Introducing the Characters in Margaret’s War

Make Peace, Not War and Bomb Hanoi are friends’ bumper stickers that reflect the conflict in Margaret Benson.  Margaret’s War, scheduled to be published late 2014, is 17,145 words strong! The main characters beg to be introduced (as only a story’s characters would).

Margaret Benson (Landings), is a forty year old widow living in the small town of Liberty, Ohio. She lost her husband Adam in the Vietnam War, and she’s haunted by the question of whether Adam’s sacrifice was noble or unnecessary. She still has not opened the box of Adam’s personal effects from the Marine Corps. What is she afraid she will find?

The Box sits unopened in Margaret’s closet. When does Margaret get the courage to take it down, pull off the tape, and peer inside?

Adam Benson, the all American devoted husband and ex-cop, volunteered to re-up in the Marine Corps after having served in Korea. He is killed under suspicious circumstances, and his personal belongings are clues to Adam’s love and personal integrity.

Ruth Middleton, the tiny-waisted and big-bosomed realtor with ulterior motives, tries to persuade Margaret to join the Daughters of the American Revolution and support the war effort.

But wait! Irene Sotheby is a bead-bedecked peacenik who tries to get Margaret involved in the anti-war movement. Her connection to Ruth Middleton is a shocker.

Corporal Benjamin Friend shows up on Margaret’s doorstep and claims to have served with Adam.

Captain Salls is the police chief of Liberty, Ohio. He seems more interested in Margaret than in the robbery that took place in Margaret’s house.

Tagged: anti-war protests, DAR, Daughters of the American Revolution, small town America, USMC, Vietnam veterans, Vietnam War, women's fiction