Writing the Injured With Realism and Sensitivity...

I get a lot of comments about my books, particularly my Lost And Found series. All of my heroes are disabled- some seriously, some not so bad- and have major life issues to deal with.
I worried about writing this series because while I do feel strongly about disabled veterans, I don't actually have any in my life. I write after watching videos, reading blogs, listening to interviews. Scenarios creep into my brain and I play out how I would react if I were missing a limb or in a wheelchair. I think it also helps that I've worked with men most of my life. When I was a deputy sheriff, I was one of the few women on the road, and to be part of the guys, you have to be accepting of just about everything they do. You have to be one of the guys. I worked with a lot of former military, body builders, and total MEN. It was very enlightening.
I think that insight helped me write my heroes. I knew that even though they were injured, they would still be men; who liked to look at women, who liked to eat and joke with their buddies, who would be extremely frustrated to be incapacitated in any way. I think as long as you understand those few things, you can get an idea about injured warriors.
But when you write about them, you can't sugar-coat the injuries themselves, or the way they react to them. If you don't treat the injury with the respect that it deserves, you devalue the injury itself. These men (and women) sacrificed life and limb, literally. I try to give them the respect they completely deserve.
If you haven't checked out the prequel to my series, The Embattled Road, you should truly try it out. There are no love interests in it, only three strong Marines struggling to find balance is their drastically shifted lives with their new limitations. And the best part of it is, the book is FREE!