Business Innovators Radio - JC Soto Interviews CJ Buck, Author of the Amazon Best Seller Post-Apocalyptic Thriller “Hardened Heart”

Episode Date: November 5, 2023

Charles Jeff Buck, widely known as CJ Buck, is a retired USMC GySgt with 20 years of dedicated service. He brings a unique blend of military discipline and creative storytelling to his works. CJ Buck is also a certified coach and speaker, having embraced the teachings of John Maxwell to inspire and empower others.His newest book, “Hardened Heart“, a Post-Apocalyptic Thriller, shot up to the top of Amazon Best Sellers and was also rated as a Hot New Release. “Hardened Heart” is a gripping tale of survival, redemption, and the enduring human spirit in the face of otherworldly horrors.In addition to “Hardened Heart,” CJ Buck has authored two other compelling books: “My Own Worst Enemy,” and “What Resonates“.His academic achievements include a Bachelor of Science in Business (BS) and a Master in Business Administration (MBA), and he is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Business Administration (DBA).In this interview CJ Buck shares some very interesting revelations about his background and his inspiration to write books aimed at different audiences.“Hardened Heart” is a masterfully crafted narrative that transcends the boundaries of its genre. It’s a story that will resonate with readers on a deeply emotional level, challenging them to confront their own fears and doubts while celebrating the strength of the human spirit. To order CJ Buck’s Best Seller book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHXTW1NYContact CJ Buck at: [e-mail]: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/jc-soto-interviews-cj-buck-author-of-the-amazon-best-seller-post-apocalyptic-thriller-hardened-heart

Welcome to Business Innovators Radio, featuring industry influencers and trendsetters, sharing proven strategies to help you build a better life right now. Welcome to the show. This is your host, J.C. Soto with Online Media 360. And today I have a bestselling author. He just published a bestselling book, Harding Heart. And it shot up to the top of the charts on Amazon bestsellers. He's a fellow veteran. And I'm really excited to have. have him here with us today. His name is CJ Book. And welcome to the show, Jeff. Well, I appreciate you having me on. I'm looking forward to, you know, talking a little bit about the books and whatnot. Yeah. Let's start by learning a little more about you, your background. I know you were in the service. You were in the Marines. Can you tell us as much as you can about who you were back then in the previous life before you start doing, getting all this book. out there. Sure thing. Well, I was born and raised at Cincinnati, Ohio. Went into the Marine Corps in

1990 with all the intentions, just do four years and get out and go do, you know, bigger and better things, but kind of got called to it and stayed to it. So I retired in 2010. I was a warehouse guy by trade. I was a supply guy. Did a couple deployments. was in Somalia and Iraq. And then I spent half my career entry-level training as a drill instructor. Did that twice once at the recruit depot of Parris Island. And then I did about four years of Officer Candidate School in Quantico. And then I retired as one of the leadership positions at a supply school out of Camp Johnson near Camp Lejeune.

I got two kids. One is 20 or almost 26. And she is in Vermont with my grandson who is almost four. My son who lives here in Colorado Springs, he's 27. And, you know, he's not married yet, but, you know, there's hope. But, yeah, so other than that, I've been here in Colorado Springs since I retired and got a job work at the government contracting, been doing logistics with that most of the time. Then I got, within that, I was part of Air Force Base Command, learned a lot about how

satellite communications work. One thing led to nine and ended up being a site lead out at Shrever running a couple ground systems for some satellites. And not that I did it. That was for the smart people. I just, you know, was in a leadership position. I went to the meetings and dealt with that nonsense. But currently, I work from home for the same company, but work in the missile defense side of it.

So during the transition from intercontinental missiles, the Minuteman to the Sentinel. So that's my current stuff. And I'm engaged to a lovely lady named Victoria McCullough. And she is a personal trainer and nutritionist. And she also works from home. So we get a lot of quality time together, you know, good, bad, and different. So now you're in the Springs. Is that where your last duty station was before you got out of the Marines?

No, I retired out Camp Lejeune. Well, Camp Joaquin. And at the time, the lady I was with her company wanted her to move out here. And so I decided to retire, pull the trigger. We came out here, never been to Colorado, and just been here since 13 years. So going on, you know, well, 13 and a half, I guess. But it's beautiful. It's nice.

I'm not an outdoorsy guy outside of just taking care of my yard or ride my motorcycle. You know, but, you know, living next to the oceans for so long, you know, one or the other. Or on an island at one point or two. It's kind of different, you know, not having that, but, you know, the mountains are just as beautiful. So you get, you know, so it's nice. Yeah, I get what you're saying. I'm from Puerto Rico. So I grew up close to the ocean.

I miss the water in the ocean and the sound of the ocean at nighttime. So, you know, but I think being Colorado, you know, we're so protected from everything else. Most, you know, hurricanes, tornadoes and all the big stuff that happens to the other states. So, you know, I think we're pretty blessed to be here. Well, outside of a couple of blizzards, but, you know, if you stay in place, you'll be okay. Yeah, exactly. So this writing, this writing bug that you have. this is writing talent that you have.

Did this start before you were in the service? Or was that happened when you were in the service? When did this start? Well, my sisters were both artists, right? And a very, very talented artist. And I couldn't draw a stick person to save my life. So I was kind of thought about, you know, what it is that I wanted to do, you know, that was, you know, artistic in some sort of way.

And my senior year in high school, we had a brand new English teacher, a brand new teacher in general. And one of our assignments for this class, English class, was write a poem. And I had written a couple different poems, you know, during that time frame. And when I turned this particular poem in, he just couldn't believe how unique it was and how, you know, you know, you're utilizing, you know, metaphors and metaphors and so and so forth. And he was the first person ever told me that I knew how to write, you know, and or had some sort of talent with imagination. So I always appreciated that.

And I really kind of need to look them up, figure out whatever happened to him. You know, it's been 30 plus years as I graduated high school, you know. So. Yeah. And then I was talking to my sister, and I wrote this in my memoir, my own worst enemy. and we can talk a little bit about that later. But in the acknowledgments, I talk about my younger sister when I was, early in my year, a few years in the Marine Corps, I used to,

I told her, I was like, you know, I really want to write, but I just don't know what to write about. And she said, you know, write about yourself. I mean, just write your story. So I held on to that for, you know, 30 years, really. And I was not exactly the best writer. when I was writing e-vals and things like that in the Marine Corps early on. But later it got better.

By the end, I was well known to people would come to me and help them with their remedial packages to get promoted, you know, to send in letters to different boards. I would help them write them. Basically, I would tell them to write it. Then I would rewrite it and put it into, you know, Marine Corps, Marine Corps Naval Lingo. and so I found a really good talent with that. And so I kind of pride of myself in that. So let me ask you something about my own worst enemy. Is that your very first book that you put out?

It was. I put out this book in designs to work on my speaker. I wanted to become a speaker, a motivational speaker, somebody who can help others. And to show people they had worth and value, growing up, you know, I have, like everybody does, they get picked on here and there. But, you know, I got picked on pretty hard for two, few different reasons. And, you know, you get past that.

You go past that. But I've watched a lot of kids struggle over the years. So I wanted to help people get past their, you know, their own personal hangups. So I was talking to somebody and she told me, you know, well, you should write these things down. So I started writing it down, but I wasn't feeling right. So I said, you know, I'm going to start writing my story. And that's my own worst enemy, which you can get on Amazon. You can follow my author page.

It'll get you there easily. And I wrote, you know, from going on the school bus, my first grade year, to right when I retired from Marine Corps in 2010. And it's my ups and downs. It's my own bad choices that got me in the situations that I was in, accepting responsibility for the things that I, you know, wish I would have made a better decision, but I didn't. So it is what it is. Here you are type of thing. So that's what that was the start of it, was to write this book.

That is a picture of me in the midst of a very challenging time. And I was a smoker then too, which is horrible. But I was a heavy smoker, unfortunately. But so far so good. No issues there. But yeah, it was a tough times. accepting responsibility for yourself and putting it down with a lot of therapy for myself, you know,

because you know, you know, you know, if you really look back and you say, you know, what, what it is that you could have done different? What part did you play in this issue?

And I always tell people this, when I give them advice, it doesn't matter how old they are. When they're complaining about problems, problems, they got so many problems and this, I never, all my whole life,

yada, yada, yada. And I say, well, what is the one consistent thing, And every time you had a problem, who was there? And, you know, they think, because they're stressed out and say, you were there. So what part did you play? You know, so.

You're the common denominator. Yeah. So, but that's what it got started. And then in the midst of that, I put out a quote book called What Resonates. And the idea is what resonates with you. And these quotes are written by, you know, numerous people, numerous walks of life. some are religious, some are not, you know, they're just motivational stuff. And then I wrote my perspective to, you know, to decide, you know, so there's one by Dr.

Maya Angelou. I've learned, you know, that people forget what you said. People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. And then I wrote my, you know, my piece and how I felt about that because it resonated with me. When I read that, it resonated with me. So I wrote these down and then I, you know, put it into a book. So it seems like back then you're, maybe your readers, the people that you were targeting were more looking for that direction and inspiration and kind of maybe some, you know, guidance and also empathy. Let him know that this is not unique.

You know, everybody has their challenges, hang-ups. People pick on you. They make fun of you. Whatever it is. Whatever it was. Yeah. Yeah. As a child, then Marine Corps, you know, like, why is he, you know, why is this captain not?

like me. Well, what did, you know, what did I do that could have, you know, prevented that to happen or whatever these situations, you know, and realizing that, you know, you could do better yourself. So to take a bit, you can't go back and change it, but you can change how you act later, you know, it's your decision. So, but then, well, I didn't really, so I, when I finished those two books, put them out there, released them last year. And, I felt like, well, I could continue to write about my life. I could go back to any chapter and I could extend this book and make it into some sort of, you know, this thing. It's a dictionary all of a sudden.

But I thought, you know, I put enough of me out there. But I was trying to think, what do I want to do next? I never felt like I was ever a fiction writer. But one day I was driving to my fiancé's house when she lived on the other side of town. and the story of Harden Heart came to me. Let me stop you there because this is, this is going from

like, you know, going, going from inspiration to a real adventure. This Harding Heart is really, you know, it draws you in, you know, you cannot put it down because it's, you know, from the first page where you are with your buddy and goes all the way through, you know, It's not about us as human beings anymore, but it's more us as being in this adventure and survival and all this stuff that we have inside.

And, you know, I think a lot of people, you know, when they get into this kind of reading, you know, you immerse yourself. It's just like, you know, it's like time passes and you realize that you're halfway through the book and all this stuff that happens and you kind of feel it. So what was, you know, who were you trying to target on this one now, going from the inspirational and the motivational now to this epic adventure that you have in the heart and heart? Well, you know, it was an easy transition. But, you know, to go to fiction and write this story that I planned, and it's already in the works for the second book. But I write like I talk. So you could read any one of my books and you would feel like you're having a conversation with me.

So if you felt like, you know, you didn't know my tone or how I spoke, all you got to do is read the main character. So I write it as, and I'm in a vision myself in this book as Colt and, you know, Colt and his buddy Jason. They ironically met up. and this, you know, after the rapture occurred, it was a couple years later, they saw each other, couldn't believe it. And they decided that they want to go on a, well, at least I, or cold influenced them to go on an adventure. Let's go, you know, find and we can get redemption. It's a world of every dimension is now at the same level, same plane, outside of, you know,

the highest dimension with God, you know, way up high. but bring in, you know, the book of Enoch as the baseline. So you have watchers and you have demons and you have, you know, different levels and different kinds of demons. You know, I have angels, too. You know, I have angels and I bring in vampires. You know, why vampires? Because if it was ever a folklore, if it wasn't, that's the premise of the book,

is there was never a folklore. They were all true. You just couldn't see them. But you didn't realize they were actually there. There. So I laid out how you dealt with them and what kind of individuals they were, how you built relationships with some and some not. And next thing you know, they, you know, they're one side of the country to the next and, you know, found some resolve, but they haven't finished, you know, what they started. And, you know, and it was, again, a release, you know, of the past is within the book because that's what hardened heart is. Somebody who is, and you find this, you know, and I'm not overly religious, but I'm spiritual and was raised Roman Catholic.

So I'm very, very 12 years pro-kill school. I am pretty good about what's in the Bible or what's not, at least what they wanted us to see. And using the book of Enoch as my. my baseline, which is not in the Bible for different reasons, I was able to reference things in the Bible from that. And I show how a hardened heart is somebody who did not get redeemed and go up to heaven during the rapture. Because even though you believe in Christ, you know, and you thought you lived this great wonderful life, if you're still holding on guilt, remorse and shame and anger and you know and everything from your life you just never let things go

you're going to stay just as well as somebody who is a you know capital murderer you know that's that's what i was trying to convey through this book so and that's that's that's what is so i think magnetic about the book that it's not just a battle outside you know you're dealing with your own demons inside right exactly and um it's really really realizing why you're there and while you were stuck and losing all your family, all your loved ones. And I was very, very adamant talking about, you know, losing, you know, quote, losing his son, couldn't find him, couldn't find, you know, his fiance's kids either,

just screaming across town trying to go to different places he thought they would be. And there's nothing to chaos, confusion, and people are crying and screaming, you know, they're killing themselves. It was just, I, and I, you know, tried to convey. the heartache it was for the loss, and then realizing that you're stuck and you're going to have to learn how to deal with it. So there's a buildup to that. And then, you know, building relationships with, you know, celestial beings that you didn't know you would ever.

You know, so it's good. It's in, you know, book two is going to do a little bit more explaining. And a lot of people have read it and they told me, you know, the first couple chapters, I said, well, how did this happen? What's going? I said, just keep reading. I explain things as you go along, because you can't be chapter one on the day of, you know, of the rapture. This is what happened.

And these are all the reasons why. That's not a story. You know, people want it. Think about it. Why do we get here? How do we get here? You know, so that's. Yeah.

And, you know, I think what's so great about your book is, your book is really, really different from all the other fiction books out there. I mean, so there's so many angles. you know, from the inside to the outside. And, you know, it's like you said, you know, you got to read to find out how did this happen. It's just not, it's not like just a vampire or, you know, some creature. There's some different angles, you know, from the people involved to all the other beings. And what's happening also the whole rapture and everything else that happened. I mean, there's a lot of stuff.

It's just like, you know, you have to really immerse yourself because there's so much stuff going on that you're aware. that, you know, something's happening. Somebody is over here. It's just so much stuff going on that it's like you are. I have people like demons, you know, constantly, you know, tracking us and we don't realize it. And I bring in characters briefly, but I build these relationships with them, trying to understand why they're there, how they've accepted their reality. And you feel sorrow for them, you know. But then in some of them, you're like, whatever, you do you, you know.

and I wanted that on purpose, you know, and I will do a little bit more character building and outside of me or Colton Jason, who was actually a personal friend of mine. In real life, there's, you know, Jason's a real friend of mine. And so we, you know, so we, you know, we talk a laugh at a joke about it. And you guys have the same relationship in life?

Yeah, in real life. I mean, this is, and anybody knows the two of us, That's how we banter all the time, you know. And, of course, there's colorful language. Oh, yeah. There's a couple sex scenes, too. Not with me and Jason, of course, but, you know, but, uh, that's funny in itself. And if he was here, I'd be like, don't tell him, you know, about that one time, you know,

because that's how we mess with each other. And we mess with everybody else around this. But, uh, but, you know, and, you know, so it's not, and I got, I wanted the book to be for adults. Um, I initially was going to be like 15 and older because, you know, You know, the cover can draw in people like that, you know, who were interested in fantasy and fiction. But then, you know, putting the couple sex scenes in between Colt and one of the succubus vampires, and I explained how that could happen and why it happens in the book.

And I did my research. So if I mention an angel's name or a demon's name or how any vampire works, you can take it to the bank. It's what's written in. And that's how, you know, these are actually. actual demons and angels names. That is their name in the Bible and how all that kind of falls together. But, you know, like I said, the first one is kind of descriptive.

The next one's not so much. You know, but I was just trying to build up a, you know, a passion, you know, that in humans, you know, still need touch. Yeah. But, and that's just kind of, and I don't want to get too much away about it. Yeah, exactly, because, you know, this is, this is. You're going to have at least one more or two more after this one? The intent is to have at least two more. It matters on how I wrap up the second book.

You know, I believe I can. You know, I have a couple concepts and I haven't outlined, you know, in my head more than anything else. But when I do write, I sometimes I sat down to write a chapter and I had no idea where I was going until I started. type. When I started typing, that's when it just started flowing. And that's why I believe it's a God's gift that I didn't know I had for all these years. Even writing my own worst enemy was the same way. I just was able to write. Now it's going off in memory, but this one comes off heart. And I believe it's good. I hope others think it's good. I think it's great. And I think, I think, you know, it's, I don't think the talent is not being revealed too late.

I think it's, you know, it was waiting for all these experiences to happen to be able to include in this writing. Right. Because, yeah, and have you had any challenges, like for this last book? You had any obstacles or things that were kind of hard to deal with in the meantime, mostly about writing? Any challenges that you did? Well, the lessons I learned from my first book was high. hire a editor from the start. I had an editor on it on the first book on my own worst enemy and it was not, it was somebody

who knew how to read and write understood grammar, was not an editor. Big huge difference. So I got hired an editor. She went through the entire book. We basically almost rewrote my own worst enemy. So on the second book with a hardened heart, I hired an editor that he, from the start, me and him, as I wrote, I sent him a chapter. And that was not a challenge, but it was a lesson learned from the other, from the other book.

And so once I got done, you know, through that, and, you know, finished it up. And there was, you know, learning, you know, on how to deal with, you know, the Kindle, you know, self-public publishing. And there's a little learning curves here and there, but with assistance from the team that I brought in. They, you know, they made it, you know, as smooth as possible. And, you know, I can't think of any real super challenge on this one outside of, you know, just get it out there and let's see what happens and, you know, hope, streams and prayers and see where it goes, you know.

Well, congratulations. you were featuring what some 140 120 online news media including NBC ABC ABC CBS all the big names yeah a lot of big names a lot of you know radio stations different local newspapers across

the country you know did an article on it a little bit about me a little bit about the book so that's real exciting you know put that out there on my own personal pages of Facebook and LinkedIn and things like that and you know people were

super excited to see that that was happening, especially when I hit a number one bestseller. Yes. You know, in Amazon, everybody was just like, wow, you know,

and I said, yeah, so this is possible. Everything is possible. All you got to do is just say, I'm going to do this. And I'm going to do, and again,

you can't do it by yourself. You got to bring in help, you know, and you got to bring in people who are knowledgeable in the industry to help, you know, set you up for success. And if you think you can do it by yourself,

good, you know, good luck. I hope the best for you. Call me if you got any questions. And you also have that number one new release on your category. So that's really exciting too. Yeah.

Yeah. It's number three in a category. Number 37 in a category. That's out of hundreds of hundreds of books. You know, so it's pretty great, pretty exciting stuff. Well, Jeff, I really, really, I mean, congratulations on your book and your media mentions. And I'm looking forward to the next couple of books that you're going to be publishing. Thank you.

All your info, the link to the books and to your author page on Amazon is going to be below the recording. Any last words you want to leave my listeners with? Well, you know, one of the things I tell with everybody is follow your heart. And I talked about that. And my dedication is for the kids that are out there feeling like, you know, that nobody believes in them, you know, believing yourself. you know, you're loved. And just want to thank my fiancee, Victoria, you know, my kids, her kids, both, you know, my parents, Paulette, Linser, and my father, I have the same name, Sig, as Charles Jefferson Buck.

I really appreciate them and everything they've done and supporting me over the years. And, you know, I consider myself, you know, incredibly lucky to have the life I live and the friends and families. Got a best friend, Scott Davis. I just throw him out there too. Me and him have been friends since 1996. And we talk every day like schoolgirls. That's a real best friend right there. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, we're jokester too. A lot of people don't get us. Get our humor. We'll go right over your head. But it's a good time for us. But yeah, that's all I got. And I appreciate the time. Put me on your podcast.

and hopefully it all relays well. And, you know, people are excited and, you know, get my information. And, you know, email me, talk to me, you know, sending me a smoke signal. I don't beat a drum. Let's talk. We'll see what happens. Do you want to leave your email address for my listeners? And I'm going to have it at the end of the bottom.

Yeah, I mean, absolutely. But you can email me at C. Jeff Buck 21 at gmail.com. Okay. And you can find me on Facebook under Charles Jeff Buck or Charles Buck author. They're both linked together. And I have Instagram for my business. It is with underscore purpose underscore leadership. So everything you should do, you should do with purpose.

And that's my point there. But yeah, we'll have it out there and I'm looking forward to it. Sounds good. To my listeners, this is Jay. C Soto with Online Media 360, please go to Amazon, get Harding Heart, and check out of his other books because the other two books are great. And keep an eye out for what's coming next because he's going to have even more action and even more excitement to this books. And number one bestseller had new release. He's doing it.

So just please support C.J. Buck and contact him on his email. And like I said, all his info is going to be just below the description of this podcast. Until next time, this is J.C. Soto with Online Media 360. I'll see you next time. Bye for that. Thanks for listening to Business Innovators Radio. To hear all episodes featuring leading industry influencers and trendsetters, visit us online at businessinnovatorsradio.com today.