Siren’s Song seduces warriors – Antonio Salinas

When we met Antonio Salinas he introduced himself as a Writer, Warrior and Lover.

Marius, Nate en route to Sangria Summit

The ‘we’ were Military Success Network’s three co-founders, joining Salinas and other warrior writers at the first Sangria Summit Writers’ Conference in Denver, CO. Like other participants, we soon accepted that his 4th, self chosen description of Scholar was also apt.

Salinas was one of a select few who were able to workshop passages from their current manuscripts in a special session with the larger group. Feedback was good. Edits are in the process for book #2.

Today, however, Salinas answered questions about his first and recently published book – the provocatively titled, Siren’s Song: The Allure of War.  In this segment, he talks of the experience of war .. in his own words…..

Antonio Salinas

Your friend may feel the cold and wet qualities of the water and listen to you. However, they will never understand the sheer force and power of the sight you experienced.

When you decide to write about combat you have to realize an important truth.

No, matter how talented of a writer you may think you are, you will never truly convey the complete truth of what it feels like to be in combat.

It is this unsolvable equation that attracts me- both as a professional warrior and writer- in attempting to bring stories of war home.

What is my book “Siren’s Song: The allure of war” about??

This may trigger your interest.

All of us dream. However, some of us dream about a nightmare that is a timeless character in civilization: war.

Many of us share a deep fascination with this bloody and cataclysmic event. War appears to have a Siren’s song’s hold upon much of mankind, in that some of us are drawn to it like nothing else.

Some of us fantasize about this experience called war.

We read books, watch movies, and play video games about combat. Some wonder if they’d be brave enough to face the enemy and stare death in its face. Others wonder what the sound of a bullet flying over your head makes or how it feels to lay your eyes upon the enemy for the first time.

Do you wonder what war is like?

This is a story of one man who was captivated by the Siren’s call to war. He followed the Sirens’ tune to their source. The Sirens of war awaited him in the Pesh River Valley of Kunar Province, Afghanistan.

There in Kunar, he finally learned the truth about war. There, he found out what it was like.

If you are one of those who are curious about this nightmare or perhaps you’ve lived through it yourself, you are welcome to share in this journey.

MilSuccessNet, like the book’s readers, wondered how much is autobiographical.  To this Salinas gave only a moderately ‘classified’ answer:

You will walk among the training grounds and experience war.

These are one man’s reflections of war, taken from his war journal and originally written within hours of firefights and at times when his ears were still ringing from the terrible cacophony of battle that all warriors intimately know.

Salinas’s love and academic devotion to history is clear in his epic invitation:

You are invited to this Afghanistan; a place where savage beauty and death coexists in every moment and with every breath.

 On Transition…    

Salinas is active duty and a career military man who says clearly, “I’ve found my niche.”  It would appear then that the ‘transition’ from military to civilian life we speak of on this site, is understood for Salinas as transition from one military to an even deeper military commitment.

Salinas is an Allen Park, Michigan native. He grew up in this suburb of Detroit and upon high school graduation, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.

There he served as a geospatial intelligence analyst, then as a martial arts instructor trainer, and later an intelligence chief.

He attended Eastern Michigan University and received his Bachelors in History and Political Science. In graduate school he enrolled in Army ROTC and attained his Masters in History. ‘

Antonio Salinas was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 2007 and has served in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

He currently resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado where he continues to serve in uniform as a U.S. Army Captain.

“Siren’s Song” is available on Kindle  and on Amazon Paperback

It is also carried at Barnes & Noble in B&N Nook

A book review will appear on WoW:  Words on Wednesday, MilSuccessNet’s book review feature.

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