Hi, y'all. For those who don't know me, my name is Lissa Matthews and I write contemporary romance and erotic romance. I write bad boys with tattoos, race car drivers, cowboys, and a little military.
I've always been fascinated by and in awe of our military. I never served, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. I had left over medical issues and anti-seizure medication still in my system at the time of enlistment. I was denied.
It was heartbreaking, but several things that Spring of my senior year in high school were. I never lost my love of the military though. I was never bitter about not being able to play in one of the most elite musical institutions ever...a military band. I have always been proud that at one time I had a fleeting chance.
When I write military romance, it's with a lot of emotion. I have tears of my own that flow. Sacrifice and love.
For the military men and women I've known and for the ones left at home to wait, that's what I've learned they got through. Sacrifice and love.
I've only written two military romances. One from the point of being out and coming home with a loss to find an impossible love waiting. And the other of an impossible love that won't die. It's about the men, the women, the pain of separation, and the pleasure of being reunited.
But aside from writing a little military romance, I also try to give something back. When I give to charity or a cause, there's always a little meaning behind it, always a personal connection or some kind of link. So for the past couple of years, I've donated to a company called Green Beans Coffee. I donate money and soldiers have the chance for coffee, plain, lattes, or iced. Some send emails back saying thank you and though for me it's a small thing to do for those who do so much, I know they appreciate the gesture. The military has coffee addicts too.
I also support the Armed Forces Foundation. I'm a big NASCAR fan and I learned about this foundation through one of the drivers. It helps soldiers and their families get help for PTSD, but there are other facets that donations help with.
My next will military war dog support, United States War Dog Association. These animals are invaluable and deserve to be taken care of while they serve and after. They are soldiers just as humans are and they make sacrifices the same as their human counterparts. It doesn't hurt that I have a very soft spot for animals.
There are things we can do to love and honor those who serve, those who give everything. Maybe it's something as simple as a cup of coffee or a donation to help counsel through loss or help a puppy find a home once he's retired. But it's in those things that we can show how much we appreciate the service.
The writing of military romance, though it's about happy endings and hot men and women, the real soldiers and their sacrifice is not lost on us and I'm sure it's not lost on our readers.
Thank you to the ladies for having me. If you're new to me and would like more information on me or my books, you can visit my Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest pages.
Melody Ashford has been in love with Vinny since she was sixteen. He told her to wait, come back to him when she was legal. Two years later she crawled into his bed and never wanted to crawl out. They spent one blissful summer together, before he left for boot camp and a life in the military.
Vinny comes back to their little South Carolina town as often as he can, then leaves again for parts unknown. The heartache when he departs takes its toll and Melody passes the time with work, friends, and casual companionship from men she’s known all her life.
If Vin were a better man he’d set her free. But it would kill him to let go of the one thing more precious than life…
Their love is volatile, and full of passion. No one has ever touched Melody the way Vinny does, but he’s never said the words, never asked the question that would ensure no one else ever had the right. He’s got secrets and missions he can’t share, and she’s got dreams of a life with him in her bed every night. Can they put both aside and simply love one another until the time is right, or is his request too little too late?
Two years after his brother’s death in Afghanistan, Jethro is doing well. His handmade porch swing business is booming, his hip injury has healed and he’s still in love with Caitlyn. He knows he should resist her, but can’t, and pulls her into his darkly sensual world of sex and spankings.
Caitlyn has grieved, created a life for herself and has finally come to terms with her need for Jethro, her dead husband’s brother. With no small measure of hesitation, she takes a fateful step—daring him to turn her and their chance at happiness away.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI had great memories about my time in active duty in the Army.