Cia's Stories: Author Interview Featuring P.O.W. by Max Vos

Today I'm welcoming Max Vos with his re-release "P.O.W." for his blog tour. He answers a few questions for me and shares an excerpt with us, and don't forget to enter his contest for your chance to win a gift card and a copy of P.O.W. or some great backlist books!

INTERVIEW

If you could tell readers one thing about P.O.W., what would it be?

It is hard, gritty, dark and not for the faint of heart. It is full of love. It is a book of reality that we can’t and don’t want to understand.

P.O.W. has darker themes than a lot of your other books. Did you plan to include those themes or did the darker aspects develop as you wrote the story?

No, this started off dark. I knew it would be. I also knew that it would be controversial, but then I don’t shy away from that either.

What about the three-way relationship between Benny, Stone, and Abbas? Among other themes, this does have the straight-to-gay element. Did Stone always have that twist in his sexuality, or did it develop as you wrote the relationship throughout the story?

I knew that the straight to gay to straight was going to be a theme. It was just the nature of Benny’s and Sam’s relationship. Benoit was never going to be Sam’s happy ever after. I think both characters knew that, but they did come to an understanding and that is what got them through a lot.

You’ve reworked this story for re-release. Did you make large changes to the plot or focus more on tightening and enhancing the original storyline?

No, the story was pretty tight as it was. I did add a few things here and there but only for clarification.

Do you have any other upcoming releases or projects you’d like to share?

I’m constantly working on something. I currently have four books going. If one slows or I get stuck, I will jump over to another story. I have one that I’ve been trying to finish for two years. I hope to have it released this spring. Of course, it is something completely different. Never expect the same thing from me twice in a row!

BLURB:

2^nd release

After being taken prisoner by a Taliban Warlord, can Sam Stone hold on long enough to get his best friend back to his family and find love in the arms of Abbas, the handsome, blue-eyed Arab?
Sam has secretly been in love with is best friend and fellow Marine, Benoit, for quite some time and would not hesitate to die for him.
The macho Marine, Benoit, is shaken to his very core when he and his best friend are taken prisoners and made to do things that he would never have done, especially with Sam, who he knew had feelings for him.
Abbas tries everything to gain his families freedom when an unexpected man comes into his life that he starts having deep feelings for almost immediately.
Sam Stone has been secretly in love with his best friend and fellow Marine, Benoit, for a long time. It’s only after they were captured by a Taliban Warlord that he realizes that he would readily give his life to get Benoit back to his family. But it is Abbas, the Westernized Arab who steals his heart and helps Sam and Benoit regain their freedom. Now Sam has to learn to find true love and help heal not only himself, but the two men he loves deeply.

Warning: This book contains material that may be offensive to some: graphic language, military
situations, P.O.W scenes, adult situations and other situations only meant for an adult audience.

EXCERPT:

“Mayday, Mayday, Black Hammer is hit; I repeat: Mayday, Black Hammer is hit. We’re going down.” Bucky’s voice may have seemed calm to an outsider, but those who knew him understood he was anything but calm. “Mayday, Mayday. Black Hammer’s current location: thirty-three Lat by seventy Long. Repeat. Mayday, Mayday.” Bucky choked out as the cabin of the helicopter quickly filled with smoke.

Samuel J. Stone looked at the other five members of his team. “Fuck,” he mumbled, wondering if perhaps they weren’t going to make it out of this one. He yelled at his best friend Benoit. “After all the fucked-up shit we’ve been through, I’m not gonna fucking die splattered on the side of some mountain in this hellhole.”

“Vasquez, get that damn door open,” Stone yelled across the cabin to the other Marine.

“Gettin’ it, Stone,” Vasquez answered his lieutenant.

Stone opened the opposite door, letting some of the thick smoke billow out of the burning helicopter. He and his fellow Marine, Benoit, looked out the open door. They could tell they were going down fast.

“We’re still too high to jump,” Stone yelled at the others trapped in the flaming bird.

“If there was anywhere to fucking jump to,” Benoit yelled back.

Even with both side doors open, the cold winter wind whipping through the cabin, the acrid black smoke continued to surge in, making their eyes burn, their chests constrict with the lack of breathable air. There was a bitter taste in Stone’s mouth from inhaling the foulness of burning rubber and jet fuel.

Using hand signals to keep from yelling to be heard, Stone motioned for Vasquez and the two others to use the door they had just opened to escape through, while he and Benoit and the new kid, Saundersen, would use the one opposite.

The high-pitched scream of the rotor motor was loud enough to pierce the ear-protection headphones, making it nearly impossible to speak. Each man could barely hear Bucky still calling out a Mayday over the radio, through the headsets.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MZ64B0L

iBooks - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/p.-o.-w./id1191599631?mt=11

Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/693806

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?Query=P.%20O.%20W.%20(Max%20Vos)&ac=1&acp=Max%20Vos&ac.title=P.%20O.%20W.&ac.author=Max%20Vos

Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/powmaxvos/1117192098?ean=2940153941387

BIO:

Max Vos is a classically trained chef with over 30 years of food service experience. After retiring in 2011, Max found himself with time on his hands and was urged to turn his talents to writing. ‘Cooking English’, a short story, now part of his anthology collection, Inappropriate Roads, is now available. My Hero was his first novel, which turned into an international best seller. Max now has a total of six completed novels, which are listed on his website, along with the entire Memories Series. My Hero: The Olympian, the sequel to My Hero was released late last year.

LINKS:

http://www.maxvos.com/

http://max-vos.tumblr.com/

http://max-vos.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/Max_Vos_Author

https://www.instagram.com/max.vos_author/

CONTEST

Grand prize: $20 Dollar Amazon GC and a Ecopy of P.O.W. by Max Vos

Second prize: The Complete Memories Series ( 5 ebooks) by Max Vos

Third prize: Two Backlist Titles by Max Vos

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Books by Max Vos

My Hero