Remembering on Memorial Day

I don't come from a military family. In four generations, just one of my close male relatives has been in battle. The rest were drafted so late in whatever war was on they were still training when it ended, or they got deferments of some kind, or they served in support positions. So, I only have one Memorial Day story to tell.

My mother's father was about twenty, well on his way to a successful career and already engaged to the woman who became my grandmother, when he was drafted into World War I. After basic training, the farm boy from Missouri found himself on the front lines in France. 

Some military logic linked his skill as a cornetist to communications, so he became a messenger, relaying information up and down the chain of command. This meant that, while most doughboys spent their days in trenches parallel to the enemy's, his job meant he traveled through the connecting trenches that ran at right angles to the battle line, open to enemy fire.

What he endured or did there, I don't know. He never spoke of it to anyone but possibly my grandmother and my father (they had no sons of their own). I do know he developed a massive case of ringworm and eventually spent a year in a military hospital recovering from the effects of mustard gas. After he was released, he played in the band that accompanied General Pershing on his "victory lap" though Europe and served as its Drum Major. 

He was lucky, in short. He made it home to Kansas City and picked up his life where he'd left off.

Except he brought back a full uniform with rifle and bayonet, but had lead poured down the barrel of the rifle so it could never be used again.

Except he gave up hunting and became an avid fisherman.

Except sometimes at night he would sit alone with a glass of whiskey and stare into the darkness.

He is the one I remember on Memorial Day -- a man who did his duty, shared a bit in the glory, and refused to ever fire a gun again.

Who do you think of most often on Memorial Day?

~~ Nancy Holland

Jake Carlyle, the hero of Owed: One Wedding Night, has a more personal trauma in his past, one he kept secret from his fiancée, Madison Ellsworth. When Madison comes back into his life three years after leaving him at the altar, Jake agrees to save her family business in exchange for the wedding night they never had, but he doesn't intend to tell Madison his secret -- or to fall in love with his wife.

~~ ANGI'S POPPIE ~ ~

During interviews, I've been asked numerous times who I'd like to spend time with if I could go back in time. . .

I could choose anyone. But every time I choose ...

This man. 

My father's father served in World War I.
He strung telegraph wire across the trenches in France and was wounded in battle.

Lovingly known to me as Poppie...he was the first of my grandparents to pass on. I was a junior in high school, working, busy...

He seemed a very private man. I never spent much one-on-one time with him, but heard lots of stories after he'd gone.

What a life he had!

I remember Saturday nights in front of his black and white television watching HEE HAW and WRESTLING. If it was Saturday...there wasn't anything else to watch. I remember bringing my Barbies over to play with my cousins (which I had plenty of) and waiting for my hand built couch and chair and table (11" sized for the Barbies). I still have my couch. And many years later when my grandmother passed, I was given a hand-made curio shelf. There are paint-stains close to the back that I can't bear to cover-up. It's part of their house and the memories.

THANKS TO ALL WHO SERVED.

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Get Lost with Lee Kilraine and Bringing Delaney Home

I'm thrilled to welcome Lee Kilraine, a Golden Heart sister (Dreamweaver) and Bradford Babe (our agency and agent) to the crew!  And even more thrilled that we can help her celebrate her debut BRINGING DELANEY HOME.  

And don't forget--Commenters will be entered in a drawing to for a chance to win a digital copy of BRINGING DELANEY HOME. 

MEET LEE KILRAINE

After moving around the country with her AF pilot husband and four children, Lee and her family finally put down roots in the pine woods of North Carolina. She’s a graduate of University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a 2014 Golden Heart^® Finalist. She loves hanging out with her family, her dog Harley, watching just about any sport, Gene Kelly musicals, Marvel movies, and anything with bacon or salted caramel- although not salted caramel bacon. Lee’s least favorite part of the day is figuring out what to cook for dinner. Cooking dinner takes a close second, although a glass of wine helps.

Nan:  I loved Gene Kelly!  We are soul sisters!

I really want to more about your debut BRINGING DELANEY HOME Book 1 in the Cade Brother's Series.

THE STORY BLURB

In the sleepy town of Climax, North Carolina, all five Cates brothers are known for being tall, dark, and delicious. But each has his own incomparable love story...Quinn Cates has known Delaney Lyons forever. But after years away from home, Delaney's a changed woman. A mysterious accident she refuses to talk about has left her hurting--in body and soul--and acting out in dangerous, and occasionally entertaining, ways.

Quinn's on the local police force, so he's used to dealing with troublemakers. This one's pretty incorrigible--but he suspects her flippant exterior is hiding something softer and deeper inside. Every time he has to rescue Delaney from herself, his heart and his hormones both go into overdrive. But he owes it to Delaney's sister to keep an eye on her. He's got some experience with that after spending so much time at it back in high school...

Delaney just wants to fend off the gossips, fight off the pain of her past, and make her escape once again. But Officer Cates is ordering her not to leave town, and his interrogation techniques can be very persuasive...

Nan:  Sounds delicious and there are five tall, dark and handsome brothers?  Can't wait.

READ A LITTLE, BUY THE BOOK

“You can’t deny the chemistry between us.”

Hell yes, she could. After the last nine months she qualified for a black belt in denial.

“How’s this sound? I’ll reel you in with my constant presence and charisma. I’ll charm those sweatpants right off you.”

“It sounds like you’re going to be a big pain in the ass.”

Such a delicious torture when his strong chest and wide shoulders moved even closer, surrounding her. His heat, a sinful temptation against her back. The hard muscles of his thighs like cut granite pressed against hers. Everything about him warm and firm, besieging her body to yield while he rocked her already unstable world.

“Don’t you feel it too?” Quinn’s warm hands cupped her shoulders, and he spun Delaney around in his arms, pulling her in tight against his sinewy body. He lifted her face up to his with one hand while the other stroked through her hair to cup the back of her head.

Standing wrapped in his strong arms, with his whiskey-dark voice whispering temptations she knew she couldn’t afford to want, felt so darn good. She took a breath and tried to capture this moment in her mind. She filed it away to pull out and savor like a guilty pleasure she hadn’t earned and didn’t deserve.

“Feel what?” Yep, she was the Bruce Lee of denial.

“This.” He kissed her. His firm lips and stroking tongue stole her every thought from her head. Her head must have exchanged oxygen for helium because it was about to float up into the clouds far, far above her.

He ended the kiss abruptly, pulling back a step, his breath uneven as it struggled in and out of his lungs. Just like hers.

She stiffened her spine and drew herself away and inward, a solitary island with a sole survivor.

“Fair warning, I aim to wear you down like the water shaped those rocks down below. I’ll keep flowing around you, smoothing out the sharp angles, and wear away your resistance. Now, no more fishing off the bridge, because I have a fantasy with you and a pair of handcuffs, but it’s not that.”

His gaze raked over her, leaving a trail of goose bumps and a serious case of oxygen deprivation. Then he walked to his police car and drove away as if he hadn’t just knocked a fissure in her well-constructed wall of defense. How did he do that? Quinn might think she was trouble, but she knew he was a sure heartache.

She couldn’t afford to open her heart to his words. She’d been broken for many years, but avoiding expectations and commitments kept some of the pain at bay. He was going to drive her crazy with his plan, but she had a plan too. She just had to stick to it, because her plan to get back to D.C. as fast as possible might just be the only way to save her sanity.

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Nan - Yum!

Read Chapter 1 here:  http://bit.ly/1Ps4dUq

A LIGHTING ROUND OF Q&A WITH LEE KILRAINE

NAN: How often to you get lost in a story?

LEE:  Every night. I have to read in bed before falling asleep. Sadly, though it’s usually only for ten to twenty minutes before I conk out which means I’m going through my TBR pile with the speed of a three-toed sloth.         

NAN:  What’s the first book you remember reading? 

LEE:  The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B.White. Romance? The Flame and the Flower. I was a very naïve teenager- the Cindy Lou Who of teenagers-when I read it and remember being appalled at a certain scene and saying to an older sister, “Ew, Mom and Dad did that seven times?” Guess how many siblings I have. ;) 

Nan:  Too funny.

NAN:   Can you tell us about a real-life hero you’ve met? 

LEE:  I was volunteering at a military hospital in San Antonio. I met a young soldier who’d had both hands blown off over in Iraq. He’d been through many surgeries already and was working his way through therapy, prosthesis fittings and occupational therapy. He had a long painful recovery ahead of him. But he already had plans for when he left the hospital. Once he got his prosthetic hands, he wanted to learn to fly helicopters. Even now, I can still see his excitement, the light in his eyes, the energy in his body as he laid out his goal. The way he rocked up on the balls of his feet while he talked—like he was ready to get on with flying already. His resilience blew me away. He wasn’t the only true-life hero there by any means, but the day I met him was the day I knew I had to write this story.

Nan:  Amazing.       

NAN:   Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release? 

LEE:  Originally I had my heroine and her sister have this thing with Stevie Wonder songs, and then someone (who shall remain nameless) said in the nicest way possible--maybe nix the Stevie Wonder songs. I was like…Why? Who doesn’t like Stevie?! But I get it. She was right. So, yes there are Stevie Wonder songs for each of the plot points of the book but the two songs that sum it up… Quinn’s song for Delaney since high school has been “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours.” By the end of the book Delaney’s song for Quinn is “For Once in My Life.” 

Nan: Ahhhh, nice.

NAN:   What sound or noise do you love? 

LEE:    Laughter.

Nan: Lovely.

NAN:   What one thing about your hero drives his heroine crazy? 

LEE:    That Quinn won’t give up on her. And every time she turns around he’s there, challenging her to try again. Or making her hot. 

NAN:   And what one thing about your heroine drives her hero nuts? 

LEE:    He’s not too happy that she’s too stubborn to accept help and keeps trying to go it alone. But other than that-- nothing. Delaney has been “it” for Quinn since high school and even her cranky cranks his tractor.

NAN'S GOTTA ASK:   Benedict Cumberbatch or Chris Pine? 

LEE'S GOTTA ANSWER:   As much as I enjoy Sherlock, it’s Chris Pine. All. The. Way. 

Nan: I agree!

UP NEXT FOR LEE

COULD THIS BE LOVE?   Book #2 in the Cates Brothers Series

Nan:  Great cover!

 FIND LEE KILRAINE

Contact:     LeeKilraineAuthor@gmail.com

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LEE KILRAINE WANTS TO KNOW:   I would love to hear about the military heroes in your life! But also, what are you cooking for dinner tonight? Seriously, I need some help. What is your favorite “go-to” meal to cook after a long day of work? 

Lee is giving away a digital copy of BRINGING DELANEY HOME to a lucky commenter.  You can comment through Sunday February 14th!

Thank you for sharing your debut with the crew -- Lee!