Paladin

Charles Bowen's historical epic deftly weaves the complexities of Southern society in Augusta, Georgia, with that of wartime Suffolk, England. He paints a compelling picture of two quite different worlds brought together by war. Bowen's tale centers on the lives of American fighter pilot Matt Tower and British WVS volunteer Vivian Davis. After a chance meeting at an RAF station near Ipswich, the two embark on an intense relationship that brings comfort from the tragedies of war but which ultimately neither of them can control. This is an impressive work of imagination set against the backdrop of the 353rd Fighter Group as part of the famed U.S. Mighty 8th Air Force during World War II. The finely drawn characters and picture of a world long gone in this romance will stay with the reader for a long time.

The choices confronting Army Air Corps pilot Matt Tower are equally harrowing – facing a swarm of Nazi fighters over World War II Europe or falling for the charms of an English maiden, or both. Author Charles Bowen cleverly weaves an intriguing story of war and romance in Paladin. The Mighty 8th Air Force was well-engaged in the fight for Europe when Tower joined the fray. The young Georgian was as much focused on bolstering his reputation as an aggressive warrior as he was in embracing English culture, food and at least one particular lady. Bowen captures the essence of war and foreign service that will keep readers engaged to the end.

As a youngster, author Charles W. Bowen of Augusta, Georgia, spent much of his time tuned to developing news from the front lines of World War II. He listened to radio when newscasts covered the war. He read Augusta's daily newspapers, regularly questioning his parents and people involved in the city's Civil Defense. Bowen recalls vividly the air-raid drills, gun emplacements around airfields and public facilities, and bombing practice over the city at night with searchlights scanning the sky. It was Augusta's two pilot training airfields that fueled the author's love for aviation and led him to obtain a pilot's license. Mental and written notes of the era serve him to this day. Bowen is a frequent writer and speaker on events of World War II and Augusta's 1940s-1970s struggles to escape decades of political and law-enforcement corruption. He attended public schools in Richmond County and graduated from Academy of Richmond County as an ROTC first lieutenant. University of Georgia studies contributed to a bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in journalism from Augusta College. After college, Bowen joined the family retail and wholesale business, serving in various management areas over the years. He expanded into real estate and commercial investments in partnership with George Bowen, his brother and best friend. A family man since he married high school sweetheart Barbara Pruitt in 1958, the author has lived in Augusta his entire life. His extended family includes a daughter, son, three granddaughters, a great-grandson and two great-granddaughters -- all in the Augusta area. Paladin: The Story of Augusta's Fighter Ace -- The Wars of Matt Tower, Book 1 is the author's first novel and required significant historical research over many years. Bowen is nearing completion of a second novel in the Matt Tower series, Thorns in the Garden City, about political, law enforcement and economic corruption in post-World War II Augusta. It extends and concludes the story begun in Paladin. His third novel, also in the works, takes a closer look at the efforts of men and women who did what the times required in wartime Germany and England.