Well, the Frasier Winners have been announced. The hard work of the judges has decided the winners, and today we will take a look at the novel of another of our esteemed judges… Ronie Kendig and her book Trinity
Q: Ronie can you tell us a little bit about your story?
A year ago in Afghanistan, Green Beret Heath Daniel’s career was destroyed. Along with his faith.
Now he and his military war dog, Trinity, train other dogs and their handlers. Though his passion is to be back in action, the medical discharge has forced Heath—and Trinity—to the sidelines.
Military intelligence officer Darci Kintz is captured while secretly tracking the Taliban. Only one dog can handle the extreme conditions to save her. Trinity. Only one man can handle Trinity.
Time is running out on the greatest—and most dangerous—mission of their lives.
Q: What is your favorite scene.
The opening scene quickly became my favorite because it established so much about the character, one of which is Trinity, a Belgian Malinois and military working dog. The connection, the devotion, the loyalty had to come screaming through so the rest of the story would be well-grounded.
Q: Would you like you like to share a story excerpt with the MBT community?
ody rigid, ears trained on the sound coming from the dilapidated structure, she waited. Breaths came in staccato pants, the heat of a brutal Afghan summer beating down on her. While the Kevlar vest provided protection, it also created a thermal blanket that amplified the heat.
She panted again and strained with resolute focus on the building. This wasn’t her first tour of duty. It wasn’t even her second. She’d completed three tours and outranked the Green Berets huddled behind her on the dusty road. Trinity lowered herself to the ground, waiting.
When she took her next breath, drool plopped onto the gritty sand.
“Easy, girl.” Staff Sergeant Heath “Ghost” Daniels knelt beside his Special Forces-trained military war dog, his M4 aimed at the building where three men had disappeared. This so-called security mission for the sweep team in prep for an HPT convoy had taken a turn toward
interesting. So much for intel that said the area was clean.
“Ghost, what’s she got?”
At the sound of team leader Dean “Watterboy” Watters’s voice, Heath assessed his sixty-pound Belgian Malinois again. “Nothing,” he called to the side, noting Trinity’s stance and keen focus.
With the sun at high noon, they would blister out here if they didn’t get this road cleared before the general’s pack came through at thirteen hundred.
Trinity came up off her hindquarters, muscles rippling beneath her dark, silky coat.
Heath’s pulse kicked up a notch as his gaze darted over the nearly monochrome terrain. What had she detected? Sometimes he wished he had the sharp hearing inherent in dogs.
Having taken cover behind a half-blown wall, Heath peered around the peeling plaster and stared down the sights of his weapon. He let the crosshairs of the reticle trace the structure in which the rebels had taken refuge, but he didn’t see anything. No trace of the men who’d scurried away from the sweep team. Men who’d raised the hackles of every member of
the team, including Trin.
Snapping and barking, Trinity lunged. For a split second, her paws rose off the ground as she bolted forward. A plume of dust concealed her movement.
In a bound-and-cover movement, Heath and Watterboy hurried after her, making sure they didn’t expose themselves to gunfire or RPGs.
As they came up on the house, Heath flattened himself against the sun-heated
wall.
A scream hurtled through the now-dusty day.
***
Christy Award-winning author Ronie Kendig grew up an Army brat, married a veteran, and they now have four children, a Golden Retriever, and a Maltese Menace. She has a degree in Psychology, speaks to various groups, volunteers with the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and mentors new writers. Ronie can be found at www.roniekendig.com