Avenged: Latest HRT Series Release

I'm thrilled to announce that the 5th book in the HRT Series is out now! Schroder's one of my favorite HRT heroes, right up there with Bauer, so I hope you guys love him as well. (Well, he is a former PJ, and you guys know how I feel about them!)

Blurb:

When the past and present collide…

Taya Kostas is a survivor. She’s clawed her way back from the hell she was subjected to at the hands of an undercover agent working for the U.S. government. Since then she’s dedicated her life to preventing the same from happening to anyone else. Now her story has come full circle. She’s about to take the stand as the key federal witness in the biggest terrorist case the country has seen in years. But even though the man responsible for her nightmares is behind bars, the evil she escaped is still hunting her. When fate places her safety in the hands of the man who saved her life once before, together they race to stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy.

He’ll risk it all to save her. 

For five years Special Agent Nathan Schroder has been battling his inner demons, but lately it seems like he’s on the verge of losing that fight. Then Taya is suddenly thrust back into his life and in imminent danger, so he steps in to protect her. He’s never forgotten her or the way she held up under fire, and this time he’s not letting her walk away. The terrorists determined to prevent her from testifying will stop at nothing to silence her forever. She might be in official protective custody, but she’s way more than a job to Nate. When the enemy finally strikes and her life hangs in the balance, he’ll do anything to keep her safe.

Buy Links:

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Excerpt:

He opened the door wide a few moments later and stepped aside for her to enter. “All clear.”

She passed by him and into the room, her entire body buzzing with awareness as he shut the door behind her. The room was standard, with two queen-size beds and a small bathroom. She barely noticed any of it, too caught up with having over six feet and two-hundred-plus pounds of the sexiest man on earth standing just feet away from her. The skin along her spine buzzed with an almost electric charge, her entire body aching for his touch.

But then doubt suddenly overtook her. Compared to him she was ridiculously inexperienced at this. And she could just imagine how good he’d be in bed. While she was fairly certain he wouldn’t turn her down if she threw herself at him now, she didn’t want to seem pathetic and desperate, either. It was hard not to think about all the other women who called him.

Now or never, Taya. This could be your only shot with him.

She took a deep, bracing breath, and started to turn around. Before she could, two strong hands curled over the muscles at the top of her shoulders and squeezed. Taken by surprise, she smiled and let out a little groan of pleasure as her eyes slid closed. “Oh my God, that’s exactly the spot.”

His deep chuckle ruffled the hair at her nape as his hands kneaded her stiff muscles with firm, toe-curling pressure. “It’s cuz I’ve got magic hands.”

Oh, she had no doubt of that. Just the thought of them stroking over her naked body made her wet.

She turned to look up at him and the expression on his face stole the breath from her lungs. Hungry. Focused. Watching her closely.

Waiting. A hungry panther ready to spring.

Desire shot through her, her pulse thudding in her ears. When he reached up to pull the ball cap off her head and ran his hands through her hair, she couldn’t stop the moan that spilled from her throat.

Those gorgeous, skilled hands that were equally capable of taking a life and saving one tightened in the strands, his gaze locked with hers. A heartbeat later his mouth crashed down on hers.

She’d been waiting for it, even expecting it on some level, but the heated urgency of the kiss took her off guard.

Taya gasped and grabbed hold of his broad shoulders, her fingers sinking into the hard muscle there. That coiled strength beneath her palms had carried her when she’d been too weak to go on, was protecting her even now. The sense of security combined with the feel of his mouth moving over hers, setting her blood on fire.

She pressed against the full length of him, hungry for the feel of that strength wrapped around her. He made a low sound in his throat and drove his tongue into her mouth, sending a velvet shock to the center of her abdomen and between her thighs. Her nipples were hard, achy points against the lace of her bra as they met the hard wall of his chest.

His mouth was hungry over hers, taking complete charge of the kiss until her head spun and she couldn’t breathe. Raw need roared through her, growing stronger with every throb of her heart.

*end excerpt*

Whew! Man, I loved writing about these two together.

In other fun news, both Rekindled (Alex and Grace's story, Titanium Security #5) and Hunted (HRT #3, Bauer--gah, Bauer!--and Zoe) have both finaled in the 2015 Aspen Gold contest. I'm especially tickled about Alex and Grace, since there aren't nearly enough romances out there featuring main characters their age. Love it!

Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't sent out a giant thank you to all of you who purchased the Heroes In Uniform box set. We hit the USA Today bestseller list because of you guys!

Right now I'm hard at work on the next HRT book, Cruz's story. So far he's surprising me with how he's handling his attraction to the heroine. He's uh, not shy about taking matters into his own hands when necessary ;). After that I'll write Vance's story and finally Blackwell's, but I have one or two other surprise projects I'll be working on in the coming months as well that I'm pretty excited about.

Hope you all have a safe and fabulous summer!

Happy reading,
Kaylea

SEAL's Promise - Meet S.O. TJ Talbot

I'm participating in an incredible anthology, Hot Alpha SEALs, with 12 talented ladies. Doing a box set is all about timing, great writing, getting along and playing nice, communication and no Divas. I think we've been fortunate to score nearly a 10 in every category.

I like doing these because of more than just the fact that it keeps getting my name out there so new readers can discover me, I do it because it gives me hard deadlines I have to shoot for, and gives me material to start a full length book from. Every novella, except one, I've converted to a full length novel.

I've heard of SEAL wives who are widowed, and what happens to them after their man is killed while serving our country. What often follows is that the community closes ranks, and it is highly likely that she will marry another SEAL. I had the opportunity to speak with a proud former SEAL father, whose son married one of the widows from the Redwings mission, one of the men who perished in Lone Survivor. So, my story is loosely based on things that have or could have happened.

I added an extra twist in this story to have her be 6 months pregnant when she gets the news. Now she has to deal with the loss of her husband and be careful about the baby. And then I couldn't resist and made the hero of the story another SEAL her husband served with, his best friend, and a man she's always disliked. But boys will be boys, and the unthinkable happens and T.J. is forced to promise to his dying Team buddy he'll watch over Shannon and their unborn child, even though Shannon has made no small thing about hating him.

Hard to show the range of emotions in a short story, only 20,000 words. The sex scene is between a pregnant, grieving widow and a young SEAL who has grown quickly to love her. I will be expanding it this fall into a full length novel. But judging from the comments and emails I've been getting, apparently I've hit the mark. It is the book I'm the most proud of.

So here's an excerpt that shows the tension between the best man and the groom. The best man will be the hero. The groom is about to have a disaster of a wedding, including passing out. In the end, the bride merely tolerates her wedding and wants to quickly move on with her plans for a HEA, until fate steps in, and brings her what she never believed she could have.

Yup, I'm in love with these two characters, and I hope you love them too. Shannon is the bride. Cindy is the maid of honor. Frankie is the groom, T.J. is the best man.

EXCERPT, SEAL's Promise:     ****SEAL Language Alert****

Four other SEALs were in the wedding party, and he had to admit they’d make a wedding portrait which would look good on the cover of any bridal magazine, except for their dark glasses. Only Frankie, the groom, posed without shades. Shannon had wanted them all without the shades, but T.J. smiled at her and put his back on in open defiance, and the others followed his lead.

She’d flounced off in a huff, a flurry of white organza and chiffon, and her perfume that made him sneeze. He’d watched that hellcat streak she had, angled his head to the side and watched her march off to some mythical place brides hide when they go crazy. Lovely, though. Even he had to admit that.

Frankie was white as a sheet as they gathered. “I wanna pray first,” he’d said to his best buddies. Tyler was there, of course, and Kyle, Ollie and Rory were as well. But T.J. was Frankie’s best friend, and that meant he had to be best man.

“Fuckin’ going to need a lot more than fuckin’ prayin’. Gonna need a miracle, Frankie. Shannon’s had the evil eye on me all morning…yesterday, too, and that means I don’t think you’re getting any tonight, not that you haven’t—”

“Fuck sake, T.J. It’s my fuckin’ wedding and has nothing to do with how my bride looks at you. Get that fuckin’ thought out of your head.”

“I was just sayin’—”

“Not what you’re sayin’ I have a problem with. It’s what you’re thinking.” Frankie was so nervous he was seeing conspiracies behind every plant, guest and bouquet.

“Just be glad we didn’t send you to Alaska,” Tyler said, making it worse. Last year one of the young recruits had gotten time off from BUD/S to get married—a request which was almost never granted, and then the boys thought it necessary to save him from that quickie wedding in Las Vegas, and so got him stinking drunk and put him on a plane to Alaska so he missed his own wedding. They incurred extra wet and sandy for that one, and had the toilets cleaned so many times you could eat out of them.

This had worried Shannon, and her mother even more. Mrs. “I Want Moore” was one of the hottest women T.J. had ever seen, all toned and a marathon runner in her fifties. He had never before had fantasies about the mother of the bride. Mrs. Moore was twenty-five years his senior, but he knew she could clean his clock. He’d enjoy chasing her around a few places.

Turning to face Frankie again, he felt a tad sheepish about his lusty thoughts. He wiped his mind clean and decided to concentrate harder on Frankie’s day. His buddy was so crazy in love with Shannon, he needed extra protection to keep him from stepping out in front of traffic, or bumping into caterers, which he’d already managed to do several times today.

“Come on, Frankie. Lighten up.” T.J. slapped his cheeks to redden them up. “You need to stop looking like a dead man if you’re really gonna do this.”

“Yup. I’m doing this,” Frankie said to the auditorium full of people, the organ music now swelling up to the rafters. “I’m fuckin’ doing this.”

T.J. had a hunch he was looking for his courage and had come up short. He glanced down the hallway. Cindy was leaning against the wall right outside the bride’s dressing room, keeping sentry, but also giving him the long vacant look he knew only too well. He unabashedly scanned her entire body and let her see he couldn’t wait to get her naked.

She abruptly turned after blushing.

Perfect.

I WILL BE GIVING AWAY 10 KINDLE COPIES OF THIS ANTHOLOGY TO COMMENTERS, BUT YOU MUST MAKE A COMMENT TO WIN. GOOD LUCK!

Sharon’s NYT and USA Today bestselling novels are almost-erotic Navy SEAL stories of the SEAL Brotherhood. Her characters follow a spicy road to redemption through passion and true love. This series continues with books 7, SEAL Of My Heart, releasing in July 2014, and book 8 scheduled in the fall of 2014. All of her SEAL Brotherhood Series are available in audio book. She has maintained an Amazon top 100 author status in Romantic Suspense for since the end of 2012.

Sharon lives in Sonoma County, California, with her husband and two Dobermans. A lifelong organic gardener, when she’s not writing, she’s getting verra verra dirty in the mud, or wandering Farmer’s Markets looking for new Heirloom varieties of vegetables and flowers.

Sharon Hamilton

Life is one fool thing after another.

Love is two fool things after each other.

Author Page ** Sharon's Blog ** Sharon's Website ** Facebook**Twitter

Sharon’s Newsletter

NEW SERIES ALERT! Hot SEALs - they've got your six!

Look for it JULY 2014!

Night with a SEAL

Hot SEALs, Book 1

Ten years of dedication to the Navy taught SEAL Jon Rudnick one thing—he’s not afraid to risk life and limb for his country. But when navigating military red tape begins to present more challenges than the enemy it makes Jon question his future. So does Alison Cressly, the woman he can’t get out of his head.

When Ali’s life is threatened and military rules won’t allow him to intervene, Jon decides it’s time to take back control.

A team of sexy SEALs, a terrorist threat, and an attraction that can’t be denied . . . it all comes together in this launch of the new Hot SEALs romantic suspense series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling contemporary romance author Cat Johnson.

Hot SEALs on Goodreads

Spotlight on Guest Author Rita Henuber

Please welcome fellow military romantic suspense author Rita Henuber to the blog today! She's got quite an amazing family military history, and a brand new release to share with us today that I know you'll want to get your hands on. Take it away, Rita!

            Thank you for inviting me to blog.
 

            I write about extraordinary women and the men they love. Military heroines.  Women at the top of their field in a man’s world. They don’t want a man to take care of them they want a man who will accept them for who they are and stand shoulder to shoulder with them in their adventures. I’m frequently asked why I write military stories and more to the point why are my heroines the ones in the military. 

            Well, I come from a family, who over the years, have served in every branch of the service in every conflict since WWI. I have ancestors who served in British conflicts back to the early 1800’s. Two great, great, great, great uncles were in the Charge of the Light Brigade. Thomas Dunn, a corporal, and Alexander James Dunn, a lieutenant were members of the 11^th Hussars, a British Army unit. Lieutenant Dunn was killed in the battle. Corporal Dunn was one of the fabled survivors. 

            I have stories of family in WWI but no proof.  SO, fast forward to the next war to end all wars and I have many, many relatives who served. Some weren’t even in the military. Half of my family lives in Florida. Have since the early 1920s. An uncle owned several shrimp boats. One day, after the start of WWII, some scary guys in suits and uniforms showed up and said his boats were needed to protect the east coast from U-boats. There was no please. No thank you. No payment. All his boats were taken and he never got them back. He never complained. He was proud he could help. 

            My daddy trained Coast Guard recruits in Florida and Washington State, and patrolled in the North Atlantic riding shotgun for convoys.   

            Another Uncle was a Navy ace in that war and in Korea.

            One uncle, on the other side of my family, was home in December 1941 for 30 days of leave before he was to report to his next duty. His next duty? The USS Arizona in Hawaii.

            My husband’s uncle served in Germany. 

            Hubs was a Marine and served in Vietnam.

            One son was with the first Marines into Bagdad.

            There are many others but I think you get the point. The military in is my DNA.

           

            The next question is why write military heroines? I feel like the women in the service of this country are under appreciated. 

             George Washington credits winning the war against England to six colonial spies who risked their lives to bring him information. One of them was a woman whose name has never been discovered. 

            Dr. Mary Edwards Walker is the only woman to receive a Congressional Medal of Honor for her efforts during the Civil War. Her name was deleted from the Medal of Honor Roll in 1917. She was asked to return the medal and refused, wearing it every day until she died. 

                        Agnes Meyer Driscoll known as Madame X, an American cryptanalyst for the U.S. Navy during World War I was a brilliant code breaker. 

            During WWII over 1000 women in this country flew every type of military aircraft, ferrying them to military bases and departure points. They were test pilots and towed targets to give gunners training. Their service wasn’t recognized until the 70s.

            I have a special place in my heart for the nurses who took care of our soldiers in Vietnam. 

            The person who is credited with finding the terrorist leader who ordered the 9/11 attacks (I refuse to say his name) is a woman. 

    

My question is: why don’t we have more books with military heroines?

My new book, Point of No Return, is about a female Marine Corps Intelligence officer. She is smart, tough and a patriot. 

Amazon

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A hot sexy prequel, No Holding Back, is free and tells how my hero and heroine met.  

Amazon

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BIO

Rita grew up running the beaches of a barrier island on Florida's east coast. An island brat, she spent more time climbing weathered oaks and chasing alligators than playing with the dolls her family gave her. She married a Marine and feels fortunate to have lived many places and traveled to the states and countries she didn't live. Leaving government service she moved back to that barrier island where she writes contemporary fiction weaving her experiences into her story telling. Her heroes and heroines are either in the military or government service because she writes what she knows. Her father was in the Coast Guard and immediate family members served in every branch of the service as desk jockeys, grunts, pilots and everything in between. She's experienced the highs and lows of military and government life, and is grateful for each experience.

web site      http://www.ritahenuber.com/

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Twitter       @ritahenuber