500 Miles an Hour is a hard-hitting, in-your-face, combat experience seen through the eyes of a Marine serving in Iraq. It details mental, physical, and spiritual injuries that could haunt a person for a lifetime, then guides the reader along a pathway of healing from the traumas of war. Take this journey of friendship, pride, and love with a staff sergeant leading his men into combat, while tackling the walls of protection he builds around himself. If 500 Miles an Hour could be boiled down to one word, it would be survival—man’s most basic and deadly instinct. All stress injuries are different, but the treatment is the same. It starts with you.
After much soul-searching and deliberation, and many sleepless nights counting stars, Shawn decided to join the Marine Corps. He served 13 years, attaining the rank of staff sergeant and deploying twice to Iraq, where he led marines through combat. In his time of service, he endured hardships and victories that will forever link him to the brotherhood of arms.
As an emerging author, Shawn uses fiction writing to help him through his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. Writing is cathartic for him, allowing for the painful memories to flow from his brain and heart, down his hands, out of his body, and onto the page. This, along with the love of his family and friends, has brought stability to his life. He currently develops and directs course curricula for the Enlisted Professional Military Education Distance Education Program at Marine Corps University. Shawn makes his home in the beautiful state of Virginia.
UPDATE: See the following TV interview with Shawn about his book – http://www.myhighplains.com/story/d/story/a-hometown-heros-battle/39957/Bi2SbLj4w0yAonpvOEp1Bw
Find interviews like this one on the Military Veterans in Creative Careers podcast.
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James Bane was born and raised on Dale Hollow Lake near Celina, Tennessee. He was a fun loving, goofy kid. Fortunate enough to have received football and academic scholarships to Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky, James majored in Communications and Theology, earning his Bachelor of Arts in both. He graduated Marine Corps bootcamp in August 2001, and served in Iraq in 2004 and 2006. After an Honorable Discharge in 2008, James went on to graduate from the University of Southern California’s (USC) School of Dramatic Arts in 2013, with an MFA in Theatre. He now resides in Hollywood, California.
Justin Sloan 
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