When we started to promote "Escape from Saigon" we kept running into authors whose war experiences are far more contemporary than ours. Though their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan are the stuff of 24/7 cable newscasts and the latest Presidential campaigns, our story about a war that ended four decades ago resonated powerfully with these folks. I guess when it comes to war there are some powerful universals—fear, misery, intrigue and love—that remain constant when it comes to the story of people it effects directly.
One of those individuals is Amanda Matti a 22 year-old US Navy intelligence analyst who deployed to Baghdad a dozen years ago. Amanda did her best to prepare mentally and physically to face the danger and horrors of war. What she wasn't prepared for was to fall in love...with someone on the "other side."
For Amanda and her Iraqi translator Fahdi, it was love at first sight. While serving together near the front lines of the Iraq War, the two realize their connection transcends cultures, countries and politics. Amanda knows she may have to choose between Fahdi and her career in the Navy. But the stakes are much higher as she finds herself at the center of an international criminal investigation spearheaded by a trifecta of US government agencies - the NSA, CIA and NCIS.
Spurred by a draconian double-standard, investigators quickly compile a speculative list of offenses Amanda may have committed; one being having fallen in love with an Iraqi native. Together Amanda and Fahdi defy their governments and cause international scandal as they fight for justice. It's an incredible journey from Amanda and Fahdi's first meeting, to being accused of espionage to eventually marrying and moving to San Diego where they are now raising their two daughters.
Amanda recounts her very personal war story in "A Foreign Affair" published in October of this year by W & B Publishers, 354 pages. Softcover $15.61 or Kindle $4.99. Visit Amazon to order and for excerpts at: http://tinyurl.com/hs77nnu.
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