Writing Older SEALs: Silver SEALs, the Bone Frog Brotherhood

Hi there! This is Sharon Hamilton.

Many of you know that I have a son who was a Navy SEAL for ten years, and a lot of my inspiration in writing SEAL stories came from the process I watched him go through. He left our home a boy and the Navy returned him a man.

I've wondered where he got the character it takes to become one of the country's elite warriors, since in his class at BUD/S they started with 192 and wound up graduating only 12 originals. His comment to me was, "I just wouldn't ring that freakin' bell."

Not knowing how things would go, I decided to write a SEAL Romance in 2011, and published it in 2012. Now, some 23 books later, it has become a brand that I enjoy. But change works on all of us. I saw him once as a single man with dedication, and now he has grown to a married father of 3. He is no longer as young as he was, and after numerous jumps and mishaps they all go through, decided it was time to take on another role, that of father and husband.

Not all the men who are in the SEAL Brotherhood make that decision. And, there are some that continue to serve, well into their 30's and 40's. But the numbers dwindle the older they get. Afterall, there are only so many jumps at midnight a body can take. Even the best-trained athletes have accidents.

So I've decided to include in my staple of books the older SEALs, the ones who come back to the Brotherhood after years out, or who consider stopping, or who consider what it takes to continue on. I also wanted to explore some of my secondary characters that are now older too. So, voila! I'm doing the Bone Frog Brotherhood, the guys who are not froglettes, or tadpoles, but are very experienced, often just as strong, but the guys everyone holds their breath for when they do things -- much like we watch an older quarterback and wonder, "Does he have one more season in him?"

My new release, today, SEAL My Love, is about an older SEAL who attaches to my SEAL Team 3 (Kyle's team), from the east coast, after a painful divorce. He joins the boys on a holiday first, and meets the older sister of one of my SEAL wives, Gretchen. Gretchen had an appearance in SEAL of My Heart when her younger sister fell in love with a young SEAL on a plane from San Francisco to Portland. So, this is Gretchen and Trace's story. Finding love the second time around, and having it be just as good, even better than the young love. Hope you enjoy my new release, and the new venture, writing Silver SEALs and Bone Frogs. Oh yes, there will be still the regular Brotherhood guys too, but this was important to add to the brand.

Bone Frog Novella #1