© 2021 Robert McEvilla, The Goats of Santo Domingo and A Laurel To Rest On
Robert McEvilla
The Goats of Santo Domingo
The Goats of Santo Domingo, a romantic novel based on a true event, written by a former paratrooper who participated in this forgotten military operation of the 1960's. Whenever John Romero was asked if he was wounded in Vietnam, he always received a confused look when he replied that his eye was lost in Santo Domingo. A former minor league baseball player with just six weeks left to serve in the Army, John's plans for making a comeback are interrupted when his unit is deployed to the Dominican Republic, and he finds himself in a combat situation. While dodging bullets, he meets a beautiful Dominican woman, the aloof Ramona. She inflames the private passions of the paratroopers that view her from their command post. Romero plots a course to win her affections, but the political intrigue and the carnage in the streets of Santo Domingo conspire to thwart his every move, forcing him to make a drastic decision. The Goats of Santo Domingo explores the complexity of emotions that arise when one is confronted with a situation in a state of flux, and demonstrates that sometimes doing the right thing can literally blow up in your face. Author, Robert McEvilla, is retired stationary engineer who lives in the backwoods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. His short stories have been published in various literary magazines. This is his first novel which is based on his experiences in the Dominican Republic. Purchase the Book on-line: Copies are available on Amazon. Book Reviews: Book review from GoodReads.com I signed up for the blog tour of Robert McEvilla’s new romance, THE GOATS OF SANTO DOMINGO, because of the title. If you have goats in your title, the book either has to be extraordinary, or extraordinarily funny–intentionally, or not. McEvilla’s story of love and political intrigue is extraordinary. From the beginning, I was hooked in by McEvilla’s evocative scene setting. You know exactly where you are as you begin to read. You know exactly how the humidity would be curling your hair, how the air would smell, how the streets would sound. It is very easy to step into the world of John Romero’s Santo Domingo–goats and all. The world is so familiar because it is the first novel McEvilla has based on his experiences in the Dominican Republic. The world is so enjoyable because McEvilla is such a great writer. Romero and his love interest, Ramona De Fiesta, are fully fleshed characters who share the point of view in the story telling, with equal weight. It did take over a hundred pages to find out Ramona’s last name, and I was despairing of her ever getting one, but McEvilla came through with a great, strong female voice. I’m very glad I chose to read this. I do enjoy soldier stories, and this is definitely among the top of those I’ve read. I have no compunctions about recommending this one. 4.5 out of 5 stars for me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book review from LongAndShortReviews.com The Goats of Santo Domingo by Robert McEvilla Publisher: Wild Child Publishing Genre: Historical, Mainstream Length: Full (222 pgs) Heat: Sweet Rated: 3 stars Review by Rose Whenever John Romero was asked if he was wounded in Vietnam, he always got a confused look when he replied that his eye was lost in Santo Domingo. A former baseball player with just six weeks left to serve in the army, John’s plans for making a comeback are interrupted when his unit is deployed to the Dominican Republic, and he finds himself in a combat situation. While dodging bullets, he meets a beautiful Dominican woman, the aloof, Ramona. She inflames the private passions of the paratroopers that view her from their command post. Romero plots a course to win her affections, but the political intrigue and the carnage in the streets of Santo Domingo conspire to thwart his every move, forcing him to make a drastic decision.
Novelist
© 2021 Robert McEvilla, The Goats of Santo Domingo
and A Laurel To Rest On
Robert McEvilla
The Goats of Santo
Domingo
The Goats of Santo Domingo, a romantic novel based on a true event, written by a former paratrooper who participated in this forgotten military operation of the 1960's. Whenever John Romero was asked if he was wounded in Vietnam, he always received a confused look when he replied that his eye was lost in Santo Domingo. A former minor league baseball player with just six weeks left to serve in the Army, John's plans for making a comeback are interrupted when his unit is deployed to the Dominican Republic, and he finds himself in a combat situation. While dodging bullets, he meets a beautiful Dominican woman, the aloof Ramona. She inflames the private passions of the paratroopers that view her from their command post. Romero plots a course to win her affections, but the political intrigue and the carnage in the streets of Santo Domingo conspire to thwart his every move, forcing him to make a drastic decision. The Goats of Santo Domingo explores the complexity of emotions that arise when one is confronted with a situation in a state of flux, and demonstrates that sometimes doing the right thing can literally blow up in your face. Author, Robert McEvilla, is retired stationary engineer who lives in the backwoods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. His short stories have been published in various literary magazines. This is his first novel which is based on his experiences in the Dominican Republic. Purchase the Book on-line: Copies are available on Amazon. Book Reviews: Book review from GoodReads.com I signed up for the blog tour of Robert McEvilla’s new romance, THE GOATS OF SANTO DOMINGO, because of the title. If you have goats in your title, the book either has to be extraordinary, or extraordinarily funny–intentionally, or not. McEvilla’s story of love and political intrigue is extraordinary. From the beginning, I was hooked in by McEvilla’s evocative scene setting. You know exactly where you are as you begin to read. You know exactly how the humidity would be curling your hair, how the air would smell, how the streets would sound. It is very easy to step into the world of John Romero’s Santo Domingo–goats and all. The world is so familiar because it is the first novel McEvilla has based on his experiences in the Dominican Republic. The world is so enjoyable because McEvilla is such a great writer. Romero and his love interest, Ramona De Fiesta, are fully fleshed characters who share the point of view in the story telling, with equal weight. It did take over a hundred pages to find out Ramona’s last name, and I was despairing of her ever getting one, but McEvilla came through with a great, strong female voice. I’m very glad I chose to read this. I do enjoy soldier stories, and this is definitely among the top of those I’ve read. I have no compunctions about recommending this one. 4.5 out of 5 stars for me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book review from LongAndShortReviews.com The Goats of Santo Domingo by Robert McEvilla Publisher: Wild Child Publishing Genre: Historical, Mainstream Length: Full (222 pgs) Heat: Sweet Rated: 3 stars Review by Rose Whenever John Romero was asked if he was wounded in Vietnam, he always got a confused look when he replied that his eye was lost in Santo Domingo. A former baseball player with just six weeks left to serve in the army, John’s plans for making a comeback are interrupted when his unit is deployed to the Dominican Republic, and he finds himself in a combat situation. While dodging bullets, he meets a beautiful Dominican woman, the aloof, Ramona. She inflames the private passions of the paratroopers that view her from their command post. Romero plots a course to win her affections, but the political intrigue and the carnage in the streets of Santo Domingo conspire to thwart his every move, forcing him to make a drastic decision.
Novelist
