11/11/2015

Get Lost With Our Veterans!

Hi, folks! Veterans Day is here and it's always had a special place in my heart. From my days in high school (a looooooooong time ago), I've read about, learned about, and worked for our soldiers. When I was in college, I spent every Veterans Day in Washington, DC participating in activities to honor our soldiers. I originally wanted to write military heroes until I realized how many details I could easily screw up. So I left that work to those who are so much better, the ladies I'm showcasing below.

In my own book, Dance Away, Danger, the hero used to be in the Army. Since I don't know the specifics about Army life, I did the next best thing. I made Matt a former soldier, which helps with the suspense angle of the story.   AMAZON
  
BLURB:  Sensible dance instructor Tessa Gage likes her life organized, risk-free and on her own terms. When her cop brother goes missing, his crooked partner tries to kill her, and a handsome stranger claims he’s come to protect her, she’s forced to leave her comfort zone. With more dance and business sense than survival skills and no idea who to trust, Tessa has no choice but to rely on this man who’d rather be anywhere but by her side.

When carefree carpenter Matt Rylan gets a late night call from an Army buddy who once saved his life, he finds himself where he never again wanted to be—responsible for someone else. Honor demands Matt cooperate, but he never expects his simple babysitting job to test the limits of his self-control. Nor does he expect it to explode into a race against time for his very freedom.
As Tessa and Matt get closer to the truth, and to each other, Tessa learns to step outside the safety of her world to help set the wheels of justice in motion. For Matt, supporting this courageous woman suddenly becomes everything to him.  Yet, his biggest challenge remains sharing his closed-off heart with her before the danger silences them both forever.
AND NOW......
SILVER JAMES likes walks on the wild side and coffee. Okay. She LOVES coffee. Warning: Her Muse, Iffy, runs with scissors. A cowgirl at heart, she’s also been an Army officer’s wife and mom, and has worked in the legal field, fire service, and law enforcement. Now retired from the real world, she lives in Oklahoma and spends her days writing with the assistance of her two Newfoundland dogs, the cat who rules them all, and the myriad characters living in her imagination. www.silverjames.com

BLURB: The HARD TARGET Team: Judge, jury, executioner. The multinational Hard Target special operators hunt the worst of the worst, and each brings their own brand of special to the mix. Genetically enhanced Navy SEALs. Wolf shifters from the SAS and Irish Marines. An Israeli Oketz officer. And a team of former USAF pilots and pararescue jumpers whose humanity doesn’t keep them from the fight. All corralled by Mother Goose, who commands the undercover group with steel-toed combat boots and cold beer.

Double-crossed… 

Duke Reagan’s mission went to hell. His SEAL teammates dead, abandoned by Command in the middle of an African warlord’s territory, he’s wounded, blind, and on the run with a terrified American, Coreen Prince, a doctor who was supposed to be collateral damage. Somehow, they survive, but not before they lose a bit of their hearts to each other. It takes a year to restore Duke's vision, and the return of his sight comes with the opportunity to join the Hard Target team, a not-quite white hat organization doing what government coalitions can’t. His first mission as the team’s sniper puts a drug cartel boss in his sights, but a familiar face that’s haunted Duke since Africa crowds the scope. 
Dr. Coreen Prince struggled to put her life back together after her African ordeal, but a slight detour one night in Key West offers her the chance to apologize to the man who saved her at such great cost to himself. Too bad Duke didn't recognize her. On special assignment in South America, Cory once again finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. But rescue comes from the last man she expects to see, the one man she can’t forget. Will they get a second chance at love or will he just see her as another double cross… AMAZON 

ANNE WILSON lives just outside of Phoenix with her husband and two children. She served nine years active duty as a navy helicopter pilot, which included deployment to the Persian Gulf. Never in her wildest imaginings did she think she would be a writer one day, but now she’s found her passion. Her books are a combination of romantic suspense, military thriller, and women’s fiction. Hover is her debut novel. www.anneawilson.com
 
BLURB: Navy helicopter pilot Sara Denning wants nothing more than to disappear into the uniform, but her talent at the controls make her a stand out to Eric Marxen, a driven lieutenant with a few secrets of his own, and uncovering them may lead her to actually finding herself.  AMAZON

NANCY S. BRANDT is a stay-at-home mother of two children, a daughter, 25, who is an appointment's clerk at an orthopedic clinic and an editor and book reviewer; and a son, 12, who studies karate, and wants to be either an historian or an artist. Nancy's husband, Steven, is also an author and an adjunct professor of computer science at Louisiana State University.

In about sixth grade, an English teacher gave an assignment to write a descriptive essay. Nancy's was all about a wonderful cave filled with diamonds, emeralds and other precious gems. From that experience, she walked into every English class hoping to get to write something, and she learned three things:

1. The difference between stalactite and stalagmite,
2. That fantasy was probably the genre she should concentrate on, and
3. Never end a story with "It was all a dream."

Nancy is a kidney transplant recipient (her husband was her living donor), a thyroid cancer survivor, and an Army veteran. She is currently working on the sequel to Pigsty Princess, called Questionable Queen. www.nancysbrandt.com


BLURB: In a country where Elemental Sensitivities determine a person's place in society, Mariana, fourth child of King Jonathan and Queen Alexandria, was born an Insensitive. She is given the made up title of Progenna, because she can't be in line for the throne and therefore, can't be a Princess. All her life, she is reminded that she isn't quite good enough. When her father decides she is to marry Pir Leo Valentine, an eighty-four year old man with a scar across his face that took his eye and only one hand, she runs away from the palace.

Orlando of Talla is a pig farmer and former soldier who served the King until he watched his Sovereign burn an entire harbor town rather than lose a battle. Now he tries to live a quiet life while leading a band of rebels who steal from the nobility to bring prisoners home from that war.

Orlando is also the bastard son of a nobleman, and therefore, he has a Sensitivity, one of Blood that allows him to feel the Sensitivities of others.

He finds the injured Progenna in the forest and immediately realizes that the stories about Mariana aren't true. Rather than being an Insensitive, Mariana may be the most powerful Sensitive in Valborough.
AMAZON

DIANA COSBY A retired Navy Chief, Diana Cosby is an international bestselling author of Scottish medieval romantic suspense.  Books in her award-winning MacGruder Brothers series are translated in five languages.  Diana has spoken at the Library of Congress, Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC, and appeared in Woman’s Day, on USA Today’s romance blog, “Happy Ever After,” MSN.com, Atlantic County Women Magazine, and Texoma Living Magazine.

After her career in the Navy, Diana dove into her passion – writing romance novels. With 34 moves behind her, she was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people she’s met throughout the world.  With the release of her first two books in her new Scottish medieval The Oath Trilogy, An Oath Taken and An Oath Broken, both which hit bestseller lists in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom, as well as the release of the e Box Set of the MacGruder Brothers series, she is now preparing for the release of the last book in The Oath trilogy, An Oath Sworn on 23 December, 2015!

Diana looks forward to the years of writing ahead and meeting the amazing people who will share this journey. www.dianacosby.com

BLURB: Colyne MacKerran is on a mission for his king, and he’s well aware that spies are lying in wait for him everywhere. Wounded en route, he escapes his attackers and is aided by an alluring Frenchwoman…whose explanation for her presence in the Highlands rings false. Even if she saved his life, he cannot trust her with his secrets. But he won’t leave her to the mercy of brigands, either—and as they race for the coast, he can’t help but wonder if her kiss is as passionate as she is.

With nothing in common but their honor, Colyne and Marie face a dangerous journey to safety through the untamed Scottish landscape—and their own reckless hearts…
AMAZON


GWEN HERNANDEZ was a manufacturing engineer and programmer before she turned to writing romantic suspense. She’s also the author of Scrivener For Dummies and teaches Scrivener (writing software) to writers all over the world.

She loves to travel, read, jog, practice Kung Fu, and explore the Boston area where she currently lives with her Air Force husband, two teenage boys, and a lazy golden retriever.
www.gwenhernandez.com

Message: Happy Veterans Day! As a former military brat (Army and Navy), and a current Air Force spouse, I’ve been surrounded by honorable, self-sacrificing men and women my entire life. My own personal heroes. I honor them in the best way I know how: writing about them. To all veterans—and those still serving—thank you!
 

BLURB: 

Rescuing a kidnapped aid worker from St. Isidore’s dangerous rebels is just another day at work for former pararescueman Dan Molina. But his mission falls apart when the woman—who once shattered his heart—refuses to leave the island.

Alexa Alyssandratos can’t return to her life as a nurse on the hurricane-ravaged Caribbean island, but she won't leave until she’s certain the orphans she cared for—especially one sick little girl—are safe from the rebels. Denied their ransom, a would-be dictator and his soldiers are hunting Alexa, and Dan is the only person who can protect her. Old passions reignite as she and Dan race to save the children before they disappear forever.
AMAZON

 
HEATHER ASHBY is a Navy veteran who writes military romantic suspense with Major Christopher Bergeron, USMC, (Ret.) In thanksgiving for her Army son’s safe return from war, she donates 50% of her royalties to Fisher House Foundation, which provides free family lodging at military hospitals. Suzanne Brockmann says, “My readers will love Heather Ashby!”  (P.S. My handsome son is my cover model :-))  www.heatherashby.com

BLURB:
With 7.5 tons of World Trade Center steel melted into her bow, what if there are more souls aboard the USS New York than the sailors and Marines stationed there? And what if those souls can help the troops defeat al-Qaeda this time?

When Royal Navy officer Gwyn Pritchard reports for exchange duty aboard USS New York, she’s the only person who sees 9/11 spirits roaming the decks. The daughter of a famous psychic, Gwyn learns they must complete a mission in order to pass to the other side. The sole survivor of an IED blast in Afghanistan, Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Adam Connor has his own issues. But when he discovers that the British officer sees ghosts aboard their ship, he becomes her confidant—and lover.

Passions rise to fever pitch when the New York rushes to liberate British and American hostages in North Africa. Can the spirits gather the right intelligence to help the Marines save the prisoners? Can Gwyn help the ghosts move on to the light? Can Adam and Gwyn find the love they’ve searched the world over for? AMAZON

 
 
 
 

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for letting me join your showcase with such a great group of authors, Alexa! I'm spending the day with my soon-to-be veteran (retiring next summer) who has the day off. :-) Happy Veterans Day!

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  2. Alexa,
    My sincere thanks for having me as a guest today as we celebrate Veteran's Day. I'd like to offer my sincere thanks to all who serve or have served along with their families for the challenges they face(d) to ensure we are free. Take care and God bless.
    Sincerely,

    Diana Cosby, AGC(AW), USN, Ret.

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  3. Thanks for inviting me today, Alexa! I love Get Lost In A Story! And it's great to see so many awesome colleagues here today. Write on!

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  4. Thank you, Alexa, for allowing me to join you and all of these fabulous authors! What a great idea to do this for Veterans Day!

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  5. We apparently had the same idea - I featured authors who write romances about military heroes and heroines and donate a portion of their royalties to veteran benefits on my monthly newsletter that came out yesterday. Nice post and now I've got a few new books to go check out.

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