WHAT DEFINES A HERO? A LEGEND?

Is the Measure of a Man Found in His Actions, Deeds or in Who He Really Is? COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., — What is a hero? Is it defined by your actions at one particular point in time or is it defined by who you are? First time novelist Graham Garrison explores the idea of what defines a hero and when a person crosses a nebulous line to become a bona-fide legend in his debut novel Hero’s Tribute.

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The small town of Talking Creek, Georgia, has a hero—Michael Gavin. As a teenager, Michael made a name for himself as Quarterback of the local High School football team, the Eagles. As a young man, he earned a regional following when he played for the University of Georgia. Post-college, Captain Michael Gavin earned the Medal of Honor for distinguished service in Iraq further cementing his position at Talking Creek’s resident hero.

So when he was diagnosed with cancer, the town immediately rallied behind the Gavin’s. On his deathbed, Michael makes a radical decision and asks a complete stranger, local sports reporter Wes Watkins to deliver his eulogy. With absolutely no idea why the famed Michael Gavin would ask a complete stranger to delve into the intimate details of his life, Wes digs into this project as he would any other story. Who knows, perhaps it would generate some decent bylines and get picked up by the AP. In fact, this could be his ticket out of the small town life.

But what Wes discovers catches him totally off guard. His typical reporting tactics aren’t going to work in this situation and as he uncovers some secrets in Michael’s past, Wes begins to see him as he really was rather than the larger-than-life legend the town has created. The closer he gets to the truth, however, the town begins to close ranks. Struggling to find the words to accurately and completely describe Michael, Wes must examine his own life and decide what will define him. Finding the whole truth could cost Wes everything. Who was this man that Talking Creek revered?

About the Author:

Graham Garrison is a writer and editor who lives in suburban Atlanta. He has covered high school and college football games as a newspaper reporter, completed an internship with the U.S. Army at its National Training Center in the Mojave Desert and tested WaveRunners and Runabouts as the managing editor of a national boating magazine. He’s written about battlefields for America’s Civil War, interviewed medical innovators for Georgia Physician and even penned an editorial for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. When he’s not writing, he’s chasing his two-year old son Nicholas and their Beagle, Baxter around the backyard with his wife, Katie. Visit his website at www.grahamgarrisonwords.com.