William Peter Grasso: Master of War Fiction

Weeping Cedars Revisited

Last week, I used my platform to promote a creator I thought deserved some acknowledgement for his efforts.

Since then, Joshua Wise (or J.W.G. Wise, as he credits himself now) and I are now following each other on several platforms, and I can even claim credit for bringing “Weeping Cedars” onto Vocal:

(If only I was part of this Ambassador program I hear so much about from the indelible Mike Singleton, but too late for this one)

Josh even tweeted the article out to his followers, which explained the absolute surge in reads long before it ever got Top Story status:

I was delighted that he saw it and clearly took something out of it, but I didn’t write this article in the hopes that Josh would share it. I didn’t even write it to try and net a Top Story badge (though, who doesn’t have that tiny hope burning in their soul when they click Submit).

I wrote it, because I wanted to help. I wanted to add my support on top of my Patreon dollars and loyal listening, so I thought I would use the platform I’ve built on Vocal to raise Josh and his literary universe up. Especially since most of his followers probably don’t have this kind of an opportunity.

(And don’t worry, I know my monetary contribution still trumps all of this, but if nothing else, I figured it might lend Josh some motivation to see his herculean efforts acknowledged by someone who knows how demanding the process of creating compelling narratives can be)

They say don’t meet your heroes, but when your heroes are fellow independent writers trying to make it big, I tend to disagree with prevailing logic. At least, I’ve been having a ball meeting some of my literary heroes.

Stage 1: Enlistment

I know, I know, I just spent 300 words pitching Weeping Cedars again without acknowledging the name in the title of this article. But there’s relevance, don’t worry. And listen to Weeping Cedars, damn it!

Okay, William Peter Grasso. Like you, this name used to not mean anything to me (But if I’m wrong, do let me know. Would love to meet another fan in the wild).

Then one day in 2018 I was trawling Amazon looking for some new paperbacks to bring with me to the beach. I decided I wanted a WW2 novel in the mix. I found one about the Norwegian commandos who destroyed the heavy water production facility and later sank the remaining heavy water supply to prevent the Nazis from developing a nuclear device.

Cool, something I know is based on actual events but told through fictional characters while remaining true to the details, meaning I can learn more than I currently know and have fun doing it, I thought to myself. Or something to that effect. Maybe not as coherent.

To clarify, this book is NOT a William Peter Grasso (WPG from here on out) title. Stay with me for a bit longer.

Then, since I’d stumbled onto something in the right genre and style, I scrolled down to the “Readers Also Buy” section to see what else it had for me. There, I found a book with a very intriguing title: Moon Above, Moon Below.

What the hell is that about? I thought, noting the P-47 Thunderbolt on the top half and the Sherman tank on the bottom. I clicked onto the page and read the description. An alternative history of the Battle of Normandy told through the viewpoint of two brothers, one a pilot and the other a tanker? And it sounds like they actually manage to close the Falaise pocket in this one?

It was a unique spin on a battle I already knew about, and such an unexpected premise that I had to give it a go. Sign me the hell up, I thought as I clicked Add to Cart.

Four years later, the Norwegian commando novel, while good, is no longer on my bookshelf. Moon Above, Moon Below has never left. And that was only the beginning.

I plowed through Moon Above, Moon Below in a week. It was some of the best action I had ever read, and the intersecting paths of Sean and Tommy Moon made it all the more interesting. Add in a romance element, the fact that the Moon brothers are competent warriors, a persistent struggle against a military bureaucracy more interested in compliance than expediency—even when it comes to combat imperatives, and you have a winner.

Needless to say, I wanted more. And boy did I have options.

Stage 2: Close Combat

A lot of the details get murky at this point. I recall reading the next book in the Moon brothers series, Fortress Falling.

Then I pivoted to the first book of another WPG series, following the indomitable Army officer Jock Miles as he must repel a Japanese invasion of northern Australia with a ragtag combat team in Long Walk to the Sun.

Then I ended up in Korea with Combat Ineffective, the start of yet another WPG series centered on the Korean War, where now Jock Miles and the Moon brothers are united in a losing battle as the U.S. Eighth Army must fight delaying actions against a surging Korean People’s Army, buying time for UN forces to arrive and make their stand around the port of Pusan.

Slowly, I hacked away at each series, reading all of them in order but not in sequence. Especially since the Korea series was in flight, so the newest release would be moved to the front of the queue once live.

I remember devouring Operation Long Jump (Jock Miles #2) during the lockdowns of early 2020. I remember reading Combat: Magic Bullet (Korea #4); Our Ally, Our Enemy (Moon brothers #3); and This Fog of Peace (Moon brothers #4) while in some of the worst pain of my life. Sometimes these books were entertainment, sometimes these books were escapism, but no matter what, they were always great reads.

Later, with better (though far from perfect) knees, I read Butter Bar, the first book in the currently ongoing series following Jock Miles’ son Jif as a young artillery officer in Vietnam. Jock and the Moons also reappear. I remember one Saturday, with nothing going on, I laid in bed and read straight through to the end. 8 hours. A good chunk of my weekend. No regrets. It was that good.

In a callback to how I started the Vietnam series, I stayed up until 3 a.m. earlier this week to finish VOL-INDEF, Jif Miles Book 5. There was a romance element introduced for the first time in all the books, and what can I say, I eat that stuff up.

Not to mention, whenever the beehive rounds come out, you have my attention. For those who don’t know, beehive rounds turn artillery pieces into giant shotguns, so whenever they’re loaded into the howitzers, the firebase is under direct assault and beehive is one of the final protective measures to keep the artillerymen from being overrun.

Besides, the fact that each time they’re used the gun captains start off by yelling “BEEHIVE, BEEHIVE, BEEHIVE” to give any friendlies outside the perimeter the chance to go to grond before they have thousands of metal flechettes flying at them gives me chills.

As I reached the end of VOL-INDEF, I realized something was off. Every other WPG series has concluded by Book 5, but Jif Miles has just extended his tour. In the final pages, he’s still in country, having survived a harrowing North Vietnamese Army assault that wounded his battery commander and forced him to assume command in the middle of a firefight. This isn’t a conclusion to an iconic character’s arc; this is just a pause in the action.

Then I read the clincher: “Don't miss Book #6 in the Miles to Vietnam series. Available May 2024.”

Holy shit, he’s not done! The longest series yet!

But that did lead to a new issue for me.

Stage 3: After Action Report

A tiny bit of background: I don’t have the largest library in the world. It’s actually rather small, so I work to hold onto only those books I really enjoyed.

Case in point, even an author I love like WPG only gets so much space. While I have liked each and every book he has written of the 20 to date, I can’t hold onto them all. WPG books are actually getting more space than every other author already.

But let’s not overlook the fact that I have read each and every book. I can’t say that for any author with such a deep bench except maybe Kathryn Lasky.

And I’m not following Kathryn Lasky on Facebook. We don’t interact in Facebook comments every so often when Kathryn posts a cool aviation photo from the past. I didn’t sign up for her newsletter.

Key point, I’m not promoting her books to like-minded readers in the Military Thriller Books group on Facebook.

Why? One, children’s fantasy books about wars between owls probably isn’t their cup of tea (though I guess war is war, now that I think about it). Two, Lasky is backed by Scholastic, a major publishing house. WPG appears to be going the route of the Amazon self-publisher.

I remember being very surprised when one of my old work managers checked the inside cover and pointed that out. It didn’t read like a self-published book. It read like a professional piece. How could that be?

That was the first crack in my preconceived bias against indie books, a bias that is thankfully dead and buried as of today. I mean, here I am getting ready to go down the same self-publishing road.

And unlike many self-published authors, WPG appears to have broken out of obscurity and built a healthy following. I think it’s safe to assume that for every person that leaves a review, you’ve likely got 4-5 people that also bought the book but didn’t leave a review for any number of reasons.

That really adds up when you’re averaging 1,400+ reviews a book (ballparking that number).

Plus, the fact that he’s consistently maintaining 4+ star ratings across that many reviews really speaks to the care, effort, and ultimate quality behind each book. This isn’t just his close family and friends reviewing (unless WPG has a hell of a lot of them 👀).

On the one hand, I probably don’t need to actively support WPG. Certainly seems like his promotions are working on their own. But even with all his success, he’s still one of us: an independent creator forging their own path. Now an inspiration, to say the least, to this independent author. Hell, he gets his own place in my book’s acknowledgements even though we’ve never interacted outside of Facebook.

Plus, I love the idea that more of my money goes directly to the man responsible for it all than might be the case with a traditional publisher.

Right, back to the bookshelf dilemma. I know that Book 5 of the Vietnam series is a keeper. Let’s be honest, every installment in that series is a keeper. Over the years, I’ve also winnowed down my other WPG books to the ones I really can’t part with.

And now I’m out of space.

So, naturally, I took to our shared space, the Military Thrillers Book Group to air my “grievances” for forcing me into a dilemma and also include a nod to the book that I can’t let go of in the post.

And he responded:

Now I’m privy to information perhaps none of his other readers have. Books, he said books. And more beehive rounds! Let’s go!

Then WPG even shared it on his author page, which, of course, I’m also following.

Which all goes to show, no matter how successful an author might be, they always appreciate hearing from their fans. And suffice it to say, I will be buying any and all books this man continues to produce, Vietnam and wherever we go next.

Operation Eagle Claw? Special forces in the 80’s? Grenada? Panama? Supporting the mujahideen in Afghanistan? Skip all the way to the Gulf War?

Someday, this project might end, and that will be a sad day indeed.

So, if you take away nothing else, let your literary heroes know you’re out there. Especially if they’re independent or smalltime authors. Your words have way more impact than you realize! Perhaps almost as much as your wallet 😉

Stephen’s Top 5 WPG Titles

I’ve had the idea that I should write a post like this for a while. After all, I’ve greatly admired this author for years now. Considering the timing of VOL-INDEF and the resulting interactions, this seemed like a natural point to knuckle down.

In summary, WPG is great, and please consider trying out one of his books if you’re a fan of history, war fiction, or action and adventure. Romance is not the primary focus, but there’s a bit of that throughout the books, too.

Here’s my top 5 recommendations—most of which also happen to be the gateways to their respective series:

• Moon Above, Moon Below
• Long Walk to the Sun
• Operation Long Jump
• Combat Ineffective
• Butter Bar

Man, this was way longer than I intended, but our man William Peter Grasso earned it. If you’ve made it to this point, thanks so much for reading!