Today I am so pleased to welcome James Brock to Joyfully Jay. James has come to talk to us about his latest release, Dog Tagged. He has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving James a big welcome!

 

Dating back to the Romans, of course, soldiers have been given identification tag to prove who their remains are.

From sticks with their names written on them to lead coins worn on a leather thong around the neck to scraps of paper with their names written on them during battles during the Civil war.

In 1863 the first “modern” dog tags were made, evolving from roundish disks to today’s more rectangular pieces of non-corrosive metal with rounded edges. To prevent the tags from clacking together rubber bumpers are fit around the thin pieces of metal. It is inevitable that future Dog Tags will contain a chip with full information on the soldier they represent and even more inevitable that military personnel will be chipped under the skin, agreeing to wear the chip for life as part of military service.

Two of the tags containing information (name, religion, service number) are issued per soldier, one to be worn around the neck and on the body at all times, the other (on a smaller chain) to be used by the coroner, it is to be placed around the great toe as an identification of the body.

During the middle east wars of the 1990’s some soldiers began using a “meat tag”, having the information on the regulation dog tag’s inked onto their sides. It was not mandatory, but they felt safer with this identification on themselves.

Military personnel are supposed to have the dog tags on at all times when they are on duty, during basic training when they are issued Drill Instructors regularly check to make certain recruits have the tags in place around their necks during inspections, the whole company can be dropped for push ups or other corrective measures.

While the dog tags are among the smallest items of uniform issued, in the end they are among the most important items given to a soldier.

Dog Tagged is a military love story set in the time of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell-that grey time when the government was finally admitting that Gay and Lesbian (and eventually Trans) soldiers always have been a part of the military, in some cases a vital part, have always been in the service and always would be.

An acceptance was needed, rather than ripping the bandage off and simply saying Ok, they are here, they exist, the military crept slowly into the water of this subject with this in between mandate until finally easing into the acceptance of today.

 


Blurb

Drill Sergeant Clay Norris has his military life running right on schedule.  Career focused he appreciates that he joined up when his sexuality is at least acknowledged under Don’t Ask, Don’t tell, even if he doesn’t get to act on his urges as much as he likes.

In formation with his new trainee group he locks eyes with Chevrolet Banks and his life, their lives, are changed forever.

Dog Tagged is an insta love military romance based on real life incidents.

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Bio

James Brock is an Amazon number one best selling author, with fifteen M/M romance novels published and two family autobiographies.

Once upon a time he sold comedy to Joan Rivers and Phyllis Diller, was published in every gay men’s magazine on the market (when there was a market, those dinosaurs were killed off by DVD, which were in turn eaten by streaming and on demand…), the Seattle Gay News and Seattle Standard and essays with the late great Alyson Publications.

James lives in Seattle.


Giveaway

James is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour – enter via Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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