WILLIAMSBURG — U.S. Navy veterans and writing duo Brian Andrews and Jeffery Wilson are coming to the College of William & Mary’s Spirit Shop & Book Store to promote the latest addition to their “Sons of Valor” book series on Tuesday, June 14. The two writers are also having a book signing in Virginia Beach on June 15, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble located at 4485 Virginia Beach Blvd.
Their new book is entitled “Sons of Valor II: Violence of Action.” The story centers around Keith “Chunk” Redman, one of the characters from the author’s original “Tier One” book series. Chunk is a Navy Seal who, along with his skilled team, goes after an infamous Iraq War sniper nicknamed the Lion of Ramadi.
According to a release from Black Stone Publishing, “Fearing they may have been duped into chasing the wrong target, Chunk and his team embarks on a high-stakes cat-and-mouse mission where nothing — and no one — is what they expect. And when their enemy finds a way to strike at the heart of what’s nearest and dearest to them, it will test not only their bonds but also the personal sacrifices they’ve made to keep America safe.”
The authors both come from a deep Navy background. Brian Andrews is a former submarine officer and holds a psychology degree from Vanderbilt, as well as a master’s in business from Cornell University. Jeffery Willson, from Williamsburg, has served in the U.S. Navy for fourteen years and has made multiple deployments as a combat surgeon. He’s also worked as a diving instructor, jet pilot, paramedic, firefighter, and actor.
The two writers met at Thrillerfest, an annual conference for Thriller writers, publishers, editors, and fans of the genre, about 10 years ago. A couple of years after that initial meeting, Andrews and Wilson began to write and work together on what would soon become a big hit for them, “Tier One.”
“It was his idea, full credit where it belongs,” said Wilson in an interview with WYDaily. “He approached me, and was like, ‘You worked for the Seals, I’ve worked with subs. We’ve got all this rich experience. We should write together.’ I said, ‘no’ initially. It sounded like a great idea on paper but how would that even work? What does that look like? So I said I’d help him brainstorm this thing together. The more we brainstormed, the better the story got.”
The duo ended up writing five chapters together and then eventually ended up writing an entire novel together. Combined they’ve written and published over 15 books.
“Our goal from the very beginning for the series is of course exciting and commercial and a way to make a living, but also that it would honor the people that we know and love, and that it would represent them in a way that they’re proud of and that we could be proud to show it to them,” said Wilson. “The characters and the situations are realistic, the toll is realistic, and it’s very character and relationship-driven. Instead of just some super evil genius villain who is taken down by the superhero.”
Wilson grew up in the greater Williamsburg area and is a William & Mary alum. Both writers are excited to visit Hampton Roads to talk with fans, friends, and veterans.
“For years now we’ve been using our platform to lift up fellow veterans,” said Wilson. “It’s something that’s huge to us. We’ve been involved with some veteran-owned businesses like BoneFrog Coffee, and Tom Satterly’s group, he’s a Delta Force guy who runs a charity for PTS.”
The duo also helps raise money for the SEAL Legacy Foundation and plans on meeting various local military units to donate deployment libraries to local SEAL teams in the area.
More information on the upcoming event can be found at Brian Andrews’ and Jeffery Wilson’s official website.
