For the Love of Military Romance: Guest Author Jennifer Lowery

Hi For the Love of Military Romance and all you fabulous readers out there *waves* Thank you so much for having me today!

Growing up, I'd always wanted to be a writer, but I had no idea I'd become a military romance writer. I read multiple genres in romance. When I decided to make my dream a reality ten years ago, I wrote in multiple genres trying to find my voice. I started with historical, western, paranormal, contemporary, romantic suspense, and began to notice a trend. All of my heroes were alpha males. And, they all had a military background.

After many rejections I realized that I’d been fighting my voice. I’d never imagined myself writing military romance, and hadn’t read much of it either. But, once I found that voice, I couldn’t be stopped. I inhaled military books, both fiction and non-fiction. I joined military loops on the internet, I found military blogs, and I fell in love with my writing all over again.

I knew this is where I belonged. My heroes were strong, protective to the point of overbearing, and alpha through and through, much to my heroine’s annoyance. They would put their lives on the line to protect the innocent, and God help anyone who messed with their family and friends. They put themselves in the line of fire without hesitation. Their word is their bond. And once they set their sights on you, it’s for life. They are loyal, devoted, and trustworthy.

My hero, Jon Murphy was my favorite type of hero to write. A wounded warrior. Returned to civilization after being held captive and tortured before his Army Ranger buddies rescued him. Murphy’s journey to forgiveness and falling in love with the heroine, Sara, and her daughter, Abby, was incredible for me to write. I call this story the one from my heart because I fell in love with these characters from page one. Secrets came out about the daughter I didn’t even know or expect before I started writing and made me love her all the more. And Sara turned out to be the perfect match for Murphy.

I’ve included an excerpt from Murphy’s Law I hope you’ll enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing:

Murphy sat at the kitchen table, half in the shadows created by the soft light glowing above the stove, hair tousled from sleep. Naked to the waist. A bottle of amber liquid sat in front of him, an empty glass in his hand. Her gaze landed on his muscled shoulders and trailed across his tanned chest. So much for getting him out of her mind. Now she had the real thing to dream about. Looking at the dark hairs that veed down his chest and disappeared behind the table, she decided he’d been right. He was a dangerous man.

She tore her gaze away from temptation and looked at the granite lines of his face. Beneath the hardness of his expression, something haunting lingered. Drawn, she circled the table to the opposite end.

Murphy met her eyes with coldness that should have sent her running for the safety of her room, but she remained standing in place. He wanted to chase her away. This time she wasn’t running.

“Mind if I join you?” She grabbed a glass and from the cupboard and reached over his shoulder for the bottle.

His hand snaked out and wrapped around hers, preventing her from pouring a drink.

“I mind,” he growled.

“Well, get over it. I need a drink.”

Scowling, he let go of her hand and allowed her to pour a glass for herself. She refilled his glass next, set the bottle on the table, moved to the chair beside him and sat, lifting her glass.

“Cheers.” She brought the glass to her lips. His gaze as she drained the glass made her fight the urge to cough as the fiery liquid burned its way down her throat. Seconds later she felt the familiar warming sensation as it numbed her insides. Her eyes filled with tears. She blinked them away and reached for the bottle.

Murphy held it away from her. “What are you doing?”

“Having a drink. I’m not in the mood for warm milk tonight.”

His eyes darkened and narrowed. “You don’t strike me as the drinking type.”

She wasn’t, but tonight it sounded good. Maybe it would soothe away her problems and make her forget how screwed-up her life was. Talking about Kent earlier had brought back painful memories. She didn’t want to feel that misery anymore.

“Maybe you don’t know my type,” she said.

He studied her closely for a moment before rubbing a hand over his face. “Go back to bed, Sara. Sleep it off.”

“I don’t want to sleep it off. I’m tired of thinking about it.”

Maybe it was the whisky, or his naked chest, or the part of her that had been dormant for six years coming back to life. More than anything she wanted to discover it with Murphy, her strong, scarred hero.

She rose to her feet. He watched warily as she stepped in front of him and positioned herself between him and the table. He leaned back in his chair and sent her a thunderous look.

“You and I are alike in many ways, Murphy,” she said softly. “We’ve both lost pieces of ourselves we can’t ever get back and it has forced us into a life of loneliness and solitude. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being alone.”

He pinned her with a hard glare. “I’m not what you want. Go back to your room before I do something we’ll both regret in the morning.”

His harshly spoken words sent little electrical shocks through her body.

“I’m tired of people telling me what I want.”

Thank you so much for having me today! I just want to send out a big THANK YOU to all my readers out there! Without you I wouldn’t be here. My wish is to one day meet each and every one of you so I can personally thank you for your generosity and support!

All my best,
Jennifer

Author Bio:

Jennifer Lowery grew up reading romance novels in the back of her math book and on the bus to school, and never wanted to be anything but a writer. Her summers were spent sitting at the kitchen table with her sisters spinning tales of romance and intrigue and always with a tall glass of ice tea at their side.

Today, Jennifer is living that dream and she couldn’t be happier to share her passion with her readers. She loves everything there is about romance. Her stories feature alpha heroes who meet their match with strong, independent heroines. She believes that happily ever after is only the beginning of her stories. And the road to that happy ending is paved with action, adventure, and romance. As her characters find out when they face danger, overcome fears, and are forced to look deep within themselves to discover love.

Jennifer lives in Michigan with her husband and two children. When she isn’t writing she enjoys reading and spending time with her family.

This is what people are saying about Murphy’s Law:

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Cindy Gerard, Tara Janzen. or Cherry Adair series. Each of these writers have the same flavor with a secret ingredient in their stories as does Jennifer Lowery. Great story!
- hmhibbit, Open Book Society on Murphy's Law

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