“This refreshing take on military fiction masterfully balances the gravity of war with unexpected moments of fun and camaraderie.”
– BookLife Editor’s Pick
New Release from OKPI: November 2024
Jeep Show
A Trouper at the Battle of the Bulge
Despite a fatherhood deferment, thirty-year-old dance instructor Jim Tanzer enlists in the Army in 1943. He is shipped to the European Theater of Operations and assigned to Jeep shows: three enlisted entertainers are driven to the front lines, where they put on small variety shows for combat infantry. Private Mickey Rooney leads Jim’s squad.
About Us
OKPI Publishing
Quality > Quantity
We are an independent publisher founded in 2016 and located in Memphis. OKPI publishes original, thought-provoking fiction and nonfiction in a wide range of formats.
Founder & Owner
OKPI was founded by author Robert B. O’Connor. Bob started in brand management at Procter & Gamble, then worked in advertising before starting his own agency. He began publishing with Gumptionade: The Booster For Your Self-Improvement Plan.
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OKPI Published Works
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New in Fiction
Jeep Show
A Trouper at the Battle of the Bulge
By Robert B. O’Connor
Despite a fatherhood deferment, thirty-year-old dance instructor Jim Tanzer enlists in the Army in 1943. Stella, his wife and partner in their dance act, regrets his choice.
Jim goes for paratrooper, but gets assigned to the Morale Corps because of his show business background. He is classified MOS 442: Entertainment Specialist.
Private Jim Tanzer is shipped to the European Theater of Operations and assigned to Jeep shows: three enlisted entertainers are driven to the front lines, where they put on small variety shows for combat infantry. Private Mickey Rooney leads Jim’s squad.
Caught in the Battle of the Bulge, Jim retreats to Bastogne, where he is attached to Team SNAFU, a hastily-organized unit composed of survivors from overrun infantry companies, dismounted tankers and artillerymen, as well as clerks, bakers, mechanics and other rear-echelon soldiers pressed into combat to support the 101st Airborne Division.
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Deftly interweaving Jim’s story with historical events, O’Connor provides a compelling picture of a combat soldier’s life in the ETO. Jeep Show also illuminates the Army’s comprehensive efforts to improve the moral of its citizen-soldiers, and other little-known aspects of the U.S. war effort. O’Connor salts the story with fascinating snapshots of show business life in pre-war America.
Jeep Show is for fans of WW2 non-fiction and fiction, including Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan, Ken Burns’ The War, The Thin Red Line, With the Old Breed, The Red Badge of Courage, and Catch 22.
“It seems odd to call a World War II novel ‘delightful,’ but that’s exactly what you get with O’Connor’s mix of history and fiction as battles rage on and enlisted men entertain the troops.”
– Starred Kirkus Review
Self-Improvement
Gumptionade
The Booster For Your Self-Improvement Plan
By Robert B. O’Connor
Gumptionade shows you how to develop the grit and mental toughness you need to reach your goals. It works with your self-improvement plan the way Oxyclean works with laundry detergent. You’ll get better results.
Gumption is the power to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. Gumption is courage, resourcefulness, and common sense in harness together.
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We try and fail to lose weight, be better partners, better parents, get fit, get organized or fix our finances. For most of us, the main barrier to personal progress is ourselves. We know what to do, but we can’t make ourselves do it.
Gumption is the power to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. Gumption is courage + resourcefulness + common sense. These are attributes you can strengthen. You can be more, do more and have more power to live the life you want. Gumptionade will show you how.
“Warm, wise, and witty, Gumptionade carries on the best American tradition of courage, resourcefulness, and common sense. Highly recommended.”
– Richard Smoley, author of The Deal: A Guide to Radical and Complete Forgiveness.
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