Views and reviews

It's been a few months now since the book came out. I remember how terrified I was to let go of it and hit the "publish" button. Who would read it? Would people who read it think we were looking for attention or, worse, pity? What if the people who meant the most to this story ending well (God, family, law enforcement, district attorneys) were disappointed in us; in me? What if people who've just gotten to know us suddenly turned away from us as so many did before? Would publishing the story be of value to anyone - maybe keep them safer- or would it be just more white noise?

We had and have no marketing budget. We wanted it that way. Early on, we looked at crowd funding, but decided that if this book had legs, it would make it by word-of-mouth. It's still got a long way to go before I'd call it a success in the sales sense, but it has been a success. Thanks to you. If you're one of the many that have bought it and read it and told others about it, you've made it a success and we thank you.

We were honored to speak at a local Rotary group because someone told someone else about the book. I was blessed and honored to be guest author at a local book club recently for the same reason. Blessed even more to be invited to become a member of that group! It's been a wonderful surprise and makes my day when I see a review on Amazon or Good Reads that the person has gotten something valuable from reading the book. In every case, the best thing of all was to hear statements like these:

"My husband and I realized, from the book, that we have too much routine. We're changing that." "I lock the door between my garage and house now." "We don't post minute-by-minute activities on Facebook now." "I'm more alert to where I am and who's around me." "We have started a check-in system in our family because of your book." "We don't open the door to anyone we're not expecting." "I make sure every door is locked, even my car." "We have a construction business and realize that this could have happened - could happen - to us. We are much more careful now."

We can't completely avoid tragedy in our lives. We can't know God's plans for our lives, but, He told us to keep alert; to be ready always. Our prayer is that this book honors the ones who risked their lives to save ours, honors the advocates who fought for justice on Paul's and Lance's behalf and prevents this kind of crime from happening to any other family.

"$500,000 by tonight or all you'll need that money for is his funeral." February 27, 2008

That's what the voice on the other end of the phone demanded of my brother-in-law at 6:45AM on Wednesday, February 27, 2008. Paul's been gone just minutes short of 24 hours.Now, we know he's alive. As an added incentive to move quickly, the kidnapper told Tom that Paul was "in a bad way...needs a doctor; maybe a hospital." My stomach lurches at the images of torture and terror that Paul's going through.

Horror turns to panic as the realization hits us that we have less than a day to find HALF A MILLION DOLLARS! Thankfully, a team is growing and assembling in Georgetown, Texas to save the day:

Sergeant Pete Hughey, Detective James Maugham, Texas Ranger Matt Lindemann and First Assistant District Attorney, Jana McKown.

Will they get there in time? Where, on earth, will we ever be able to find that kind of money? Why did this happen?

"Walking Between The Raindrops" by Mary and Paul Roland - An American couple's true story of kidnap-for-ransom in the United States by the most Vicious drug cartel in Mexico - on sale now at Amazon.com.

"No one could have ever invented a story like this. I was especially gratified for their honesty ...", February 22, 2015
By Bridget (Tarentum, PA USA)

"A book of true courage," February 5, 2015
By sharon

"This is a very good book. Follows the victims and suspects from the beginning to the end - seeing the suspect in jail and the victims recovering." February 26, 2015, By Barbara

Los Zetas Cartel - Gone or Rebuilding?

Tying up the end bits of the book and doing a little fact-checking gave me quite a surprise recently. With the arrest of Miguel Trevino and the noticeable decrease in articles about border violence in local news, I was beginning to think that the Los Zetas cartel had splintered into little factions that were south of the border and losing steam. I was wrong. A documentary online recently quoted a government spokesman as saying that Los Zetas were considered the "most technologically advanced, sophisticated, and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico." It went on to say that Los Zetas controlled most of Mexico and was intent on crossing the border to take control of our country as well. An expert that I respect from Stratfor.com, a recognized intelligence resource across all party lines, confirmed their power in Mexico still and that their operation is still based primarily out of Nuevo Laredo (across the U.S. border from Laredo, Texas). Online chatter following the documentary was divided. Some people wrote that other cartels were bigger. Some railed on political themes. A few, the ones that gave me chills, were people writing about the horror of this cartel and what they'd seen firsthand. Others doubted that this cartel or any cartel could do much outside of Mexico.

I have no doubt that our country could defeat any incursion on its soil. I hope that our country can defend against the insidious spread of gang terror. Like black ink dropped into water, it can spread and contaminate every corner. Ask San Antonio, Houston and Dallas if the Los Zetas and other Mexican drug cartels are active within their cities recruiting young people into gangs to do their dirty work. Ask Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle. Then ask Miami, New York and Detroit. I'm pretty sure they'll tell you "yes".

My point is that I discovered I'd become complacent and secure, lulled in the absence of immediate danger that my world was safe. If "Walking Between The Raindrops" does nothing else, my sincere prayer is that each reader never takes their world for granted but, instead, lives every day alive, awake and with purpose.

Happy 2015! The holidays are behind us and a bright shiny new year awaits. As I move forward with "Walking Between The Raindrops" and get closer to public release, I feel a mix of anticipation, relief and wistfulness. This has been a journey in every sense of the word. Where I was when it began and where I am now are different places completely. The same is true for Paul, too. Older, wiser and, I think more appreciative for every day since February 2008.

It seems only right that our project launch should be soon - close to the 7th anniversary of the event that changed our lives forever. Although I can't give an exact date, I can promise that it is going to happen soon, very soon.

Evidence

In any criminal investigation, the best results come from gathering loads and loads of evidence. We've all watched the shows - CSI, Law and Order, Dragnet and Perry Mason. Legal and crime dramas have been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl. I never imagined, however, that I'd ever experience criminal drama in a first person way. Believe me, it wasn't a desire either. Yet, when I found myself in that position, finding evidence to connect the dots of who, what, when, why and how became a near-obsession immediately. Nothing I theorized, though, holds a candle to the tenacious and thorough work of Detective James Maugham. He's one of the "Texas Heroes" in a earlier post. He was the lead officer in our case and my primary contact throughout the course of events. He never stopped. He listened - even when I thought he didn't hear me. He led the operation, directing various agencies and gathering solid evidence that rescued Paul.

In "Walking Between The Raindrops",  I've tried to walk in his shoes and see this story through his eyes, too, from the first cry for help to the last prison door closing.

"Comply and you won't die!"

It was a typical February morning in Austin, Texas. A light frost from the night before still clung to everything, including the truck parked outside the garage. The sun wasn't quite up yet so the exterior lights bounced and reflected off surfaces making everything sparkle. He carried his briefcase and a cup of coffee through the open garage and walked toward his truck. He thought about the day ahead of him; what he could do to keep their existing crews busy, new business to get finalized and making sure other projects were ready to start. He and his brother run a very successful electrical contracting company that wires new apartment projects all over the state of Texas.

He was thinking about that as he cleared the opening of the garage and stepped onto the driveway. He didn't see the masked men until it was too late. Two men wearing hoodies over their heads and bandanas over their faces jumped him. The bigger man pointed a large black pistol at his head and barked, "Comply and you won't die!"

Lance Self was the first victim. This attack happened on February 6, 2008, in Travis County and was filed as an attempted home invasion/burglary. Through the diligence and hard work of Williamson County Detective James Maugham, Texas Ranger Matt Lindemann, Williamson County First Assistant DA Jana McCown and Assistant DA Michael Jarrett, Lance's attackers were brought to justice.

Williamson County Detective James Maugham

Texas Ranger Matt Lindemann

Michael Jarrett and Jana McCown

Paul Roland and Lance Self

What's in a name?

People have asked me about the title. Did I start with the title? Does it mean something special? No and yes. This book has had several working titles but this one is it. "Walking Between The Raindrops", the title, was inspired by a song I heard from the Almeria album of Lifehouse. "Between The Raindrops" is sung by Lifehouse and Natasha Bedingfield. What I heard was what Paul and I have lived and where we are now.

Writing this book has been easy and difficult, tearful and exultant, frightening and liberating and extremely painful yet healing. It started out simple but became complicated until, as if by itself, it simplified again.

Now that the first pass is done, I look at the editing to come with excitement. Writing is rewriting and rewriting and rewriting. I'm already editing in my mind as I write this! And then, when I'm through with my cuts, I will have other eyes find the mistakes, typos and narrative "fat" to be excised until only the best is left.  That's my prayerful hope. 

A view to a kidnapping

I gathered the CDs and DVDs from the stack of reports and papers I received from my Public Records Request on Paul's kidnapping and started viewing them one by one. Crime scene photos, suspect interviews and surveillance footage played before me like some disjointed movie. Then I saw the shot on one of the snippets. It was so split second that I almost missed it.

I'd seen it before as evidence in court when the case of The State of Texas vs. Bartolo Dominguez, Jr. was tried but the picture was far away and I didn't have my hand on the controls. At that moment in court, my mind was trying to wrap around the fact that Detective James Maugham had sifted through 9 camera angles x 48 hours each of footage to bring the eye witness of a camera lens to the courtroom! Just one of the many reasons I'm glad he was on this case! What an amazing job!

Here now is one of those snippets - look closely at the left side. A van parked near the doorway of some motel room doors. A man opens the van door. Another walks around toward the motel door, probably to open it.
Two of the kidnappers...




"Walking Between The Raindrops"...more to come...stay tuned.

Heroes - Texas Style

The heroes of "Walking Between the Raindrops" are many. I've been keeping a list of names and agency references and it's just mind boggling. Many others, I know, I'll never know about. The list in the next paragraph represents just the ones "discovered" in records and reports provided to me by different agencies.

Here's my (partial)  Hero Hall of Fame:

Williamson County Sheriff's Office -  28+ officers and detectives
Texas Department of Safety - 8+ officers and helicopter pilots
Texas DPS Texas Rangers - 10+ rangers
Hays County Sheriff's Office - 6+ officers
Texas Department of Corrections - K-9 Unit
Austin Police Department - 3+ officers
San Antonio Police Department, SAPD SWAT and ROP Units - 22+ officers and detectives
San Marcos Police Department - Unknown
CERT Team Volunteer Search and Rescue - Unknown
U. S. Marshalls Fugitive Task Force - 4+ rangers
F. B. I. - 2+ agents
Laredo Police Department - 4+ officers
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms - 3+ agents
A very brave little girl and her mom
Tom Roland

See? Mind boggling.

Two special people, however, are central characters in this book. They led the way, ran down every lead, never slept and kept all the wheels from falling off. You can read all about them in "Walking Between The Raindrops" when the book comes out this fall.  Until then, here's a couple of shots from the e-Book added video:

                          Williamson County Sheriff's Office - Dectective James Maugham

                                                 D.P.S. - Texas Ranger Matt Lindemann

Perspectives 2

It's Easter Sunday. The early service at church was packed. I loved sitting beside Paul and family. The grandchildren were especially adorable (of course). The pastor's message was exactly what I needed to hear.  Now, thinking about it all as we wait for the grandkids to come over and hunt Easter eggs and have dinner, I can't stop thinking about the mothers and fathers, wives and children of the people who upended our lives six years ago.

What is their Easter like? What are all their holidays like without their sons and daughters - husbands and fathers? The perpetrators' children will likely have children by the time they get out of prison. Some may never see their parents alive outside of prison again. Actually, some may never leave prison at all.

I know that when those mothers first saw them as babies they couldn't have looked at them and wished or imagined that one day that little boy or that little girl would grow up to be a kidnapper, a thief or criminal of any kind. From the parents that I've seen, it's a good bet that all they wanted for those children was for them to have a good life and grow up to be good people. What do the wives tell their children? What will become of their children?

It's Easter Sunday. I thank God for all His blessings, for our children and our grandchildren. I thank Him for all our family and friends. I thank Him for the gift of His son and the promise of the Resurrection. I thank Him for watching over the families and loved ones of the kidnappers and pray that they feel His love every day. I thank Him for holding the lives of the kidnappers and pray that they feel His love, too.