-ever-after. I think we can all use breaks from the day-to-day, so it’s a pleasure to be able to give my readers a story of love and hope, and let them escape with me to a place where it all works out in the end. 

ANNE A. WILSON was one of the first women to serve as a female Navy helicopter pilot, graduating with the 10th class that admitted women at the United States Naval Academy. She served nine years active duty as a navy helicopter pilot, which included serving in the Persian Gulf. Wilson and her crew were named Helicopter Aircrew of the Year in 1997 by the Naval Helicopter Association for the rescue of 13 people in a flood that affected Reno, Yosemite, and surrounding areas. She has also received three Navy Commendation Medals, two Navy Achievement Medals, and many other awards. HOVER is her debut novel.

ABOUT FORGE BOOKS:

Forge Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is a New York-based publisher of hardcover and softcover books, founded in 1993 and committed (although not limited) to thrillers, mysteries, historical fiction and general fiction. Forge includes books by bestselling and critically acclaimed authors such as Douglas Preston, Eric Lustbader, W. Bruce Cameron and Ralph Peters. Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is also the home of award-winning Tor Books, which annually publishes what is arguably the largest and most diverse line of science fiction and fantasy ever produced by a single English-language publisher.