Tag: military men

Romance Novels

Classic Romance Tropes – Opposites Attract

A month or so ago I discussed one classic romance theme, the marriage of convenience, and how it has changed over the years even though it still exists and remains a reader favorite. You can read that post HERE. Today, I bring you another classic trope still going strong–opposites attract. This is a major theme in my upcoming release, ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY. Tucker is a part-time bull rider and full-time career military man from Oklahoma. He likes big trucks, barbecue beef, a good rodeo, and a nice day of fishing at a peaceful lake. Becca is a native New Yorker and a professor of English. She has a doctorate degree, loves books, wine, shopping, and big city culture. But all things are equal once the clothes come off. The question is, is that enough? AMAZON paperback AMAZON US KINDLE AMAZON CANADA BARNES & NOBLE BOOKS A MILLION POWELLS iTunes / iBookstore ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY An Oklahoma Nights Romance, Book 1 One Sweet Ride… Oh yeah. A single look at the leggy blonde in the stands and Tucker Jenkins is ready to buck all night long. It’s time to forget all about his cheating ex and his […]

Events, Life

These Boots Were Made for…

So what’s with the combat boots? That’s a good question, and one I’ve been asked a few times over the past two days since posting on Facebook that I was breaking in my new combat boots because they gave me blisters. You’d think I’d posted some sort of Obama/Romney debate point, judging by the number of responses I got on one little profile post stating I was following my USMC friend’s advice and soaking the boots in water, then wearing them wet to shape them to my feet so they wouldn’t hurt anymore. Which they did. Hurt, I mean. A lot. Well, the comments and advice and questions and criticisms came fast and furious, showing me exactly who was manning their Facebook feeds that sunny Sunday morning. This led me to believe that how one breaks in one’s combat boots is a very personal decision. And yes, I resisted when my friend told me to fill my brand new Bates boots up with water and soak them until the pigskin turned dark. I would never dream of soaking my cowboy boots in water. Granted, my snakeskin cowboy boots have also never given me bloody blisters the way the initial, short-term […]

Red Hot and Blue Series

Real Men -the other 99%

I was just reading about how there is yet another series of books to be launched about Navy SEALs. Here’s the thing– yes, my first romance stories that I wrote way back in 2006 featured Spec Ops (these are the Red Hot & Blue series short stories that are still being rereleased slowly but surely by Samhain Publishing). My choice then to feature these elite teams was for a number of reasons–I was reading Suzanne Brockmann and Alison Kent’s series at the time who both also feature special operations, the real life Task Force 145 was all over the news regarding al-Zarkawi, and I knew next to nothing about the military back then and figured if I invented a team of Black Ops, already known for their secrecy, I’d be less likely to mess things ups. What happened next is this, while researching military details for the writing of those books, I came in contact with the real life boots on the ground–the infantrymen, the tankers, the average Joes, the guys I routinely see in cammies while I’m on a layover in the Atlanta airport. And I realized THESE were the guys whose stories needed to be told. Not just […]