By Susan Stoker

This is a book about survival and strength, of opening one’s eyes to what is written between the lines.

Reading Zoey and Bubba’s story brought me back to the days when I used to go on long hiking trips with my friends. I loved those days, the camaraderie and fun of discovering new trails, the exhilarating feeling of being one with nature, and meeting new friends along the way.

There was one mountain I loved so much that I climbed its peak time and again. To me, reaching the summit was like entering what I fondly call the playground of the gods. A 360-degree view all around and walking above a sea of clouds… it was my heaven!

Imagine yourself, but an insignificant speck on a vast—and often hostile—world filled with unknown dangers, where hidden treasures can only be had if Mother Nature deems you fit to be called to her banquet.

Like Zoey and Bubba, who faced the test of survival both natural and man-made, I was able to appreciate what now is slowly slipping from my grasp, and that is nature in its purest form.

Like Bubba confronting his twin, Malcolm, I confronted the wrath of nature head-on. I survived being stranded on a mountain, with Mother Nature letting loose a Category 5 storm as my team was in the middle of a five-mountain trek.

I survived teammates abandoning colleagues, themselves fighting to survive. Yes, I did lose friends along the way, but I survived. I came out scarred, physically and emotionally from one particularly brutal date with nature, but in the end, I stood tall.

Securing Zoey reminds me that amid the storm I am in right now, far from the arms of nature that I am strong. That I am a survivor. For this, I thank Susan Stoker, an author whose works constantly remind me that life is easier if we but learn to open our eyes to the right path.

I hope dear reader that you get the chance to see the story through my eyes.

Read between the lines, I implore you, there may be a gem or two waiting for you.

By Susan Stoker

I read/listened to Protecting the Future after I finished Shelter for Penelope. Well. I still can’t get over the fact that Susan Stoker writes stories that manage to keep her readers on their toes, making us feel like we are right there alongside the characters, feeling every emotion they go through on each of their journeys!

A bonus is the narration of Stella Bloom. I always look forward to listening to Susan Stoker’s books especially when I know it is Ms. Bloom who will be doing the audio recording. Perfect!

A motto attributed to the elite United States Army Rangers and embodied in the “Soldier’s Creed” has the following lines: 

“No man left behind” is a recurring theme in all of Susan Stoker’s books. Time and again, in different situations, she reminds her readers that no one—however and whatever the circumstance—should ever be left behind. Especially in times of need. 

The story of Penelope being rescued, of her brother not giving up on her even when the world seems to have done so, paints a stark contrast to what is happening in the world today. 

Too many poor and dying. Mental illness on the rise. Suicides. And yes, let us not forget the elephant in everyone’s mind, climate change. 

Of course, we cannot solve everyone’s problems. We have our own. We have our daily lives to contend with, mouths to feed, bills to pay, etc., etc. But…

It takes only one, yes? If we can only reach out to one person, then maybe that is enough. 

Just reach out. Cash does not even have to get into the picture. Reaching out does not have to be costly. Just a bit of time,  a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on—these are enough. 

Time costs money, you say? 

How about that one second it takes to smile at someone who just needed a sign that all will be alright in his world? 

How about that one second where you let a harried mom bypass you in line so that she can sit her crying toddler down? 

A second is all it takes to make everything right in someone else’s world. To the men and women in Susan Stoker’s world, a second means everything. A second, to them, means never leaving anyone behind, never quitting, never accepting defeat. 

They will do everything in their power to make everything right in the world, and so should we, in however way we can. 

By Susan Stoker

Susan Stoker tends to squeeze my emotions every time she puts out a story that this one was quite a surprise.

Justice for Laine, the fourth book in the Badge of Honor: Texas Series, was a breath of relief as it was quite light. Laine Parker, Mackenzie’s (Justice for Mackenzie) friend, meets Texas Ranger Westin King during a photoshoot. The two hit it off and start a whirlwind romance.

One day Laine disappears—and Westin and the rest of the Texas Rangers, plus some other friends, must race against time to find her in time.

Like the rest of Susan Stoker’s stories, this one was sweet and of course, filled with ahem, testosterone. This one, though, was lighter. Laine and Wes did not have a bevy of bad guys nipping at their heels or gunning for their lives, just a protective momma dog and a happily ever after I was looking for!

Erin Mallon, bless her heart, gives a narration I look forward to, so for that, thank you!

By Susan Stoker

Being blind since birth has not prevented Corrie Madison from honing her other senses. Never did she imagine that she will be using them to identify a killer, much so outrunning him when he comes after her. 

Officer Quint Axton wasn’t looking for a relationship until he meets Corrie. As the threats in Corrie’s life escalate, Quint realizes that if he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, he must do all he can to keep her alive.

Justice for Corrie was, to me, a reminder that physical weakness should never define a person. I know this is easier said than done, and some might say that I am being insensitive to what others would think of as anomalies or imperfections. Yes, to others, these imperfections cause their feelings of inadequacy. For being “undesirable, less than.”

But, Corrie. She is blind, but she survived, right? 

She’s a fictional character, some would say, and therefore, not real. Of course, Susan Stoker would make sure that her heroine would rise above her assigned plot twist, right? Of course, Corrie needs a happily ever after, right?

Yes, not everyone gets a happily ever after. Yes, not all physical weaknesses—acquired at birth, or inherited—can be healed. 

BUT, and I mean BUT—everyone has the right to overcome a physical disability. 

Everyone has the right to thrive. Most of all, everyone has the right to learn how to use their physical disabilities to their advantage. It is up to us, to lead the way. 

To those who say I am trivializing an issue best swept under the rug, I ask, how about our wounded veterans? Should we just say thank you for your service, goodbye?

Should we tell a polio victim—one whose hands and mind are 100 percent functional—that they can’t be important members of society? President Lincoln would turn in his grave if that was the case!

For that matter—should we tell a blind person that he or she cannot become an active member of the workforce simply because they cannot see? 

Or maybe those of us who believe that these men and women—whose handicaps were never their choice—maybe they are more capable of making the world we live in a better place. 

So no, blindness, or any physical handicap, for that matter, should never be seen as a weakness, but as a strength that should be overcome and honed to perfection. 

By Susan Stoker

Defending Everly is Susan Stoker’s book in her Mountain Mercenaries series. This one tells the tale of Everly Adams, a SWAT officer looking for her 15-year-old half-sister who disappeared without a trace.

Everly teams up with former Coast Guard first responder Kannon “Ball” Black, a member of the Mountain Mercenaries.

Human trafficking. The pitfalls of social media. Trust. Three important topics that were brought to the forefront with Susan Stoker’s Defending Everly.

The book talks about how human traffickers have managed to use social media as a tool to lure their victims into prostitution and slavery. For me, this was Susan Stoker’s way of reminding her readers, especially us who follow her on social media, to be aware. Be aware of the dangers that this 20th-century phenomenon hides in the guise of modern technology. Be aware that, as much as social media can be a bridge to the outside world, it can also be everything that is wrong with the world we live in. 

I am not saying that social media is not all bad—it isn’t, BUT it is up to us to know better, to make sure that it is used for good intentions. To educate, yes. To exchange ideas and get to know others, yes and yes. To discover a world not usually available to us. All these, we can do with social media, for as long as we do it for our good, and for the betterment of others. 

To use social media for misinformation, for bullying? To use it to make someone else’s life miserable? To steal, to propagate criminal activity? Not!

It is up to us, those who know better, to also make sure that kids, our kids, know to distinguish between social media and real life. Spend time with them. Let them experience the wonders of playing in the dirt, of burying their noses in the pages of books as we do with Susan Stoker’s stories. 

Let kids know that more than social media, life is best lived seeing the world with their eyes, their hearts, and their minds. 

Susan Stoker, you are once again spot-on! And of course, Stella Bloom, as usual, made listening to Everly and Kannon’s story a pleasure!

By Susan Stoker

Quinn had a port-wine stain birthmark, and she suffered for it. My weight has been an issue for so long, and even when I do my best to stay healthy, I still feel self-conscious.

Quinn had to live through people’s ignorance when they talk about her birthmark within her hearing. I heard the same.

I also remember when I was active with a mountaineering group, some of my colleagues talked about someone with the same name as mine, and when someone asked who that person was talking about, he said “the pretty one, not the fat one.”

I was within hearing distance.

It hurt. It hurt that even when I was killing myself going through the rigorous training we had, just so I keep myself fit enough to climb, I still heard grown men and women talk that way.

It hurt, knowing that even as these people talked about me in a negative way, they enjoyed the food I prepared. I was the camp cook at that time, and I made sure that the climb team had the best food to sustain them during our trek.

While it is often said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, this is not the whole story — it partly depends on what was recently seen.

–David Alais, Professor of Psychology, University of Sydney

Like Quinn, I learned to ignore those who sought to pull me down. It is my body, after all. As long as I kept myself as healthy as I can, I have long accepted the fact that my weight will forever stay with me. I learned to make good food choices, I learned to set aside a “me time” to keep in shape. I learned to not let people like Jen, Taco’s ex, get to me.

With Shelter for Quinn, Susan Stoker reminds us to not let our imperfections be the source for people to let us down.

Imperfections—birthmarks, physical and mental disabilities, all of them should be celebrated, for each of these make us unique individuals. With or without a support system, these imperfections are tools we can use to become a force of good to our families, our friends, to society.

Me, for example—even though people made fun of my weight when I used to climb mountains, people saw that I could out-climb them that I could lead a climb team. I could also, even when all my bones were aching after a hard trek, ensure that my teammates were well fed, comfortable, and warm.

That experience—being alluded to as the “ugly one” and getting hurt by it then—does not define me today. It has made me who I am today, more confident, more decisive. I am more understanding of people and their need to lift themselves to the detriment of others.

The experience has also strengthened me as I go about my work in politics, and in the field of public relations.

Yes, beauty, I believe, is in the eye of the beholder, but are we to consider only beauty that is skin deep, or the beauty within our hearts? In this day and age, the choice should be obvious.