I was recently asked 'Who is the Tamara Long you dedicate your books to.'

The answer:

Tammy was a beautiful woman I saw, never met, at one of my first DragonCons dressed in a laser cut leather 'succubus' outfit. Tall brunette, fit, high-heels and just fricking hot.

I ran into the guy who created the outfit at another con and mentioned it and he said 'Yeah, she's dead. She was a pilot in Afghanistan. Her bird went down.'

It was a very odd moment. My books celebrate the female warrior, often female warriors who are quite beautiful, but the reality was quite shocking. That such a beautiful creature would be taken out of the world...

Subsequent to that I met several of her friends. (Among others her then fiancee, a C-130 pilot, and her then roommate, a Huey driver.) Through them (and her parents, whom I've met) I realized that Tammy was a person who would have been a reader and probably a friend. She was, generally, a science fiction fan, military oriented, and read the sort of books I write. She was named after Tamara Sperling from Time Enough for Love. I miss that I never got to talk to her.

Through the dedications, and the character that I created for her in the Ghost series, I honor her service, her sacrifice and her existence. It's the best I can do.