When I wrote Beyond Mars Crimson Fleet, it was with the direct intention of capturing mankind's follies ... and cruelty to one another.  Having seen things I will never speak of as a soldier, I thought it important to not just share things of historic nature, but maybe to get people to think about their own relationships and decisions with others. This was not only to ensure it gave the novel the ring of truth, but to get readers to think about the world around them.

The "Rape of Nanking" is t...