MEET THE CHARACTERS OF THE SHATTERED SERIES!

 Charlie is a former Army medic, struggling to overcome severe PTSD. She’s now a massage therapist and the co-owner of Cedar Ridge Wellness Center, a clinic dedicated to helping wounded veterans recover through massage, whirlpool, and physical therapy. Charlie loves pasta, strong coffee, Hawaiian pizza, and Chinese food (aka meat with green stuff and brown sauce). She abhors shopping, but she'll make the sacrifice for Lila. Her ideal day is spent leaning against a tree beside a quiet stream in the woods. 

Captain Mark Chandler is forced to leave the Army following injuries sustained from an IED explosion. After his release from the hospital, he moves in with Charlie, his best friend for more than two decades, to recover both physically and emotionally. When he realizes how deeply Charlie is affected by her PTSD, he decides to do whatever it takes to help her heal while figuring out what to do with the rest of his life. His favorite food after fifteen years in the military? Anything that isn’t an MRE.

 Lila is a former Army medic who befriended Mark and Charlie in the military. She’s also a massage therapist and the co-owner of Cedar Ridge Wellness Center with Charlie. She’s married to Tucker, whom she also met in the military. Lila has a newfound love for raising goats, and her entire herd of hooved hellraisers are named after supermodels. Her idea of a perfect day involves tacos, margaritas, and marathon shopping trips (which Charlie has renamed Acquisition Expeditions).  

 Tucker served in the military for eight years, developing lifelong bonds with Mark, Charlie, and Lila (now his wife). He's a personal trainer and the proud owner of his own gym, Press On. Tucker likes the simple things – a cold beer with his best friends, thick pizza (but not Hawaiian, because Charlie’s crazy for thinking pineapple belongs on a pizza), good workouts, and watching MMA fights or football games. And of course, he’s madly in love with his incredibly hot wife.  

 Tom is every woman’s dream man, but for the life of him, he can’t pick the right woman. He’s a single dad to Maya and was once married to Chele (yes, the supermodel). Tom is a physical therapist at Charlie and Lila’s clinic. He’s oh-dear-God hot, he fosters rescue animals, he volunteers as a boxing coach at a center for disadvantaged youth, and his daughter is the true love of his life. He’s freaking perfect, except for his terrible taste in women. 

 Maya is Tom’s adorable, brilliant, amazing ten-year-old daughter. She’s in fifth grade, writing papers contrasting the uselessness of vapid beauty with the importance of good character (and describing said paper to Tom’s vapid, beautiful girlfriend whom she despises). Maya and her best friend Skyler love weekly pasta nights with Charlie, thick milkshakes, clothes shopping, and the band The Vibe, whose music she blasts at every opportunity.  

 Former Marine James "Stubbs" Mackey is a bilateral leg amputee who mentors newer amputees, helping them cope with their new unplanned reality. He meets Mark at Brooke Army Medical Center and helps him adjust his perspective by threatening to kick his ass. Stubbs is built like a tank, but Charlie’s figured out that he’s really just a big teddy bear underneath his tough exterior.  

 The Colonel (known in private as The Old Bird) was once the commanding officer for Mark, Charlie, Lila, and Tucker, and over the years, they’ve become friends. He’s kept in contact with them and is looking forward to retirement, though he’s not planning on settling down to a life of shuffleboard and bingo just yet.  

 Chele and Tom met when he was in college in New York. They became involved and got married when she became pregnant with Maya. Shortly after that, her modeling career took off. Chele wasn’t really cut out for motherhood, and she and Tom divorced just before she became a household name. She’s laser-focused on her career and only sees Maya once or twice a year.  

 Lila named all of her goats after supermodels, and one of them ended up being named Chele. Lila  didn’t know until much later that Tom had been married to Chele, and that Chele was Maya’s mother. (Oops.) Since neither she nor Charlie like Chele, who chose her career over her awesome husband and perfect daughter, she didn’t change her goat’s name. However, she’s never mentioned her goat’s name to Tom or Maya. Tom would probably be amused, but she’s not sure about Maya, and she’d never do anything to hurt Maya’s feelings.