IS IT REAL OR IS IT?

I have to admit I struggled a bit when I decided to write my next SEAL Brotherhood book, SEAL's Promise, with a home grown terrorist cell in it. This was before some of the more recent events that have catapulted SEALs into the forefront of the news. I had the book written, and then when word began to come out last Fall about terrorist sleeper cells in this country and others around the world--cells that might prey on our military men and women or their families, I hesitated.

I remember the day the Twin Towers came down in New York City. I would learn later that the Valedictorian of my California high school class was on the top floor, speaking at a charity luncheon fundraiser for women. My son was a film student at NYU, and he had left me a message approximately one hour before the attacks, telling me how rainy and stormy it had been the night before, but they'd had a successful party anyway, "Today it is a beautiful, blue, cloudless New York Day." Those words stuck in my throat as I watched the planes hit the towers over and over again all day. I was terrified until I found out he was safe.

Another member of my graduating class would die in a terrorist bombing in Algeria at the U.N. office there. His wife had set up a school for girls, risking her life to do so. He told me at our reunion that he carried, "A little bit of California with me," back to Algeria, his home. He had brought his entire family to the reunion in order to meet the students of the high school he attended as a foreign exchange student.

As the awful choking soot and smoke began to settle on 9-11, I knew in my heart that something new had begun. We were entering a time when non-military men and women in this country, innocents, would become casualties of this insane fanaticism sweeping across much of the world. When I visited the site, it was difficult when I realized that the tree branches hanging above my head with some kind of brown moss and metal crumpled fruit was the evidence of pantyhose and metal mini blinds from the offices that perished. Instead of just targeting the fighting man and woman, the civilian population was now going to be attacked. This was a new experience for us in the United States.

But as I got my edits back and and uploaded the book, I understood that stories are usually based on events that happen in real life, even though the romance and the characters are make believe. And so my story is set against the backdrop of the unfortunate reality that military men, women and their families might become targets. The love story occurs while the terror is unfolding.

I'm so happy that American Sniper is out and that it is a tremendous hit. It does tell the story about our brave Navy SEALs, the heroes I love to write about, and their precious families. The character of the men who will not quit was underscored in such a powerfully moving way for me.

Every new tragedy or event inspires me to continue to tell the stories of these guys, and why we should honor them, perhaps listen to their advice and warnings. The world is changing, whether we want it to be so or not. Thank goodness we have these guys, and all the other brave military men and women, who have our backs, and have that unrelenting calling to keep us all safe.

As I've said many times before, the way we can honor and pay them back is to enjoy what we have every day, to live our lives to the fullest, to enjoy every minute of our taste of freedom. Life is fragile, but it is also so very sweet.

Sharon Hamilton

Life is one fool thing after another.

Love is two fool things after each other.

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Sharon’s Newsletter

Where Were You on 9/11/2001?

Today I'd like us to honor those who died on 9/11. It's a devastating day of events that we'll never forget. Everyone has their own story about where they were, and how they remember that day. This blog will include photos I took on a visit to NY and the Towers site and a visit to New York, New York Casino in Las Vegas.

The first photo was taken before 9//11.


I was in CA, and got up early. My husband was on a business trip, but my son had to get up for work. I was planning to drive him. I watched TV, and saw the first tower in flames. My son joined me in front of the TV, and we watched in horror as the second tower was hit.

I got a frantic call from my mother in FL. She wondered if my brother-in-law was working in the Towers that day (his building was one of the surrounding ones). My mother couldn't reach my sister or brother in NY. But, I was able to get my sister. She didn't know where her husband was. I relayed messages back and forth from NY to FL.

For eight hours, there was no word about my brother-in-law. Finally, he was able to call my sister. He'd been in his building, filmed some of what happened (works in photography), and walked along one of the bridges to catch a train ride home. When he arrived at the station, my sister said he was in shock and didn't realize that he was covered in dust. He's seen terrible things...dead people, people jumping from the towers, the collapse of the Towers.

One thing he mentioned is the ferries that took people from that area to NJ. Barriers were torn down to allow more ferries. People were anxious but civil. He took footage of this, and let me view his films/photos. By the ferries, you can hear people saying, "Women and children first" and I could see women being rushed to the front and kids being lifted to the bow of the ferry. Strollers were taken and passed along to the front, too.

My brother watched with the same sadness we all felt. He'd worked on the building of the Towers for a summer job while in college. As a teacher on Long Island, he knew children who lost parents that day.


It was my daughter's 26th birthday, and I called her at work as soon as I saw what had happened. She hadn't heard about the towers. And for years, she didn't celebrate her birthday on 9/11.

My husband ended up being stranded without plane travel existing. He and others thought about renting/buying a car and driving from KS to CA, but decided to stay put. They were needed at Sprint. Sprint had a hell of a time trying to keep up with phone lines/connections working throughout their system in the NY area. He returned home when flights were allowed to take off days later. He mentioned how strange his first flight was, with extra scrutiny of passengers...and one man being taken off the plane. My husband went through long passenger approval steps...and this is a man who had top security clearance when he worked at the White House for 7 years.

How eerie it was, looking up at the sky and not being able to see or hear planes. Some military jets flew above my area, and some helicopters, but nothing else.

I remember walking outside and seeing some neighbors all with the same look of shock on their faces. I told them (at that time) that we didn't know if my brother-in-law had been inside the Towers, something he did on a fairly routine basis. One neighbor had her own story of a relative who worked occasionally in the Towers. Luckily, both our family members were spared.

The horror that day of the Towers collapsing, the Pentagon being hit, and the plane crash in PA, will long live in our memories. It changed us. It humbled us. We were vulnerable, right here "at home". Definitely an eye-opener for all of us.

I visited the Towers site a few years later. My brother-in-law came with me, and told his story as we walked around the area. All but the first photo and the last two were taken at that time.

The last photos were taken in Nov. 2001 at the New York, New York Casino in Las Vegas. Along the fence, people placed flags, tee shirts and hats as a makeshift memorial. And, no one spoke aloud along the whole distance of sidewalk fence line...only whispers could be heard.

I flew a week after 9/11 to visit family. People stared at each other in the eerily quiet terminal. I got through my security check, and watched in a sad, humorous way as celebrity "Hulk Hogan" was randomly chosen to go through an extra security check in front of everyone. No one would be exempt from going through extra security measures.

I've told my story. Would you like to share yours?