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Crime & Safety

Eagan Cop Adds Novelist to His Resume

Eagan patrolman Dan McCarty expects to have his first book, A Soldier Reborn, in stores soon.

Dan McCarty says it is going to be "surreal" once he has a copy of his suspense thriller, A Soldier Reborn, in his hands. Even more surreal will be the day he walks into a bookstore and sees it on the shelf.

McCarty, an Eagan Police Officer since 2005, started writing in high school when he penned a 200-page novel that was "totally un-publishable."

A Soldier Reborn, he hopes, is the first book in a trilogy. He already has the other books outlined in his mind but he has to make back the self-publishing costs before he will consider writing the other two. Of course, if a major publishing house wants to pick them up, he won’t mind.

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McCarty says he got the idea for the story when he was stationed in Kosovo. The book was in a serious planning stage for the better part of the last year and he put in three or four months of concentrated writing - on his days off and after his two kids were in bed - to finish up the novel which weighs in at about 300 pages.

McCarty describes A Soldier Reborn as a suspense thriller that tells the tale of police detective Colt Sullivan who "must discover his past in order to survive his future" and, in the process, "expose a secret government program that is out of control."

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Around the time McCarty was getting ready to send his completed manuscript to his publisher, Beaver’s Pond Press, he was the responding officer on a call where a 3-month-old boy died at his day care. Being a father of young boys himself, little Dane's death tugged at his heart and, the following week, McCarty asked the boy's parents, Steph and Mac Ableidinger (a former Eagan volunteer firefighter), if he could dedicate his book to their son.

McCarty also plans to donate a portion of his proceeds to support grief counseling for loved ones and first responders affected by the death of an infant.

Dane's mom says McCarty has been "so amazing though this devastating time. Dane had a huge impact on Dan and Dan has had a huge on our family. We are so honored to have Dane recognized in this way."

McCarty says his wife Brea, who also works for the Eagan Police Department, has been amazingly supportive throughout the whole process and her marketing degree will come in especially handy once the book is out.

McCarty anticipates A Soldier Reborn will be available for online sales sometime the week of November 21 and he hopes to eventually do a reading at the Eagan Barnes and Noble Bookstore.

Learn more at his website: danmccartybooks.com.

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