A warm welcome to author Max Vos joining us today to talk about the new re release of his novel P.O.W.

Max brought with him  an incredable interview that you really want to read with the main characters and the person doing the interview might ring a familiar bell 😉

There is also a great giveaway to participate in!

Welcome Max 🙂

Carter Roberts – Blake Magazine Interview

Carter pulled out his digital recorder and set it on the glass topped coffee table between him and the two men he was here to interview. He glanced up at the two handsome men, still leaning over the small device. “Ready?” he asked.

The Doctor took the other man’s hand, looked at him a moment before turning back to Carter and nodded.

Carter then turned on the recorder.

Carter:             I’m here today with Sargent Samuel Stone, U.S. Marine, retired and Doctor Abbas Hakim. Thank you gentlemen for agreeing to speak with me today.

Sam:                Sure.

Carter:             The reason for this interview, for our readers, is to allow you to tell your story about being captives of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Sargent Stone a P.O.W. and Dr. Abbas… basically kidnapped. Why don’t I start with you Dr. Abbas, since you were captured/kidnapped first?

Abbas:            I was studying pre-med in the UK when I got a message from my father telling me that I needed to come home because of a family emergency. When I spoke to him, he would not tell me over the phone. When I arrived home, I was immediately taken by one of the warlords of the area.

Carter:             Why were you singled out and taken?

Abbas:            My father was the only local farmer who had not given our land to this warlord. He wanted to control the region. The intention was to use me as leverage, my father’s only son, to make my father to sign over the land that had been in my family for generations. They also wanted an English translator, because… of Sam and Benoit.

Carter:             Benoit is the other Marine that was captured?

Sam:                Yes. He was second in command and my best friend.

Carter:             Why don’t you tell us the circumstances of your capture.

Sam:                We were in a helicopter in Afghanistan. We, my team, were taken down by a RPG, we think. Long story short, the next day the Taliban found us and took us back to their compound.

Carter:             And this is where you met Abbas?

Sam:                Yes.

Carter reached over and turned off the recorder. “I know this must be difficult for you, but if you could, can you give a little more detail other than just a yes or no? I’m sorry to have to ask you, but if this is going to work, I’m going to need more information.

Sam took a deep breath, closed his eyes before slowly exhaling. “I’ll try.”

Carter nodded and then turned the small metal device back to record.

Sam:                I met Abbas almost immediately. He was translating for Duhdulla.

Carter:             Duhdulla?

Sam:                Abdul Duhdulla. His grandfather was the warlord in that area and Abdul was to take over for him. They were major players in the opium market. Why they wanted the Hakim property. What they were doing was basically taking all the local families and turning them into sharecroppers, forcing them to grow poppies.

Carter:             How did you connect with Dr. Hakim? I mean, what made you trust him?

Sam:                His eyes. I knew from the moment he looked at me that he wasn’t part of them.

Carter:             Dr. Hakim? Would you care to add to that?

Abbas:            I knew what Abdul was going to do to those men. He was a savage animal. Abdul enjoyed torture. I also knew that as soon as he got what he wanted from them he would kill them without a second thought. It made me very sad. I also… was immediately attracted to Sam.

Sam:                I clocked Abbas instantly as being gay. My gaydar went pinging like crazy. [Sam laughs]

Carter:             One of the reasons you wanted to do this interview was?

Sam:                [Long pause] Once the story got out, we, meaning Benoit and I, were accused of making everything up. That it wasn’t true. I want to set the record straight. More for Benoit than for anything else. He’s still in service and has to deal with the fallout more than I do.

Carter:             Why were you accused of lying?

Sam:                I think that people just don’t want to believe that those types of things happen.

Carter:             Can you elaborate?

Sam:                [Another long pause] The things that were done to us. The torture and what we endured. People just don’t want to… know about it. They’d rather keep their heads in the sand and not believe it. But it does happen and it isn’t that uncommon.

Carter turned the recorder off again. “Maybe we should take a break for a moment.” He stood up and stretched before picking up the bottle of water that was next to his notebook. “I know this has got to be hard for you, but I need the details.”

Sam Stone abruptly stood up and began pacing. “I’m trying.” He ran a hand through his short military style haircut. “It’s fucking hard to tell it to just one person, but knowing that everyone is going to know…”

Abbas also stood, pulling Sam into his arms. “Take your time Sam. We talked about this.”

Sam nodded and turned towards Carter. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

Carter started again.

Carter:             Can you elaborate?

Sam:                Because everyone thinks that the Muslim society abhors homosexuality so it never happens. That’s not true. It is rampant. Hell, they use young boys and substitute women all the time. They have these little dance parties where kids, as young as nine take on feminine roles and dance for the local men. And yes, they are then used as sex toys. They use sex as torture, which is what happened. Happened a lot.

Abbas:            I can attest that this is true. In our culture, our religion does not condone homosexuality, but many look the other way when it does happen. It is less of an issue that having sex with a woman who is not your wife. People turn a blind eye is all.

Carter:             To make it clear; you were raped?

Sam:                Yes. Gang raped. Repeatedly. My partner and I were even forced to have sex with each other and Benoit is straight. Very straight.

Carter:             Dr. Hakim, you witnessed this?

Abbas:            Yes. They used other forms of torture but Abdul was a very sick man. He enjoyed finding out what was the worst thing he could do and then do it. In this case, making Sam and Benoit sex slaves.

Carter:             Is this common?

Abbas:            [He shrugged his shoulders] My father told me that he knew of it happening in previous wars. I had never seen or heard of it until after… this. It depends on who the captures are I suppose. For Abdul, it was something that he enjoyed. I do know that it isn’t as uncommon as some would like us to believe. It is very taboo in our culture, unless you are radical Muslim like the Taliban and now ISIS.

Carter:             The book, P.O.W., is that an accurate account of what happened to you and Benoit?

Sam:                Yes. Abbas, Benoit and Saaleh and I all read the book before it was published and signed off on it as being true.

Carter:             How did you feel after you’d read it? Dr. Hakim, why don’t you answer that first?

Abbas:            I was horrified. We all had nightmares afterwards. It only brought it all back. For me and I think for Sam as well.

Sam:                I, we… Benoit and I both suffer from PTSD from it, as I think is understandable. For me, I can’t stand to be cold. It’s like I’m back… there. For Benoit he said he could never take another bath or change his car battery.

Carter:             To understand the triggers for your PTSD you can read the book?

Sam:                Yes. It goes into a lot of detail in the book.

Carter:             Is there anything either of you would like to close with?

Sam:                The men and women who are in the US Military put their lives on the line every single day. Our government does not want these types of stories getting out, for obvious reasons. That doesn’t mean that they don’t happen, because they do. More often that people might think.

Abbas:            All Muslims are not terrorists. Many are law abiding citizens who only want to live happy and peaceful lives. I have met many Muslim Americans and they love this country as much as non-Muslims. As much as I now love this country. America has been very good to me and my family.

Carter:             I’d like to thank both of you for taking the time to meet with me. I know it can’t be easy. If you would like to read about these men’s ordeal, you can find the book, P.O.W. by Max Vos at your favorite book retailer, in both paperback and digital format.

Carter turned off the recorder. “Thanks you guys. That will make for a great article.”

Matt walked up behind Carter, wiping a stray tear from beside his nose. “Fuck, I never… I can’t even get my head around this shit. Carl warned me but… I just didn’t think it was possible.”

Carter stood up and hugged the big man as best he could, his nose hitting Matt in the middle of the tall man’s chest.

Abbas took Sam into his arms once again, holding the man tight. “All done. Why don’t you go for a run? Clear your head. I’ll have a pitcher of margaritas ready when you get back and I will cook dinner out on the grill.”

Sam nodded. He kissed Abbas, the love of his life before leaving the room.

“Thank you,” Abbas said shaking Carter’s hand. “As hard as that was for Sam, I think it will help in the long run.”

Carter nodded his understanding. “Don’t mention it.” Carter accepted the kiss from Matt. “Now, about those margaritas?”

Carter Roberts is an award winning journalist, dealing with GLBT issues. For more of his story, ‘Going Home’, a book on his life can be found at your favorite book retailer.

 

 

Title: P.O.W.

Author: Max Vos

Publisher: Max Vos, Inc

Release Date: January 20, 2017

Length: 125 Pages

Cover Artist : A.J Corza

BLURB:

2^nd release

After being taken prisoner by a Taliban Warlord, can Sam Stone hold on long enough to get his best friend back to his family and find love in the arms of Abbas, the handsome, blue-eyed Arab? Sam has secretly been in love with is best friend and fellow Marine, Benoit, for quite some time and would not hesitate to die for him. The macho Marine, Benoit, is shaken to his very core when he and his best friend are taken prisoners and made to do things that he would never have done, especially with Sam, who he knew had feelings for him. Abbas tries everything to gain his families freedom when an unexpected man comes into his life that he starts having deep feelings for almost immediately. Sam Stone has been secretly in love with his best friend and fellow Marine, Benoit, for a long time. It’s only after they were captured by a Taliban Warlord that he realizes that he would readily give his life to get Benoit back to his family. But it is Abbas, the Westernized Arab who steals his heart and helps Sam and Benoit regain their freedom. Now Sam has to learn to find true love and help heal not only himself, but the two men he loves deeply.

Warning: This book contains material that may be offensive to some: graphic language, military situations, P.O.W scenes, adult situations and other situations only meant for an adult audience

 

“Mayday, Mayday, Black Hammer is hit; I repeat: Mayday, Black Hammer is hit. We’re going down.” Bucky’s voice may have seemed calm to an outsider, but those who knew him understood he was anything but calm. “Mayday, Mayday. Black Hammer’s current location: thirty-three Lat by seventy Long. Repeat. Mayday, Mayday.” Bucky choked out as the cabin of the helicopter quickly filled with smoke.

Samuel J. Stone looked at the other five members of his team. “Fuck,” he mumbled, wondering if perhaps they weren’t going to make it out of this one. He yelled at his best friend Benoit. “After all the fucked-up shit we’ve been through, I’m not gonna fucking die splattered on the side of some mountain in this hellhole.”

“Vasquez, get that damn door open,” Stone yelled across the cabin to the other Marine.

“Gettin’ it, Stone,” Vasquez answered his lieutenant.

Stone opened the opposite door, letting some of the thick smoke billow out of the burning helicopter. He and his fellow Marine, Benoit, looked out the open door. They could tell they were going down fast.

“We’re still too high to jump,” Stone yelled at the others trapped in the flaming bird.

“If there was anywhere to fucking jump to,” Benoit yelled back.

Even with both side doors open, the cold winter wind whipping through the cabin, the acrid black smoke continued to surge in, making their eyes burn, their chests constrict with the lack of breathable air. There was a bitter taste in Stone’s mouth from inhaling the foulness of burning rubber and jet fuel.

Using hand signals to keep from yelling to be heard, Stone motioned for Vasquez and the two others to use the door they had just opened to escape through, while he and Benoit and the new kid, Saundersen, would use the one opposite.

The high-pitched scream of the rotor motor was loud enough to pierce the ear-protection headphones, making it nearly impossible to speak. Each man could barely hear Bucky still calling out a Mayday over the radio, through the headsets.

 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

iBooks

Smashwords

Kobo

Barnes and Noble

 

Max Vos is a classically trained chef with over 30 years of food service experience. After retiring in 2011, Max found himself with time on his hands and was urged to turn his talents to writing. ‘Cooking English’, a short story, now part of his anthology collection, Inappropriate Roads, is now available. My Hero was his first novel, which turned into an international best seller. Max now has a total of six completed novels, which are listed on his website, along with the entire Memories Series. My Hero: The Olympian, the sequel to My Hero was released late last year.

 

LINKS:

http://www.maxvos.com/

http://max-vos.tumblr.com/

http://max-vos.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/Max_Vos_Author

https://www.instagram.com/max.vos_author/

 

Grand prize: $20 Dollar Amazon GC and a Ecopy of P.O.W. by Max Vos

Second prize: The Complete Memories Series ( 5 ebooks) by Max Vos

Third prize: Two Backlist Titles by Max Vos

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Books by Max Vos

 

My Hero

My Hero: The Olympian

The V Unit

P.O.W

Inappropriate Roads

Going Home

 

Memories Series

A Christmas Memory

A Christmas Memory 2

A Christmas Memory 3: Home Sweet Home

A Valentine’s Memory

A Spring Break Memory

 

Available in French

Souvenirs-de-Noël

Mon Héros

Hawk ‘n’ Harley

Unite V

Rentrer a la Maison

 

Available in Italian

Il Mio Eroe

Andare a Casa