Yes, I know. The usual statement is, “So, you want to be an author. But in my case, I’m the one wanting it, so here I am—telling you about myself and what I write about.
I’m not new at publishing. I’ve been publishing now for about a year and a half (well… a year and 2/3) and have published 16 books thus far: a stand-alone paranormal which I’m currently getting back into publication (long story there), and a series with a prequel and 14 books in the main series. So far. I’m currently writing #15.
But it’s time to also write a blog and publish a website—an entirely new endeavor for me. I have written blog material elsewhere, and will probably move all of that over here as well.
So, let’s talk about the series. What do I write about? The series is about an undercover, elite law enforcement team of seven: one woman and six men. They tackle the tough cases that other law enforcement agencies can’t tackle. And they have a unique way of having to join this team and its associated support contingent: they have to die.
Not really. But it looks that way when they disappear. There’s a coffin and a funeral and a burial—but what’s in the coffin isn’t what everyone thinks. They’re always closed-casket affairs, and there’s either a body burned beyond recognition or their weight in sandbags inside. They lose their names and become nonpersons, taking on a designation identifier and a code name. The woman’s code name? Hank. Why? Because she doesn’t want anyone to think of her as a lesser team asset—she just wants to be another “one of the guys.” So, she asks them to just whack the “o” off of the end of her former surname (Hanko) and call her Hank.
The woman is the team’s sniper. She’s former FBI. Her recruiter is the team’s intelligence expert, and he’s former Secret Service. There’s a former marine (excuse me! Once a Marine, always a Marine, and I’ve been informed by former marines that the Chicago Manual of Style is incorrect when they say that “marine” should not be capitalized when referring to individual members of the Marine Corps), a computer programmer and all-around techie from a gaming company, a former Border Patrol agent, a former DEA agent, and a former Army pilot (he and the marine call each other names, but it’s just the usual interservice rivalry—they’re friends, really). They’re assisted by people who do everything from watch over their health to make their clothes. And they’re truly underground. As in, they live underground and have bases around the country underground—often in old missile silos.
(I’d really love to own one of those missile silos. They’re really cool, and I know where there are 12 of them. Well… more, actually. But 12 that are fairly near where I live.)
The series focuses a lot on how these seven agents interact with each other and with their support contingent. How do they get along? or not? What keeps the stress of the job from taking its toll on them? What happens when the stress does take its toll on them? You know: the human side of being someone in an elite law enforcement unit.
What’s the name of the unit? Doesn’t have one! They just refer to it as “the unit.” And thus the series name: The Unit.
Anne Fox Writes 