As you might now, I’ve included a number of military heroes in my books from my early romantic suspense novels to my latest releases in the Take a Chance series. That includes both military men and women heroes.
In each of the stories, I try to bring out what it must be like for our military heroes and their families as they cope with being away, being at war and coming home. I’m honored to say that I’ve heard from a number of military people that they felt my portrayals of the issues were accurate and heartfelt. Thank you for that and thank you for your service and sacrifices.
I want to share this video of truly awesome surprise military reunions! Click here to watch the military reunion video if you can’t see it below.
I’m in the midst of writing ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE which features sexy retired Navy Captain Mark Smith and veteran Army Staff Sergeant Bridget Sullivan. If the Sullivan name is familiar, it’s because you met Bridget’s younger sister Maggie in ONE LAST NIGHT. It’s also familiar because you meet both Mark and Bridget in STAY THE NIGHT, Rafe and Elena’s story.
One thing I always think about while writing one of these novellas is how I can give you a quick intro to some of the characters you might see in a future book. In ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE you’ll get to meet Lieutenant Commander Samantha Whittaker who is now in the Coast Guard and veteran Seabee Zack Rodriguez.
Why the Coast Guard (and I promise you’ll see more about the Seabees in another Write Wednesday post)? Well, I happened to be rescued by a very charming Coast Guard vet when I was stranded on a hotel balcony during an RT Convention in Orlando. To this day we both smile whenever we see each other and recall that very interesting (and embarassing) incident. You see, my friends and I had gone out there to have a glass of wine on a beautiful day. As we powershut a very recalcitrant sliding glass door, the security bar came loose and came down perfectly, trapping us on the balcony.
Luckily our hero walked by and seeing our dilemma, called for hotel security to come free us. He then graciously offered to get us some more wine as well. LOL!
So in his honor and to honor the service of our Coast Guard veterans, I thought it was time to highlight that branch of the military in one of the upcoming TAKE A CHANCE series novellas.
So here’s a little bit more about the Coast Guard, my Write Wednesday inspiration for EMBRACE THE NIGHT (late spring 2015), my story with Samantha and Zack.
Did you know the Coast Guard just celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the act to create the Coast Guard? You can click here to read more about the Coast Guard Act. However, the Coast Guard has been around since 1790. The 1915 Act was really more of a change of name of the service.
During times of peace, the Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security (as of 2003). During times of war, the Coast Guard is part of the Navy. Coast Guard heroes like Douglas Munro, a Medal of Honor winner, have saved countless lives during both peace time and war.
The Coast Guard is one of five military branches. Its motto is “Semper Paratus” in Latin which means “Always Ready.”
I’ve just set up a meet and greet with a young lady and fan who I was lucky enough to meet on Facebook. I’m excited about getting time to chat with her.
I was recently in Kansas City for business, but was able to have breakfast with two of my buddies from the reader/writer world.
I love getting to meet you guys! It’s one of the most exciting and fun things about being a writer. I’m hoping that this year we’ll be able to meet up at one of the events I’ll be attending. Here’s a quick list of them so far:
RomCon Conference – September 25-27, Denver, CO – You can purchase a ticket to sit at lunch with me and everyone who sits with me will be mailed a special swag gift worth at least $25 after the convention.
Midwestern Book Lovers Conference – October 22-25, Minneapolis, MN. Excited about this one since I get to stay in the Mall of America. It’s on my bucket list.
This weekend I got together with some writing friends from the fabulous Liberty States Fiction Writers. If you write genre fiction, you should really check out this organization. They’ve also got a great conference coming up in March with a number of workshops as well as editor/agent appointments.
I’m in the process of writing ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE and wanted to bounce some ideas off my friends. They were awesome in helping me firm up some issues that I had and right now I’m chugging along on the first draft of this novella. I’m loving Bridget who is my kind of girl. Laid back and more comfortable in jeans and work boots than a fancy gown or high heels.
Of course, her first sexy encounter with the hero, retired Navy Captain Mark Smith (who you met in STAY THE NIGHT) will put her out of her element and into those girly clothes she just hates.
Actually, you kind of hear about Bridget in ONE LAST NIGHT and you get to meet her at the end of STAY THE NIGHT.
I’m having fun so far in setting the opening of this story in an Atlantic City casino and researching where I’ll take Bridget and Mark in Margate. I got to stay in Margate once many many years ago and it’s the perfect setting for Mark’s home. If you are ever down in that area, make sure to check out Lucy the Elephant. Lucy is a national history landmark and is one of the last animal-shaped buildings in the world (I believe). It’s been used for several different things such as a restaurant and tavern and it had a nearby hotel. Here’s a photo of it and it’s sure to get a mention in the book.
I hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at my writer inspiration.
In ONE LAST NIGHT you first hear about Maggie’s older sister Bridget Sullivan who is in the Army. You also get to meet Bridget toward the end of STAY THE NIGHT. You also are introduced to Captain Mark Smith, U.S. Navy, Retired, in STAY THE NIGHT. Mark runs a security company with multiple offices, including one in Atlantic City. The next novella in the Take a Chance series, ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE, will take place in A.C. and will feature Bridget and Mark’s story.
Bridget’s occupation in the story was inspired by the work that I saw happening along the Jersey Shore after the Hurricane Sandy devastation. In addition to the towns rebuilding their boardwalks and streets, the Army Corps of Engineers came in during 2013/2014 to help replenish the beaches and dredge local inlets that had been affected by the storm. Here’s a photo of some of the beach replenishment courtesy of the US Army Corp of Engineers. You can click here to see more photos of the USACE dredges and works on the Jersey Shore.
In ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE, Bridget was Army Reserves and called into active duty where she served honorably and received a Bronze Star for valor during combat. She’s back home and finishing her college degree. In the mean time, she’s working for a construction company that is assisting the Army Corps of Engineers with additional work along the Jersey Shore. Since she’s become friends with an assortment of ex-military in the Atlantic City area, she’s thrown together with Mark and the sparks fly! I hope you’ll enjoy ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE when it’s available, hopefully in February.
For now, I’ll leave you with some photos of the Jersey Shore after Sandy.
My friend and fellow author Talina Perkins has set up a fabulous Christmas Book Bash with a number of authors sharing recipes, inspirations, new releases, giveaways and more! I’ll be at her blog tomorrow sharing a fav Christmas recipe and I’ll have a giveaway for you of a $10 gift card and an e-copy of the Take a Chance box set. Drop by Talina’s website or her blog to check out the many other goodies that the authors in the Christmas Book Bash have for you!
Every year my family makes a trip to get our Christmas Tree and to visit New York City to see all the Christmas sights. This year it was a challenging trip. Lots of rain, at times with powerful winds that drove the wet into us. We persevered and got our tree and had a lovely time, although we did have to camp out for about two hours in the Time Warner center to warm up, dry off, and get some dry socks. All in all though, it was a lovely day filled with laughter.
I know that some of our experiences from this rain-soaked holiday excursion will make it into a book someday. Here are some photos from our day. I’ll have more from you as soon as I download them from my camera. It was just too wet to risk using the phone at times for the photos. Click on where it says CHRISTMAS 2014 to see more photos!
