Rick DeStefanis utilizes his training and experiences as a paratrooper with the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division from 1970 to 1972 to predicate his Vietnam War Series, a collection of novels written as historical fiction, but which exceed simple genre classification. DeStefanis writes not only about men at war, but the women they love and their families back home, as well as the people of Vietnam. In his own words, he explains, "I try to present the reality of combat, its impact on the soldiers and their families, and the subsequent years that follow."DeStefanis is the author of twelve books, including three award-winning novels, “The Gomorrah Principle”, awarded the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Award for military fiction, “Valley of the Purple Hearts”, awarded the 2017 Best Indie Book Award for literary fiction, and "The Birdhouse Man", awarded the Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal and the Kindle 2022 Gold Medal Award for Literary Fiction. His works include four additional Vietnam War novels as well as a historical western series (The Rawlins Saga) which currently includes four books.DeStefanis also has to his credit a southern novel “Tallahatchie”, a result of his lifelong residence in the South where he says he writes fiction because the truth exceeds believability.Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Rick has lived in northern Mississippi for most of this adult life., where he currently resides with his wife, Janet, and provides assisted living for several cats and a couple of dogs—including a male Labrador retriever named Blondie.You can learn more about Rick by joining him on his website and subscribing to his blog/newsletter.Read more about this authorRead less about this author