Real Military Missions Behind His Thrillers | Charles A. Stewart

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Hi and welcome to Author Conversations with me, Chris Dabbs as usual.

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Now, here is something we really, well I'm amazed at and I'm hoping that you will be amazed too.

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My guest today is Charles A. Stewart. He spent 26 years in the military including combat deployments and service in special operations units.

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And after leaving that world, he faced the lasting effects of injuries sustained during his career.

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But encouraged by his family, he began pulling some of his experiences into words.

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And eventually that led him on to fiction.

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Now, he's written a few novels and his first one was "Cry of the Eagle" and he wrote that incredibly in just 90 days.

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It's main character that he introduced is Colt Hawkins, a character whose story now runs through three military and espionage thrillers.

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I'm looking forward to chatting about this, I've got to say.

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Charles joins me to talk about the experiences behind the books, the process of writing them of course, and the man at the centre of the series.

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So Charles, welcome to author conversations, it's lovely to have you here, how you doing.

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I'm doing great and thank you for having me.

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Hey, listen, no problem at all, I'm really looking forward to it.

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I mean, military fiction and history all rolled into one, you know, with your own history is quite amazing, right?

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So before we get to Colt Hawkins, I know you want to talk about the guy, but before we get to him, right?

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You spent 26 years in the military, right? The US military, I presume, obviously. And often in demanding and dangerous kind of roles.

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I mean, when you look back, what did those years teach you about people and about yourself, I think most importantly, because, you know, was there a particular quality in the people you served alongside with that stayed with you and you've put into the books maybe?

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Absolutely, that's a great question.

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I, you know, in the military, you come across all walks of life and you end up working with everybody and that thing is a day, that's what it's all about.

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You can have the mission, you can have, wait the flag and this is what we're doing and while we're doing it for, but really at the end of the day, you're doing it for the brothers and sisters besides you.

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And that because you care for him, you love him and without them, you know, you're as good as you're the weakest link, you know, you can be.

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Do it as a team or, you know, you can be dysfunctional just like a family can be, but at the end of the day.

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It mold you, it shakes you as a person, but also, you know, it's, it's relationship building and that's what life is about is about relationships in the way.

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So it, there's people I, I still stay in contact after 40 years, there's people I don't stay in contact with, I mean, because you're anywhere from an alpha male to passive aggressive and that's just, that's just people, you know, everybody.

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You know, everybody's made up of a different recipe, so to speak and you have to make it work and the military is great at doing that because everybody starts at the same place.

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And then you, you go through your education, military education, your schooling, courses and it bonds you, builds you as a soldier and as a person.

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And then, you know, the relationships define you, you know, as, you know, are you trustworthy, you have integrity, you know, or, you know, are you a piece of crap and the piece of crap don't really last that well.

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They're weeded out, you know, and that's, and just like anybody else, you're not going to have someone toxic in your bubble of relationships and close friends.

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If someone's toxic, you're, you're not going to get near that, you know, you want to protect yourself and protect the people who such is. So that's kind of where it goes and how it, you know, it all starts and I wouldn't have changed anything.

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I'd do it all over.

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Yeah, it's actually, I've got to say that at my old age, I do wish that I think I'd done something like that, some sort of service because I think that, yeah, everything you said there, I can appreciate.

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And I kind of like, and during many years of working for me, I've always worked in like corporations. So it's kind of the same but nowhere near it, right?

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But, you know, you're still, you're still working in kind of a team, but not quite as many, I guess, you know, scenarios that count.

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Should we put it like that, right?

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As opposed to just only to re-hit targets this month, right?

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Literally hitting targets this month or training or whatever it was, right? So yeah, I mean, great. I mean, and you're talking about encouragement.

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And I mean, this is the thing though, if you're in a team, you know, as you say, your close buddies, your teammates, right?

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Basically, you've spoken about being encouraged by your wife and daughter as well, right?

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Afterwards to keep a journal as you dealt with the injuries and the effects of your service.

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I mean, you know, the encouragement is super important, isn't it? I mean, how did putting things into words begin to help?

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And when did it start to feel something more than just journaling, you know, because we can kind of, I mean, you know, we can do that.

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Oh, today I did this, but did you find that you actually were able to, I don't know, release something from yourself so that you could recover?

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Absolutely.

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So it started with my team of daughters, you know, in your, in through my course, and believe me, every soldier, male, female has their own story.

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And this is just mine.

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And so through my experiences, some of those experiences, and I'll probably get into it a little bit later, but, you know, you, you trying to assess what you just did or what just happened.

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And some of that is immediate into the fact, and then you have some that those thoughts are like, what did I really go through or how is this staying with me?

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And that could stay with you years down the road and impact you in some form fashion.

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And so that was happening with me. I was diagnosed with severe PTSD. I had seven traumatic brain injuries throughout my course of my military career.

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And I was just trying to relate to what I was feeling at times.

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I was sometimes I'm in a deep depression and didn't know why I had some things going for me in my life.

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And then some I was just like, why am I so depressed? And so my team of doctors who encouraged me to just start writing this down and, and we would discuss these things.

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And my daughter was always sending me journal books. I you need to journal. You should journal and more some of that was going like, why don't you write about your military career?

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Well, I don't, I didn't want to touch on it. And I still though, I just, it's not about me on that.

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And so it just started involving and then COVID, what are we doing in COVID? We're locked down, we're stayed in, we're, you know, huddled into our homes.

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And I was like, I'm going to go stir crazy because I can only journal for so much. And so I just thought, well, I read a lot.

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So let's maybe try, you know, try to write a book. And that was a daunting task. So I learned self-made, learned on my own. I had all the time in the world.

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So why don't you use that time in a positive fashion? And I thought, you know, I can do this. And so I just started writing.

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And it was, it was painful at first. I will say that it's chicken scratch. It's, my gosh, I'm, how can I get 500 words this day and, and so forth. But you just stay at it. You, you go through the ground. And, and one day I just sat down and I wrote out 10,000 words in one day.

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And, and then after that, I never look back. I knew I could do it. Now it's rough, but that's where editing comes in. But I did.

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So, and I think that that's the thing though, isn't it? You know, it's, you know, your experience is in the military. I, and your own personal, I guess the way that you'll build, right, is discipline and also focus.

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So once you've got the focus, then you understood how to get there, right? I guess, you know, I mean, you know, that's, that's great. 10,000 words in a day. Well, I know what you're saying about the editing. But yeah, still even so.

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I don't need kept a thousand. I get it. But I mean, you know, I'm kidding about the thousand. But anyway, so, okay. So thinking about all of that and thinking about this, you know, your military history and all of all of those great things.

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As well as the bad things, of course, you know, when readers enter the world then of of Cold Hawkins and task force 24, how much of what they're experiencing or what cults experience comes from things that you've actually gone through, you know, that you've understood or you felt, you know, you've witnessed the event during your own career.

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I think, I mean, in some parts of the, on some books, it's 75%. It could be. And then as my writing has evolved, I think it's become a little less. And I have been more strategic on when to place something or I may have said, oh, yeah, I remember doing that.

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I could use it in this part of, you know, when I'm building my manuscript or looking and it's like, oh, yeah, this will fit right in here. And I do that, especially in the second book,

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Cold Hawkins wakes up from a flashback and nightmare. And that mission was a real mission. A real sniper mission conducted in Iraq.

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And I, and I don't leave anything out. It is to the tee. Now, I've added a few more different characters to it because of the story, but it's a real life sniper mission. And I don't go into the full effect.

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I think some of that still classified, but how it all starts in that dream that he's having and how he wakes up is real. And that's how the book starts.

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And so I do I plug and play what would fit. And of course, it's fiction. So it allows me a broader playing field to expand on things where I might want to do.

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Okay, that's boring in real life. I'll just spiced it up a little bit, you know, that kind of thing with the story that there's a lot that goes into that, especially the first and second.

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Oh, fantastic. I mean, well, that's great. Then so it makes it realistic for people who who come from the same sort of background as you.

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And one thing I like to add on that is everybody on task force 2, 4, almost everybody is real people. And that I have come across with in my life.

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Most of their names are real. And they allow me to use a real name. Now some of them we had to change because they're still active in working in the shadows.

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But yeah, so we use a lot of real people. And whenever this series ends, I'm going to I'm the last book at the series, which if that's five years from now or 10 years from now, I'll explain everybody's biography at the end.

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Yeah, that's nice. Because that's a good sort of like remembrance, isn't it? You know, like a legacy for them as well, isn't it? Right?

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It is. Excellent. All right. So cry the eagle then that began with the idea of a classified satellite falling into the wrong part of the world.

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But it quickly becomes much bigger than a just a normal recovery mission. I mean, obviously without giving too much away.

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What was the idea behind Eagle 9 then? And why did you feel that this was the right crisis to introduce cult Hawkins to readers with? Because obviously it's quite timely, isn't it? You know, a satellite crisis is particularly interesting right now, isn't it?

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It is. And that was that was kind of like the hook. I would say what you just said, it's already interesting. And of course Elon Musk and SpaceX now want to think about that when I was writing the book.

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Now it's, you know, part of our everyday lives. And I just kind of was researching. I'm like, man, I really like this. I think this could be the centerpiece. So to speak.

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And I just wanted to write with with the emotions of cult because in the opening he's on the phone and he's having a problem, personal problem.

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And everybody can relate to that. Female male. And it's about relationships again. And so you're he's having troubles with the relationship.

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And it was something that you can everybody can resonate to. So I just built on that. And I'm not trying to put the missions and it's only the mission.

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You know, you get a lot of further stories. It's this and this and the bullet proof and all that. I wanted to realism the real. I really wanted the emotional baggage and how to make a, you know, they're trying to make a decision on something that, you know, there's a ripple effect to the decisions.

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And it's on all levels and so I'm just going to get something. It's also what it takes and the decision behind the, you know, the missions and the relationships behind it. What is it taking to do this? Good and bad.

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And that's why, you know, the bad guys also have a huge art in that book because, you know, you got to be able is a writer as an author.

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I want to be able, you got to love your enemies. You got to love your, you know, your, your characters. Good and bad. So I just wanted to show their side of it, which is a common thread in the Middle East of those relationships.

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And then the relationships of cult.

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You could have written cult hawkins as a, as I said, you know, like a larger than life action hero, really, but you've given him relationships losses, sort of responsibilities and people who deeply cares about, which is obviously what you were saying about the relationship problems at the beginning, right.

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So we get to understand who cult hawkins is when the weapons are put down as well as obviously the soldier or the operative, I guess.

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I mean, what do you want readers to connect with most about him as a person as a man? Is there anything particular? Do you want the, do you want readers to like him or or just go with him?

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I really want, I really want to readers to understand.

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And as you read, you will understand real fast. He is not Superman. He is not the Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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He is compassionate. He has strengths. He has weaknesses. He's a great operator in what his job is. He can do that. But it's also him trying to protect the ones he loves out, you know, this team, Dr. Liberty star and, and how that expands and in his life.

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And the teammates and how that grows and that that's the common thread that will be through the series is just the relationships good, bad or indifferent and just protecting the ones you love.

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And that's that's the thread and then the emotional baggage and trying to protect them and not be enabled protect them and how that weighs on you in those decisions making.

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I don't have the right answer, but I have an answer and I got to just run with it and what's the toll of that and that and as the series progresses, you will start seeing.

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Well, again, that's something I guess that you know, your training helps you with, right, to be able to understand you have to make a decision and you know, you got to run with it, right, as you say.

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But you can't just ignore what the consequences could be, I guess.

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So, and you mentioned, you know, Dr. Liberty star there as well, which is quite interesting because I think that from what I've seen a lot of your readers quite like the idea of their relationship and how you know that they connected with the story because of this.

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Not just because you know, cults are superhero or whatever.

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So, you know, that's always really good. But as you said, things change and move on through cry the eagle sky thunder in the next one, rogue vengeance from international operations.

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I kind of like to a conflict that becomes, well, I'm telling the whole thing here. I'm going to say again to a conflict that becomes intensely personal for cult and Dr. Liberty star.

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I mean, how did you actually have supposed to me approach raising the stakes from book to book while you know you're making three novels feel like one continuing journey,

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which is a great thing for readers, right? Because that's what we all like part one part two part three kind of thing. I mean, it's exactly what you want to do to do.

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That's exactly what I want to do. I wanted when you pick up the second book, Scott thunder, and you're just like, oh, okay, here we're right back into the relationship.

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We're right back into what's making cult. You know, he's he's okay. We we not finished the the eagle nine. There's ripple effects. And after the last chapter of each book, it's called ripple effects.

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And that is my going thing. There's ripple effects that takes the reader into the next story that hasn't come out yet. It's the ripple effects of what's behind you and what has, you know, what are those arcs as a writer. I'm there's a million arcs I can play with.

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And it keeps it keeps that story going and that's that's the whole thing with liberty and cold going through these things these experiences.

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And I'll tell it. It's a love story when a couple stars and then they go through, especially the things that liberty and co go through. Well, that changes it.

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And so they're not going to react to certain things later on in the storyline that would affect them the way it would have early on. They're getting more season. They're seeing more things together as a couple that also in their respective rights of each and what they do in their careers in in the in the story.

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So they see things different. So they're now reacting a little bit different because they've smiled a seat that before or they kind of expect that. So that's where that's all that.

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And it's just, you know, just the way the job can get more complicated and in readers discover their choices and how they're going through things maneuvering through the obstacles that are in fact.

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So yeah, so their relationships sort of mature as as they mature and obviously they go through more more things I guess together. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

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I mean, you know, I think also one of the things I wanted to talk about was it seems that some readers they've picked up on the military sort of authenticity that you've done.

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I don't know we touched on it. You know, briefly earlier on. I mean, even you know, the technical detail you've got there in cry of the eagle.

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And you've got something your own experience, which obviously you drew on when you are writing it right. How much additional research did you do?

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You mentioned that you did quite a bit and you started to enjoy it a lot, right? But I mean, how much additional to make that.

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I don't know, the fictional world more convincing because you could have said. Well, all sorts of things about satellite crashing to Earth. Can you so wait? Well, yeah, just talk people through the what you actually did.

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Absolutely. So when I talk about the the the the tax the tactical military, but that is spawn on.

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I'm well at first in tactics and in weaponry and all that and that comes from my background.

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And when I was writing I was like, well, yeah, I know that like the back of my hand, but these other things I need to research and bring that up and know it just as well.

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So it balances the book. And so when I went into Eagleman and started studying.

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It's called something else, but it is a high frequency constellation of satellites.

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And so I'm really had to dive deep in it. And it was a lot of research. And because once I got the manuscript done in 90 days, as you mentioned previously.

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I really had to go back because I could see some lacking lacking background that I needed to bring up, especially in the technology piece to it.

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But because here's this firefight and here's the tactics and their gleaming, but that's it's so strong in the book.

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It overpowers the story. So I needed to readjust a little bit. So it the reader.

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And that's all I'm doing. I'm for the reader. I could have wrote that and been done and say no, but the reader needs to understand them.

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And if they don't like it, they're not going to buy another one. So I I'm for the readers, you know, and I love my readers. So that's I'd I owe that to my reader.

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So I just kind of balanced that out. So there has been some deep dive stuff, especially in Middle East relations. I mean, we in the military, we are introduced to that.

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We have a lot of stuff come at us whenever we go and about the cultures and stuff, but I really wanted to give an insight to all that and and long with the technology.

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I think you buy in more if the more detail you have, not to be detail orientated, but if you've got some of those nuances throughout the story, the reader is hooked or can be hooked.

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Oh, yeah, I mean, you know, detail is important. I see you mean to be know, don't get obsessed with detail, I guess, you know, but if you're if you're reading something like this, you do want the detail, right?

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I think that that's where some of the the the huge authors in this genre have done really super well, isn't it? You know, the details incredible sometimes.

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And you know, from someone who comes from outside, it's amazing to learn as well as, right, be entertained by what you're reading.

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Yeah, which is great. And it's nice to hear, you know, that you are listening to readers and other veterans as well, right? I mean, from what you've said, from when you started, I guess, and now you're two or three books down your three books, you know, your first one, two, three, has hearing from veterans or all readers challenged or changed the way that you think about.

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Well, the books or anything really, I mean, what have you actually changed based on readers, you know, input? Yeah, that's that's a great question. I have I have a group of female readers that I

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share my manuscript with once I'm finished editing everything and hear their inside and I do the same thing with veterans and it's the response is remarkable because we first of all, a lot of readers are looking at the cover or just read the cover of it.

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They don't understand like, how the eagle it has, it's a love story, very powerful women are involved and they're self right and I love that about the way I'm writing.

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I have the coalition of the women and the men on our same team and they are looked upon as equals and so that's I love all that but my my veterans are like, oh my gosh, this is, okay, your spot on on this love the action, of course, and they're, they're, do you see anything different?

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No, and then the female readers are more, oh, I didn't know it was a crime, it's a crime story inside it or I didn't realize it was this and I love those little nuggets that if you pick up the book and read you're going to share those, you know, I'm going to share those nuggets with you throughout all the series and that is my go to I'm going to.

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There's always something in the story of each book that's just like, oh my gosh, look at this, you know, and good, better and different, you know, so let's let's where we're at.

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I'm pretty, I, and you know what, I love the idea of that as well as those, you know, the ripple effects sort of like epilogue or whatever it is, you call it at the end, the ripple effects moving into the next book, you know, because obviously, you know, you as you've written that book, I guess you've understood the arc and you've.

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You've created more of it, right? So that sounds really good. So yeah, so it's like coming into it from, I don't know, like a TV series maybe where you're going from series one to series two to series three, even though they are different stories.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah, because again, I've read some books recently where it's the same central character and all that jazz, but they kind of move it on like a year or two and they don't reference back to what's happened before or if they do is not until much later on.

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And I think that is, you know, get a bit of stuff like hang on a second, I bought into this character because of that story and that character.

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That's right. And that's in like so, for instance, crown the eagle and the time space between spots, uh,

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Scott Thunder is normally about nine months and I use I pull a lot on the every book has I what you just said was very important to me as a writer is to make sure the reader if they've hooked on to colder Liberty or another character.

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I want to show that hey, that arc is still alive and breathing from the very first book and it's into the second and the third and once, once the fourth book, the fourth book is already written once that fourth book hits you it's going to blow a lot of people's minds, but all of that resonates through each book that I don't forget what happened.

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I bring it to the forefront and then from book I know book four is not out yet, but three to book four, it's a matter of an hour change.

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It goes right at the book for so the characters are right there and in an hour later they're right here and this is what they're dealing with and that sets the tone of the whole book and it just it's like a non stop action and I've had a lot of.

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Responses from people that it seems like a cinematic trailer like a cinematic type of thing of how I write the cut scenes and goes into this thing, but when I'm writing i'm thinking of that that's how I vision it when I'm writing so that's why I stop a scene and go to another scene and it just or a fade out and things like that so I just kind of.

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I love the right like that and if the characters or the readers can just stay with it a little bit it's a little chaos in the front but once they stay with it it really will work out and they can see a lot of other things.

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That's amazing charles you know you clearly love the whole series you love looking after the readers and that you know I love it to looking after my listeners and stuff but you know we're quickly running out of time unfortunately Charles but we I need to ask you this right so.

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When someone finishes this interview okay and they've listened to all this nothing wow you know Charles really does care about everything and called Hawking sounds like a dude kind of thing right I mean what do you I mean that's if you want to sound like a dude of course but what yeah what do you hope you know makes them pick up but pick up.

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Book one first of all right after they've watched and listen to this and what do you hope stays with them after the final page before they decide whether they move to book two or not I hope.

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That it's something like I guess I say this again about relationships and it's once the readers care whether it's cold or liberty or another character they they see the threat of that relationship through the story and they're going to just clamp down even harder on the characters and level member more.

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And it doesn't always have to be an international crisis weight mission it can be something really genuine that everybody can relate to and a relationship building kind of thing and you know the missions will change but I just want to people to remember that what happens matters to to cope and liberty and to other characters.

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And that it will.

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If I just hope they care to.

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But it was yeah fantastic I mean so it's not just like a mission lock it's actually someone's life right so people's lives yes absolutely.

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What can I talk like when says they go with those with with those life changing experiences just like which we yeah well no precisely right well listen we have run out of time Charles I'm really sorry about as we could talk for ages though love the sound of this I mean you know I think it sounds.

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Really really interesting so readers you know hopefully we'll give you some more of those you can listen isn't and viewers as well make sure that you look up the cult talk in Trilogy for so far of course but we know there's another one coming but you know Charles tennis about the books 10 give us the titles again do you have a website can people contact you on you know socials and stuff absolutely.

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I'm it's crown the Eagles book one that's where you want to start sky thunder's book to rope vengeance is book three my website is Charles Stewart author dot com and you can there's a place in there you can.

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Contact me directly I'm on Instagram Facebook same thing Charles Stewart author and I would love to hear from anybody that picks up the book good batter and different I would love to hear from you because.

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I'll take it as a professional and any critiques or any out of boys I would love to hear your thoughts and that's only what's going to make me as a better writer.

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I'm going to go everyone you heard that from Charles get in touch with me some comments get in touch and let him know exactly how you feel about well the characters in cry of the sky thunder and rogue vengeance as well of course and we're waiting for that fourth one with baited breath and hopefully we'll come back and talk about that one as well right I would love to.

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Sounds great well listen Charles Stewart it has been fantastic having you on author conversations today thank you for joining me it's been really a revelation to see how you know you can come out of 26 years in the military not coming out in the best shape I guess right but then building yourself up and recovery and all you always recovering right but writing helping you to do that absolutely.

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Well Charles thank you again for joining me and I look forward to meeting you again hopefully appreciate thank you so much take care bye bye bye.

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If you enjoyed this conversation you can watch more author conversations here.

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