Max Elliot Anderson – Real Life Romance – Part 1 of 1

Shannon here: Max Elliot Anderson has long been on my radar screen since I have a son who doesn’t like to read. We haven’t tried one of his books yet, but it’s on our to do list. Max writes Adventure-Action and Mystery for 8 – 13 yr. olds, especially boys. Max shares his real life romance, plus a chance to win his book, Captain Jack’s Treasure. Since I promise a romance giveaway, I’ll throw in a copy of Rodeo Hero too. Two books up for grabs for one lucky winner. Comment on any post dated August 20th – 24th. Deadline: September 1st, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Max:

Long Distance 

I met my girlfriend early in the summer that year. I was working in my father’s Christian film production company, and Claudia came from Virginia to work at a nearby Christian conference grounds, in Indiana, for the summer. 
We actually met, for the first time, on a movie set. Claudia, and a number of other summer workers, had come to the studio to sit in a restaurant set as extras. 
Larry Carlson had been a childhood friend when his family and mine lived in Michigan. Now his father ran the conference grounds so Larry and I had renewed our friendship. It was Larry who first spotted Claudia. Right away he thought we’d be perfect for each other. Well, neither of us thought so at first. But as the summer continued, those walls came down. 
At the end of the season, Claudia returned home. In September of that year, I was drafted into the U.S. Army. To complicate matters, this also happened to be at height of the Vietnam War. Guys my age expected to be shipped out at any time after basic training. 
There was a rule at the time where two members of the same family couldn’t be sent to the region. My older brother, who had joined the Army a few months prior to my being drafted, received his Vietnam orders before my number could come up. So after a few months on a post in Washington, I was reassigned to Germany. 
Claudia and I had talked about getting married, but there was always that uncertainty where I might be sent to a war zone. 
My father had scheduled a trip to Brazil for business. He had a contact there who specialized in diamonds. He arranged to purchase a stone for me on his next trip. Then, before I was sent to Germany, I picked out a setting, but hadn’t seen the stone yet. 
I went off the Germany where my assignment landed me in an armored battalion. My first job was as the loader on a tank. The funny thing is that I’m a little over 6’ 4”. That meant, when I stood straight up, I could see out of the loader’s hatch when it was open. 
Later my dad made the Brazil trip. After bringing a diamond back to our hometown it was placed into the setting I had selected. I’d also asked Claudia’s father for permission to marry his daughter when I visited her in Virginia. This he kept secret. 
I had taken typing in high school. While in basic training I also took a typing test which showed how many words I could type per minute. Not long after arriving in Germany, I heard that the company clerk would be rotating back to the states, so I put in for his job. 
My parents later traveled to Europe on another business trip and arranged to visit my base in Manheim, Germany. There they were able to show me the finished engagement ring. When they returned home, they mailed it to Claudia’s home with our strict instructions that she not open it until I called. 
After I knew for sure it had arrived, I called her and asked her to open the package while I was on the phone. Then I asked her to be my wife. The tears and excited screaming on the other end of the line told me she had accepted. We were engaged, over the phone, by long distance, with an ocean between us. 
We decided that I would return home on leave a few months later and we were married one year earlier than we had originally planned, allowing us to live together in Europe for the first year of our marriage. And because I had been given the clerk job, I had a fairly normal office job for the rest of my time in Germany. We rented an apartment off-base and bought a very old Volkswagen beetle. 
Claudia and I spent our first Christmas in Germany. We were able to take lots of weekend trips in that beat up car. The memories we have of our first year together, and the stories we still tell, provide wonderful memories for both of us.
My wife and I will celebrate our forty-fourth wedding anniversary this August 2012.
About Max: Max Elliot Anderson grew up as a struggling reader.  After surveying the market, he sensed the need for action-adventures and mysteries for readers 8 – 13, especially boys.
Using his extensive experience in the production of dramatic motion pictures, videos, and television commercials, Mr. Anderson brings that same visual excitement and heart-pounding action to his stories. Each book has different characters, setting, and plot. 
Several books are published, with an additional twenty-nine manuscripts completed. Young readers have reported that reading one of his books is like actually being in an exciting movie. Learn more: Books for Boys Blog:  http://booksandboys.blogspot.com, Author Web Site:  http://www.maxbooks.9k.com/index_1.html, and My Youtube Videos http://www.youtube.com/user/Maxbooks100.
About the book: Sam Cooper lives right near the ocean, on the Treasure Coast of Florida. All he’s heard about since he moved here are the fabulous treasures that have been found, and those still waiting to be discovered. Sam, Tony, and Tyler are convinced that they will be the ones to dig up the next great find. They meet a crusty sea captain named Jack who’s fixing up an impossible looking old tub. What is Captain Jack’s mysterious secret? And what is he really planning to do with that boat? Captain Jack’s Treasure reminds us what is truly valuable in life. This is the second book in the Sam Cooper Adventures.
Come back August 22 as the countdown continues of readers’ favorite romantic posts.