The Girls Come Marching Home

Hi everyone!

This past weekend was AWESOME. Kicked off The Girls Come Marching Home book tour at the Barnes & Noble in Jacksonville. Marine Captain Bessie Bernstein, a recruiter, drove in from Raleigh. She is pictured in the book. Marine Captain Angela Nelson, whose photo also appears in the book, drove in from Quantico. We went out to eat Friday night at Nikki's in downtown Wilmington. On Saturday we signed books in Jacksonville. That afternoon, the two captains went their way and Rosie Noel, retired Marine gunnery sergeant, and I went to Yolanda Mayo's wetting down. Yolanda is featured in Band of Sisters and was recently promoted to sergeant major. ooh rah! congrats Yolanda!

At the wetting down, I met Kellie Noble, a former Marine sergeant who served two tours in Iraq. I invited her to the book signing at the Barnes & Noble in Wilmington the next day. Later Rosie talked to Kellie and discovered that she was Kellie's DI at Parris Island. Small, small world.

Sunday morning, Rosie drove down to Wilmington and met me and the captains for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Rosie gave them each Band of Sisters t-shirts, and cookies she had made that morning. Always the gunny--always taking care of everyone. (In fact, as I'm writing this I'm eating a bag of m&ms that she gave me.) After breakfast, the captains headed back to Raleigh and Quantico.

That afternoon we had a signing at B&N in Wilmington. Not only did Kellie show up, but she brought her roommate, Sam Fletcher. It was cool. The young ladies joined me and Rosie on the panel and we had an engaging conversation with the audience. Thank you Kellie and Sam for speaking up. I know you said it helped you to speak but it also helped the public learn more about the challenges and needs of our female warriors.

The audiences were decent sizes but I was disappointed that they weren't even larger. I don't think enough people can hear these stories. I had four Marines (Jude Eden, a former Marine sergeant who served in Fallujah also joined us at B&N in Wilmington) with me. What a treat. I want the world to hear their voices--their pain and their pride. If I don't reach the masses, I will feel like I have failed our female service members. Please help me get their stories out to the public, businesses, colleges and universities, and military installations.

... every woman needs a band of sisters ...

Book Tour Returns Home for Kickoff

This story ran today, June 26, in the Jacksonville Daily News. It's hard to believe the kickoff is only a few days away. I've been waiting a long, long time for this day.

JDNews_Book_Tour_Kickoff

Marine's Grit Shows War is Women's Work

Check out the story in the Detroit News today, June 23, 2007, of Marine Gunnery Sergeant Rosie Noel. She is also featured in Band of Sisters.

Detroit_News_Rosie_Noel

Also, Jim Agnew, who has been booking and producing talk radio shows since 1992, chose Band of Sisters as one of its Daily Book Picks for June 22. 2007. http://www.jimagnew.net/daily_picks.htm

Troop Talk

This past Friday night, June 15, three female Marines and I were on a a radio talk show in Wilmington, North Carolina. The show--a Troop Talk episode of The People's Forum on The Big Talker (93.7/106.3)--was hosted by Justin Meccia.

Capt. Kelly Frushour, Lt. Jessica Szczygiel, and Gunnery Sgt. Rosie Noel joined me for the two-hour show. A special thank you to Justin for allowing us to tell the stories of women in combat in Iraq. One of my favorite callers was a female Marine named Col. Hayes, who has served since 1979. She told the female Marines on the show that they were a true inspiration and that she appreciated their dedication to our country. Other callers supported her sentiment.

Things I didn't know until that evening--Gunnery Sgt. Noel had pink boxing gloves in Iraq. Capt. Frushour had more than 19 proposals of marriage despite not having showered for several months. And Lt. Szczygiel doesn't like random people touching her blonde hair.

Next stop--Wed., June 27, between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m., Carolina in the Morning--WECT-TV with First Sgt. Yolanda Mayo

BookExpo America in NY

Hey everyone,

As the book tour gets underway, I want to keep you informed of some of the highlights. Based on my weekend in NY, I think there are going to be many. I will try to keep these blogs short and sweet.

On Sunday, June 3, I met my publisher (Stackpole Books) in NY to launch Band of Sisters: American Women at War in Iraq. Stackpole had a booth at the book expo. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Rosie Noel (avionics technician at New River Air Station) traveled with me from Jacksonville, NC, to NY. We met two other Marines (Capt. Amy McGrath, an F-18 aviator, and Sgt. Chrissy DeCaprio, an MP) at BEA.



Our book signing was scheduled for 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. Sunday morning. None of us had any idea what to expect. We hoped for the best. By 9:30, a line had already formed. The Marines sat at a round table and signed books. I loved seeing them together because most of the women in the book have not met one another. We spent the next two hours signing several hundred books. We stopped when Noel and I had to leave to catch a plane. We left the Javits Convention Center overwhelmed by the positive response to the book, and motivated to continue spreading the word about Band of Sisters.

One of the highlights of the morning was a visit by former U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder of Colorado. She sat down and chatted with the Marines. Capt. McGrath reminded Schroeder of a letter she had written to her when she was 13, and thanked the representative for supporting women in military aviation.

Next stop--June 15--Troop Talk on The Big Talker, 93.7 and 106.3, Wilmington, North Carolina
6-8 p.m.

Thanks for your support!
Kirsten