Alan Featherstone and his wife, Linda, are both US Air Force veterans, he serving as a pilot and she as a lawyer. After retiring from the Air Force, Alan worked in the private sector and Linda worked in the federal government. In 2016 and fully retired, they moved to the Emerald Coast and built a house in Sandestin, where they currently reside.
His book, One Hard Day, is a moving story of perseverance and triumph in the face of life-changing adversity. When asked what prompted him to write the book, he said he was encouraged by others to do it. “As I’m sure we all do from time to time, I’d be enjoying the company of colleagues, friends, and family members, and we’d regale each other with personal stories of adventure, sadness, bravado, and the like. I don’t know if I was a good storyteller or if I just told really compelling stories, but over the years I’d often hear, ‘Alan, you really need to write this stuff down.’ So, in 2015 I decided to do just that.”
Alan spent the next few years writing the manuscript and working with a professional editor to polish it, and find a publisher. After about forty or more rejections from literary agents and publishers, in 2021 Covenant Books accepted the book for publication. In Alan’s words, “Unless one is a truly gifted writer or well-known and connected, getting one’s first book published can be quite an ordeal.”
One Hard Day is a stunning achievement. Reading it is a roller-coaster ride. In the course of only a few pages you’ll find yourself wiping back tears, bowled over in laughter, cheering for one of the characters, and gripping the arms of your chair in excitement. His use of dialogue is exceptional. Every word is well chosen and every conversation is believable and as fitting to the moment as a favorite pair of bedroom slippers is to the feet.
What is the book about? This, from the back cover: “US Air Force Lieutenant Cutler Walker is on a roll. He had just graduated from Air Force pilot training and earned a coveted assignment to train as a fighter pilot, when disaster strikes. He and two others are involved in a horrendous accident, with life changing consequences. His early life could not have foretold this. The second son of an Army officer, his early years were unexceptional in every way. He flourished in college, though he faced a scurrilous attack on his honor, and suffered a falling-out with his father as a result. The accident changed the trajectory of his life and spurred him on his march to manhood. With the Lord as his copilot, Walker overcomes his injuries and faces his future with unbound optimism, and a newfound empathy for others who have had more than one hard day.
One Hard Day is available in print and e-book formats online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes, and in select bookstores.
Author: Sowal Editor
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