Excerpt Extravaganza! Today's Excerpt Is From "28 Months of Heaven and Hell"

Welcome to the JLB Creatives Blog, where an eclectic team of creative geniuses share their fantastical imaginations. 

On Mondays we are featuring an excerpt from one of our creative authors. And what makes this feature so fun is that we publish a wide range of genres. You'll never know what to expect for the excerpt.

To read all of our excerpts thus far, we invite you to visit our blog archives and look for our first Excerpt Extravaganza! that began on August 1, 2016.

Enjoy!

All previous excerpts are available in our archives. We began this Monday series on August 1, 2016. 

Today's excerpt is from 5 star, historical fiction author, J.D. Karns. He wrote this, his first novel, at age 82, and we were honored to publish it. 28 Months of Heaven and Hell is based on the journal of a WWII navy veteran who sailed on the DE-416 Melvin R. Nawman. 

The skipper soon realized that out-sailing this beast was not a possibility. He shouted order after order. Men went scrambling from bow to stern as Chester and the crew began making preparations for the approaching fierce storm. The other ships near the Nawman began to break their patterns and sail their own ways to avoid collisions with the other ships in the group. In minutes the sea had taken on a haunting appearance, and Chester believed it had become angry with the ships and was beginning to take out its personal vengeance on the helpless vessels and their crews. 

Chester finished his on-deck duties in the drenching rain and salty spray and slid down the ladder to the berth quarters. A wave caught the ship, and it listed more drastically than when he had been on deck. The sound of the wind let Chester know it had begun to barrel over the water with more force. He found it harder than usual to make his way through the small doorways but eventually reached his chair. 

The roar of the engine and the noise of the creaking ship drilled their way into the depths of Chester’s ears. 

Randall came rushing by and saw Chester in trouble. “Strap in! Strap in!” 

“I’m trying, but the ship’s rolling so bad I can’t seem to hang on long enough to get it fastened!” 

The ship listed to port. Randall rushed to the lower side of the chair and pushed up on Chester, giving the straps enough slack for him to fasten the buckles. 

“Thanks, buddy!” Chester pulled on the straps to tighten them to the point where it was difficult for him to take a deep breath. 

Randall headed toward the door. He shouted before he ducked out, “Now you hang on Chester, and I’ll see you on the other side of this storm. She’s a doozy!”

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To discover more about this 82 year old author, or to get your copy of "28 Months of Heaven and Hell" visit JLB Creatives Publishing's author J.D. Karns

Featured Author J.D. Karns

Time and distance were no threat to tearing this family apart...in fact it brought them closer than they'd ever been. 

Life can have a way of separating families at times to the point of losing contact with one another. Charles Young and his oldest brother, Carl, had parted ways many years ago and had lost contact. Not because of feud or by choice, but simply because of life taking these brothers in different directions. 

In that time span of separation many things can occur. Marriages, divorces, deaths, jobs, births, grand kids, great grand kids...even great great grand kids can come on the scene unknowingly to the family members who are scattered abroad.

It is a treasured opportunity in life when a family has the chance to reconnect...and every family's story of reconnecting is different in some way. The Young family owes its story of reconnecting to the gumption of a WWII navy veteran. At age 88, this veteran connected and reconnected his entire family in a unique way he had never expected.

When it comes to historical events, WWII is one of the most recognized with its soldiers highly respected. If it weren't for authors like J. D. Karns who help keep history alive through their unique stories, many of us today would not have the rare opportunity to discover the realness of such an event. 

J. D. Karns (aka Charles Young) 83 year old author of "28 Months of Heaven and Hell," believes it's never too late to start something new in life. His first novel was published by JLB Creatives Publishing when he was 82 years old. We found his manuscript to be far more than a documentary of WWII. The passion, emotion, and real life happenings he portrayed in words left us no choice but to publish his story. As a surprise for the brothers, we decided to release the novel on September 14, 2014, Carl's 89th birthday.

When the oldest brother, WWII navy veteran Carl Lee Young, came home from the war his younger brother, navy veteran Charles, asked him to tell him all about it. Carl said, "Someday little brother, someday." Someday came 68 years later when Charles began receiving emails from his older brother. The emails were journal entries that Carl had kept while sailing on the DE-416 Melvin R. Nawman. 

Carl Young's actual journal from the war, and novel side by side

Charles had not seen any drawings until he held the actual journal

Since publication of "28 Months of Heaven and Hell," thanks to his nephew, Carl's oldest boy, Charles has had the rare opportunity to actually hold his older brother's actual journal in his hands. Carl's son made a special trip to Florida to visit his uncle Charles and allow him the humbling opportunity to hold and read the actual journal.

In the novel you'll find Carl is "Chester" and Charles is "Jeb." Charles was able to recall some of the happenings that took place back home while Carl was away which added even more realism to the story.

In May of 2105 Charles had the opportunity to display the novel during the Veteran's Appreciate Day at Long & Scott's Farm in Mount Dora, Florida. During the event Charles received a private ceremony of appreciation...there wasn't a dry eye in sight.   

You'll want to be sure and grab a copy of this amazing story told from not only the perspective from the war, but also how the family dealt with the situation back home. Visit JLBCreatives.com and look for author J.D. Karns or visit the JLBCreatives.com book shoppe.