Vietnam Veteran Writes Novel, Donates Proceeds
Article and photo by Frank Lee, The Newsleaders, Friday, Oct. 21, 2016
Michael P. Maurer lives in Sartell, but for the veteran-turned-writer-and-poet who recently gave a presentation about his wartime experience, it’s almost as if he had never left Vietnam.
Perfume River Nights is a novel he struggled nine years to write because of the emotional toll the war took on his mind, body and soul, and because he wanted to do right by his comrades-in-arms, especially those who didn’t get to return home to the United States like he did. ...
“Perfume River Nights is a story about those young men – how they experienced combat and are changed by it,” Maurer said. “It is the culmination of my 50-year effort to save those guys . . . guys who long ago were dead. . . . I’m still trying to save them.” ...
“It was important to me to write honestly, no matter how painful it would be,” Maurer said. “And there were many days during the 13 years of writing the novel that I sat at the computer and cried. How does a soldier survive doing the things that infantrymen have to do and hold onto some sense of self-good?” Maurer asked the audience rhetorically. ...
See Entire Article At: http://www.thenewsleaders.net/2016/10/20/vietnam-veteran-writes-novel-donates-proceeds/
Thank you to Frank Lee and The Newsleaders for featuring this story.
The Perfume River Carries Our Stories
We are the river. The river is us.
It was in returning to Vietnam and sitting beside the Perfume River and listening to her whispers that I knew the story I would write, the story that would become the novel Perfume River Nights.
We are the river. The river is us.
It was in returning to Vietnam and sitting beside the Perfume River and listening to her whispers that I knew the story I would write, the story that would become the novel Perfume River Nights.
Perfume River Nights makes a third donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
On December 3, 2016 a third donation, this one for $1,250, from the sale of the novel Perfume River Nights, was sent to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF). This brings the total contributions to VVMF from the novel to $4,250.
The success of Perfume River Nights in gaining a wide readership and generating multiple donations to VVMF is exciting. It is gratifying that readers are touched by the story and thrilled to see the royalties go towards the memorial that not only provides a remembrance of all who served in the Vietnam War but also plays such an important role in our healing. With the novel's continued success in the coming year we can expect to see more donations to VVMF.
The VVMF is the organization that built and maintains the memorial, commonly referred to as “The Wall,” in Washington, D.C. The memorial honors the sacrifices of all those who served in U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War. Built in 1982 entirely from private donations, it is the most visited memorial with more than four million visitors annually. It has become a place for grieving and healing. Veterans, friends, family members, and loved ones have left more than four hundred thousand letters, unit badges, artifacts and personal memorials at the base of The Wall.
Thank you to everyone for supporting Perfume River Nights and helping to make these donations to VVMF possible.
Photo: Author Michael P. Maurer poses with his daughters and volunteer officers for the nonprofit Perfume River Initiative Melissa Thiebaut (left) and Jennie Bosl (right).
On December 3, 2016 a third donation, this one for $1,250, from the sale of the novel Perfume River Nights, was sent to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF). This brings the total contributions to VVMF from the novel to $4,250.
The success of Perfume River Nights in gaining a wide readership and generating multiple donations to VVMF is exciting. It is gratifying that readers are touched by the story and thrilled to see the royalties go towards the memorial that not only provides a remembrance of all who served in the Vietnam War but also plays such an important role in our healing. With the novel's continued success in the coming year we can expect to see more donations to VVMF.
The VVMF is the organization that built and maintains the memorial, commonly referred to as “The Wall,” in Washington, D.C. The memorial honors the sacrifices of all those who served in U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War. Built in 1982 entirely from private donations, it is the most visited memorial with more than four million visitors annually. It has become a place for grieving and healing. Veterans, friends, family members, and loved ones have left more than four hundred thousand letters, unit badges, artifacts and personal memorials at the base of The Wall.
Thank you to everyone for supporting Perfume River Nights and helping to make these donations to VVMF possible.
Photo: Author Michael P. Maurer poses with his daughters and volunteer officers for the nonprofit Perfume River Initiative Melissa Thiebaut (left) and Jennie Bosl (right).
Veterans' Voices Week Presentation - Remember Us
October 19, 2016
Tonight I will speak at Saint Cloud State University about Vietnam and PERFUME RIVER NIGHTS as part of their commemoration of Veterans' Voices Month. The occasion adds weight to the ever present responsibility to save the guys. Tonight, as always, I will carry all of us - the dead, the wounded, and all who served. I will work once more to save the guys, to enlist others to help me save them, to have people read the book, to remember us and share our memory with others. This feels like my last chance to save the guys. This time I can't fail. Sometimes the task seems too big to bear, too overwhelming, but then I hear the guys telling me "we got your back." And I know just as in Nam they have me covered and will keep me alive, sacrificing themselves in the end. I will climb on the stage tonight with the guys around me, watching my back as I offer them to the audience. Remember us.
October 19, 2016
Tonight I will speak at Saint Cloud State University about Vietnam and PERFUME RIVER NIGHTS as part of their commemoration of Veterans' Voices Month. The occasion adds weight to the ever present responsibility to save the guys. Tonight, as always, I will carry all of us - the dead, the wounded, and all who served. I will work once more to save the guys, to enlist others to help me save them, to have people read the book, to remember us and share our memory with others. This feels like my last chance to save the guys. This time I can't fail. Sometimes the task seems too big to bear, too overwhelming, but then I hear the guys telling me "we got your back." And I know just as in Nam they have me covered and will keep me alive, sacrificing themselves in the end. I will climb on the stage tonight with the guys around me, watching my back as I offer them to the audience. Remember us.
They come with their stories, their photos, and their grief
October 19, 2016
More than 100 people came to my presentation last week about PERFUME RIVER NIGHTS. They all brought stories of their time in the Vietnam War or that of their friend, brother or husband. Many were heartbreaking. The sadest were the women who stood in the long book signing line to show me an old army photo of their dead husbands. "This is Jack," one of them said as she held the photo out toward me. "He died when ..." Then a different women was before me with another photo of a boy-like face in jungle fatigues. Then they were gone leaving me with the images and their sorrow.
October 19, 2016
More than 100 people came to my presentation last week about PERFUME RIVER NIGHTS. They all brought stories of their time in the Vietnam War or that of their friend, brother or husband. Many were heartbreaking. The sadest were the women who stood in the long book signing line to show me an old army photo of their dead husbands. "This is Jack," one of them said as she held the photo out toward me. "He died when ..." Then a different women was before me with another photo of a boy-like face in jungle fatigues. Then they were gone leaving me with the images and their sorrow.
The most recent review of Perfume River Nights on Amazon "5 Stars"
September 6, 2016
A very impactful book
I am writing this review realizing that I cannot sufficiently put into words the quality and impact of this book. It is a must read for anyone wanting more understanding and empathy for what many our Viet Nam veterans endured in that war. The high quality of writing drew me into the experiences of the main character so powerfully that there were times that I had to put the book down. It is an emotional experience to read this book and I would highly recommend it. -Clint D.
Thank you to Clint D. for this five star review.
September 6, 2016
A very impactful book
I am writing this review realizing that I cannot sufficiently put into words the quality and impact of this book. It is a must read for anyone wanting more understanding and empathy for what many our Viet Nam veterans endured in that war. The high quality of writing drew me into the experiences of the main character so powerfully that there were times that I had to put the book down. It is an emotional experience to read this book and I would highly recommend it. -Clint D.
Thank you to Clint D. for this five star review.
Gratitude
September 6, 2016
It was nice to have a weekend without a book signing event. It gave me time to pause and be grateful. I am so appreciative for the reception and support given to Perfume River Nights.
Thank you to everyone for reading the book and promoting it – whether by recommending it to a friend, posting about it on Facebook or rating it on your favorite book site. It all is a big help in advancing the story, generating more donations for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and “saving the guys.”
Thank you.
September 6, 2016
It was nice to have a weekend without a book signing event. It gave me time to pause and be grateful. I am so appreciative for the reception and support given to Perfume River Nights.
Thank you to everyone for reading the book and promoting it – whether by recommending it to a friend, posting about it on Facebook or rating it on your favorite book site. It all is a big help in advancing the story, generating more donations for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and “saving the guys.”
Thank you.
Perfume River Nights generates second donation to Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
On August 25, 2016 a second donation, this one for $1,750 , from the sale of the novel Perfume River Nights was sent to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF). This brings the total contributions to VVMF from the novel to $3,000.
The VVMF is the organization that built and maintains the memorial, commonly referred to as “The Wall,” in Washington, D.C. The memorial honors the sacrifices of all those who served in U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War. Built in 1982 entirely from private donations, it is the most visited memorial with more than four million visitors annually. It has become a place for grieving and healing. Veterans, friends, family members, and loved ones have left more than four hundred thousand letters, unit badges, artifacts and personal memorials at the base of The Wall.
Thank you to everyone for supporting Perfume River Nights and helping to make these donations to VVMF possible.
Photo: Author Michael P. Maurer poses with his daughters and volunteer officers for the nonprofit Perfume River Initiative Melissa Thiebaut (left) and Jennie Bosl (right).
On August 25, 2016 a second donation, this one for $1,750 , from the sale of the novel Perfume River Nights was sent to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF). This brings the total contributions to VVMF from the novel to $3,000.
The VVMF is the organization that built and maintains the memorial, commonly referred to as “The Wall,” in Washington, D.C. The memorial honors the sacrifices of all those who served in U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War. Built in 1982 entirely from private donations, it is the most visited memorial with more than four million visitors annually. It has become a place for grieving and healing. Veterans, friends, family members, and loved ones have left more than four hundred thousand letters, unit badges, artifacts and personal memorials at the base of The Wall.
Thank you to everyone for supporting Perfume River Nights and helping to make these donations to VVMF possible.
Photo: Author Michael P. Maurer poses with his daughters and volunteer officers for the nonprofit Perfume River Initiative Melissa Thiebaut (left) and Jennie Bosl (right).
View Michael's Compelling Talk At The May Pre-release Book Party
A powerful presentation by author Michael P. Maurer about his time as an infantryman in Vietnam and his return to Vietnam to write the novel Perfume River Nights.
https://youtu.be/GV0OCn3lJ_Q
A powerful presentation by author Michael P. Maurer about his time as an infantryman in Vietnam and his return to Vietnam to write the novel Perfume River Nights.
https://youtu.be/GV0OCn3lJ_Q
Vietnam War vet Michael Maurer wrote Perfume River Nights ‘to save the guys’
St. Paul Pioneer Press 7-3-2016
The woman picked up Michael Maurer’s novel “Perfume River Nights” and started to cry. She cried while Maurer signed the book, and she was crying when she left the bookstore without saying a word.
Reader reaction to Maurer’s novel, based on his experiences as an infantryman in Vietnam, has surprised the author.
“It is heart wrenching, the suffering people have carried through the decades because of that war,” he says of the conflict that ended almost 50 years ago. “Everyone shares a story with me. A woman tells about her sister’s husband dying from Agent Orange. A woman thanks me for writing the book because it helped her father open up for the first time about the war ..."
"Every generation goes to war with naivete,” he says quietly. “There are no dramatic presentations of war that can tell you what it’s like to kill a person, touch a still-warm body, and what it does to your soul, that sense of self, being a good person. It’s like putting a knife in your chest and cutting your heart out.”
Those are the feelings Maurer captures in “Perfume River Nights,” set during the time he was in Vietnam in the area around Hue, which saw some of the most brutal fighting.
See The Full Article:
http://www.twincities.com/2016/07/01/perfume-river-nights-michael-maurer/
"I loved [this] book." -Mary Ann Grossmann, Book Editor, St. Paul Pioneer Press
Thank you to Mary Ann Grossman, book editor with the St. Paul Pioneer Press, for this wonderful and moving story about Perfume River Nights.
St. Paul Pioneer Press 7-3-2016
The woman picked up Michael Maurer’s novel “Perfume River Nights” and started to cry. She cried while Maurer signed the book, and she was crying when she left the bookstore without saying a word.
Reader reaction to Maurer’s novel, based on his experiences as an infantryman in Vietnam, has surprised the author.
“It is heart wrenching, the suffering people have carried through the decades because of that war,” he says of the conflict that ended almost 50 years ago. “Everyone shares a story with me. A woman tells about her sister’s husband dying from Agent Orange. A woman thanks me for writing the book because it helped her father open up for the first time about the war ..."
"Every generation goes to war with naivete,” he says quietly. “There are no dramatic presentations of war that can tell you what it’s like to kill a person, touch a still-warm body, and what it does to your soul, that sense of self, being a good person. It’s like putting a knife in your chest and cutting your heart out.”
Those are the feelings Maurer captures in “Perfume River Nights,” set during the time he was in Vietnam in the area around Hue, which saw some of the most brutal fighting.
See The Full Article:
http://www.twincities.com/2016/07/01/perfume-river-nights-michael-maurer/
"I loved [this] book." -Mary Ann Grossmann, Book Editor, St. Paul Pioneer Press
Thank you to Mary Ann Grossman, book editor with the St. Paul Pioneer Press, for this wonderful and moving story about Perfume River Nights.
Perfume River Nights Generates First Donation To VVMF
A check for $1,250.00, the first donation from the pre-release sales of Perfume River Nights, was sent on May 27, 2016 to Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. All royalties from Perfume River Nights will continue to benefit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund for as long as the book is in distribution.
Thank you to everyone who bought early copies of Perfume River Nights.
A check for $1,250.00, the first donation from the pre-release sales of Perfume River Nights, was sent on May 27, 2016 to Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. All royalties from Perfume River Nights will continue to benefit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund for as long as the book is in distribution.
Thank you to everyone who bought early copies of Perfume River Nights.
A review in The VVA Veteran Books in Review II,
May 28, 2016
"Perfume River Nights is a superb novel of the American infantry in Vietnam, and I highly recommend it. If I were still teaching a class on the war, I’d use this novel as a text and the class would learn a lot from it.
"I rank Perfume River Nights right up there with Marlantes’ Matterhorn ..."
—David Willson, Contributing Writer, The VVA Veteran
See The Full Review:
https://vvabooks.wordpress.com/2016/05/28/perfume-river-nights-by-michael-p-maurer/
Thank you to The VVA Veteran and to reviewer David Willson for calling Perfume River Nights a "superb novel" and highly recommending it.
May 28, 2016
"Perfume River Nights is a superb novel of the American infantry in Vietnam, and I highly recommend it. If I were still teaching a class on the war, I’d use this novel as a text and the class would learn a lot from it.
"I rank Perfume River Nights right up there with Marlantes’ Matterhorn ..."
—David Willson, Contributing Writer, The VVA Veteran
See The Full Review:
https://vvabooks.wordpress.com/2016/05/28/perfume-river-nights-by-michael-p-maurer/
Thank you to The VVA Veteran and to reviewer David Willson for calling Perfume River Nights a "superb novel" and highly recommending it.
Vietnam infantryman writes book in honor of those fallen
Morrison County Record, May 30, 2016.
“It’s a debt to pay,” said Michael Maurer, author of Perfume River Nights, released just this month.
His book has its roots in his military service in Vietnam nearly 50 years ago when he was an infantryman in the 82nd Airborne Division in 1968-69. He was only 17 when he enlisted in the army paratroopers.
See The Full Article:
http://mcrecord.com/2016/05/30/vietnam-infantryman-writes-book-in-honor-of-those-fallen/
Thank you to reporter Sheila McCoy and the Morrison County Record for this thorough and sensitive story
Morrison County Record, May 30, 2016.
“It’s a debt to pay,” said Michael Maurer, author of Perfume River Nights, released just this month.
His book has its roots in his military service in Vietnam nearly 50 years ago when he was an infantryman in the 82nd Airborne Division in 1968-69. He was only 17 when he enlisted in the army paratroopers.
See The Full Article:
http://mcrecord.com/2016/05/30/vietnam-infantryman-writes-book-in-honor-of-those-fallen/
Thank you to reporter Sheila McCoy and the Morrison County Record for this thorough and sensitive story
Remembering them: Vet writes book for Vietnam buddies
St. Cloud Times, May 17, 2016
Michael P. Maurer was hiking in Colorado for a charity event in 2000 when he realized it was time to keep his promise.
Maurer enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 17 as a paratrooper. Three months after his 18th birthday, the teenager from St. Paul was serving in Vietnam, where he stayed from 1968 to 1969.
That was almost 50 years ago, but the memories are fresh in Maurer's head and soul. And now some of them are fresh on paper: Maurer has recently released his first novel, "Perfume River Nights," inspired by his time as an Airborne infantryman in Vietnam. The book took more than a decade to complete, and Maurer even moved to Vietnam for a while to be close to his past.
"In that time coming back, I made a promise to the guys and to the dead that I would write a story about Vietnam, and it just took me a long time to get to it," said the Sartell resident. "I think either the story wasn't ready or I wasn't ready. In those initial years, I was fending off Vietnam and trying to survive and really trying to figure out some way to save the guys on some level."
"Perfume River Nights" is about 18-year-old Jimmy Miller (he's known in the platoon as Singer), who learns painful lessons about the costs of war. Maurer was hiking for the Jacob Wetterling Foundation when he made the resolution to finish his novel.
"Through that past decade, the voices of Vietnam had become louder and more demanding," he said. "It was then hiking in the mountains that I knew what I had to do. I had to go back to Vietnam. I needed to go back to where the guys were. I needed to go back to the last place I was alive, and to the place I died."
See The Full Article:
http://www.sctimes.com/story/life/2016/05/16/remembering-them-vet-writes-book-vietnam-buddies/84262940/
Thank you to reporter Kate Kompas, photographer Dave Schwarz, and the St Cloud Times for this touching and powerful story.
St. Cloud Times, May 17, 2016
Michael P. Maurer was hiking in Colorado for a charity event in 2000 when he realized it was time to keep his promise.
Maurer enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 17 as a paratrooper. Three months after his 18th birthday, the teenager from St. Paul was serving in Vietnam, where he stayed from 1968 to 1969.
That was almost 50 years ago, but the memories are fresh in Maurer's head and soul. And now some of them are fresh on paper: Maurer has recently released his first novel, "Perfume River Nights," inspired by his time as an Airborne infantryman in Vietnam. The book took more than a decade to complete, and Maurer even moved to Vietnam for a while to be close to his past.
"In that time coming back, I made a promise to the guys and to the dead that I would write a story about Vietnam, and it just took me a long time to get to it," said the Sartell resident. "I think either the story wasn't ready or I wasn't ready. In those initial years, I was fending off Vietnam and trying to survive and really trying to figure out some way to save the guys on some level."
"Perfume River Nights" is about 18-year-old Jimmy Miller (he's known in the platoon as Singer), who learns painful lessons about the costs of war. Maurer was hiking for the Jacob Wetterling Foundation when he made the resolution to finish his novel.
"Through that past decade, the voices of Vietnam had become louder and more demanding," he said. "It was then hiking in the mountains that I knew what I had to do. I had to go back to Vietnam. I needed to go back to where the guys were. I needed to go back to the last place I was alive, and to the place I died."
See The Full Article:
http://www.sctimes.com/story/life/2016/05/16/remembering-them-vet-writes-book-vietnam-buddies/84262940/
Thank you to reporter Kate Kompas, photographer Dave Schwarz, and the St Cloud Times for this touching and powerful story.
|
Excitement Builds Towards Release of Perfume River Nights
May 12th, 2016 It is just ten days until the book release party. I’m busy with last minute party details and trying to set up signing events. The books are here. It is a relief to have books for the party. I'm waiting anxiously for Perfume River Nights to be added to the distribution system so that they will be available at bookstores and from online booksellers. Many people have told me they are excited and waiting to read the book. The press has begun to show some interest. A radio personality called me and two newspaper reporters interviewed me. I really appreciate the early interest from readers. I especial appreciate the reporters and radio personality who want to tell their listeners or readers about the book. Thank you. |
Donation Preparations
April 18, 2016
I'm ready to make the first donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund after the May 22nd book release party for Perfume River Nights.
Thank you to Carly Mineau, the customer representative at the Big Check Store, for helping me get this dry erasable big check that will work great for repeated donations.
April 18, 2016
I'm ready to make the first donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund after the May 22nd book release party for Perfume River Nights.
Thank you to Carly Mineau, the customer representative at the Big Check Store, for helping me get this dry erasable big check that will work great for repeated donations.
A poem for National Poetry Month 2016
The Water Buffalo
The water buffalo
plods tirelessly
pulling its load.
It looks at me knowingly.
I am a buffalo,
a brother.
We move through life
sometimes as through the mud,
accepting our loads,
pushing ahead
at a slow but constant pace.
There was a time
when we stood face to face
challenging each other,
each claiming the trail,
each blocking the other.
You with your black stare,
me with my black rifle.
Each of us traveling trails
we didn’t want to travel
and carrying loads
we didn’t want to carry.
We stared and threatened each other
until one of us chose a wiser course.
Now we stare at each other
knowing that we are brothers
pulling our loads through the mud
until there are no more loads to pull.
Thoughts From Afar
Copyright 2007 Michael P. Maurer
The Water Buffalo
The water buffalo
plods tirelessly
pulling its load.
It looks at me knowingly.
I am a buffalo,
a brother.
We move through life
sometimes as through the mud,
accepting our loads,
pushing ahead
at a slow but constant pace.
There was a time
when we stood face to face
challenging each other,
each claiming the trail,
each blocking the other.
You with your black stare,
me with my black rifle.
Each of us traveling trails
we didn’t want to travel
and carrying loads
we didn’t want to carry.
We stared and threatened each other
until one of us chose a wiser course.
Now we stare at each other
knowing that we are brothers
pulling our loads through the mud
until there are no more loads to pull.
Thoughts From Afar
Copyright 2007 Michael P. Maurer
Riptides
Sometimes you decide to wade into the ocean
from unfamiliar beaches,
unaware of the dangerous currents.
That decision unknowingly becomes
your last voluntary act,
for the riptides catch you
and carry you along like the events in your life.
Such were the events of Vietnam,
for the nation,
and for each of us
as individuals and as soldiers.
Once we volunteered or submitted to the draft,
we were carried by the riptides
of the military
and of war.
Each of us were tossed and beaten
as we struggled against the current of events
that we were powerless to control or understand,
and from which we were helpless
to disentangle ourselves.
Some of us drowned.
Others were carried long distances
and cast up in strange places,
exhausted from the struggle,
never able to orientate to the strange world
in which we found ourselves.
A Journey Through A Warrior's Soul
Copyright 2002 Michael P. Maurer
Sometimes you decide to wade into the ocean
from unfamiliar beaches,
unaware of the dangerous currents.
That decision unknowingly becomes
your last voluntary act,
for the riptides catch you
and carry you along like the events in your life.
Such were the events of Vietnam,
for the nation,
and for each of us
as individuals and as soldiers.
Once we volunteered or submitted to the draft,
we were carried by the riptides
of the military
and of war.
Each of us were tossed and beaten
as we struggled against the current of events
that we were powerless to control or understand,
and from which we were helpless
to disentangle ourselves.
Some of us drowned.
Others were carried long distances
and cast up in strange places,
exhausted from the struggle,
never able to orientate to the strange world
in which we found ourselves.
A Journey Through A Warrior's Soul
Copyright 2002 Michael P. Maurer
