From Cowboy Boots to Combat Boots

In last month's post I talked about Rough Stock and how it was my first foray into writing a cowboy with a military career. Well, it might have been my first but it has not been my last. My ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY features a part time bull rider, who is also in the Army. The best part? The eBook is on sale thru 3/25 $1.99, that's 80% off!

Below is an excerpt of what my hero Tuck faces in Afghanistan, when he realizes he's not in Oklahoma anymore, and maybe he should have taken care of some things before he left.

Enjoy!

Cat Johnson

“Hold on to your hat…ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY is one sexy romp with a sweet and hot hero you’ll want to keep around for longer than one night!” ~ Lorelei James, NY Times Best Seller

ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY

An Oklahoma Nights Romance, Book 1

a USA Today Best Seller

eBook Sale $1.99 thru 3/25 (80% off!)

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 usual hands off policy.

One Hot Night…

Becca Hart is an East Coast professor. Not a buckle bunny.  But no degree can prepare her for the moves of the sexy bull rider she hooks up with at her first rodeo … Or the shock of finding him at her first Oklahoma State University staff meeting.

One Happy Ending…

Tuck knows it’s all about holding on, no matter how wild the ride. Now he just has to convince Becca that a rough start out of the chute doesn’t mean they aren’t a smokin’ combination …

EXCERPT

“So, you got a girl at home, Jenkins?”

The rounds had slowed, but they sure as hell hadn’t stopped. Maybe the enemy fighters were starting to run out of ammo and were forced to ration it. Good. Maybe they’d run out completely. That thought gave him a small amount of hope.

 “You want to talk about home now?” Tuck still had to raise his voice to answer.

Conseco shrugged beneath his body armor. “Sure. Why not? You got something better to do?”

Tuck glanced at him. “I’d feel better if I were shooting back.”

“We all would.” Conseco blew out a sound of disgust. “If you’d like some ventilation holes in your helmet, go ahead. Stand up and try to take a shot. Otherwise, we’re stuck here waiting.”

They exchanged looks, and Tuck realized Conseco was right. He gave in and answered. “No, I don’t have a girl at home. Well, I kind of did. But not really. I don’t know.”

Tuck realized how pitiful that sounded. He laughed, but it was short, more like a wheeze as the bullets peppering the ground in front of him kicked up enough dust to make him choke.

“You don’t know?” Conseco laughed.

“I’m not quite sure.” Pressing back as close as he could against the wall—and safety—Tuck admitted the sorry truth. “I didn’t mean to, but I think I might have totally ended any chance we had by leaving.”

That he wasn’t sure where he stood with Becca, where he wanted things to stand between them, was a pretty sad state of affairs. Especially since today could be his last.

“Sounds like there’s a story there.” Conseco angled just his head toward Tuck. “Tell me about her. What happened?”

“Seriously? You want to hear it all?” The incoming fire had slowed to sporadic bursts, making talking a little easier.

“Sure, I’m bored and we could be here a while. It’ll help pass the time. I’ve heard all these other sorry bastards’ stories a hundred times over the last nine months. It’ll be refreshing to hear something new for a change.”

Tuck had never felt so helpless, and Conseco was bored and wanted to chitchat. But in this situation the man next to him was the one with experience, and like it or not, Tuck was the cherry.

Since he hadn’t been struck yet, he calmed himself enough to glance around them and reevaluate the hellish situation. Shooting back was out of the question. Even if his weapon was trained in on where the insurgents were hiding, which it wasn’t, to get a clear shot he’d have to expose himself to their hail of bullets.

His teammate was right. The best thing to do was sit and wait for air support, or for the bad guys to run out of ammo. Either way, it was going to be a little while.

“All right.” Tuck shrugged and was reminded of the weight of his pack braced against the rock wall.

Even though he’d never told the story in its entirety, not even to his best friends, he swallowed away the dry grit in his mouth and launched into the tale of two city girls who walked into a rodeo one July night in Oklahoma. He somehow felt he had to tell it, from start to finish. That another living person knowing it all would keep the memory alive because there was a very real chance he wouldn’t leave this valley. At least not that way . . . alive.

He glossed over the very intimate bedroom details, but told Conseco everything else, right down to his deciding to leave when they got caught in the library on the security video and how he thought he had to, before they both got into trouble.

When he’d finished, Conseco shook his head. “That’s a hell of a story. Sounds like true love to me. Like a damn fairy tale.”

“Nah. We weren’t that serious.” The statement rang so false in his ears, he elaborated to make it sound more convincing. “Just having some fun together.”

That didn’t sound any more truthful.

Love. The other reason Tuck had left in such a hurry. Love was a word Tuck had deliberately avoided saying or even thinking, yet Conseco spat it out easily. Maybe daily near-death experiences did that to a man. The fear of love and getting hurt by it was starting to feel ridiculous as real pain, the kind inflicted by automatic weapons, loomed literally at their feet.

But as for the fairy tale? No. Tuck couldn’t embrace that concept even a little bit, because being crouched against a rock face braced for the impact of the bullet that would take his life while Becca was back in Oklahoma totally unaware of why he’d really left was certainly no fairy tale ending.

“Here’s my question.” Conseco paused to spit a dribble of tobacco-tinged saliva into the dirt. “If you were having so much fun, then why the hell did you leave her and volunteer to come to this shit hole? I would have said fuck it to the university and their fucking rules and kept seeing her on the sly.”

Another bullet hit close enough to Tuck he could hear the whoosh of it passing his ear. To hell with it. If this were the last thing he ever said, the last man he ever spoke to, he intended on speaking the truth. That old saying was true. There were no atheists in foxholes, and though he would give a year’s salary just to have a foxhole to hide in right now, this shale crevice was close enough.

As if Conseco was a priest and Tuck at confession, he finally spoke the truth. “I guess I left because I love her.”

“Did you tell her you love her?” Conseco’s dirt-encrusted brows rose beneath the rim of his helmet.

“No.” A round hit particularly close, sending shards of rock into Tuck’s face. He closed his eyes to protect them and then blinked away the dust.

Conseco let out a snort. “You should have.”

Didn’t Tuck know it.

$1.99 Sale ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY thru 3/25

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Cover and Excerpt from Embattled Home...

My schedule has been knocked wonky over the past few months and Chad's book, Embattled Home, has been bumped back a few months. I'm on a roll right now and under a traveling deadline, so I hope to have him done within the next few weeks. Fingers Crossed!
Anyway, I thought I would post the cover for those who haven't seen it and add a brand new, never before read excerpt!

And now the unedited, subject-to-change excerpt~~

“I promise you I won’t turn around. Harper is outside, Flynn is in the barn and Mercy is in the house with the family. Everybody is taken care of. You need to take a few minutes for yourself.”

Lora looked at the temptation. The water was steaming. She wondered if it was as hot as it looked. Reaching out, she ran her fingers through the water. Oh, it felt so good. She glanced at Chad’s broad back. She knew for a fact she could strip naked and dance the tango and he would not turn around. He’d given his word. The gazebo was enclosed, the shutters drawn. Nobody would see her.

Screw it.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she stripped out of her clothes, dropping them onto a low bench along the wall. Cheyenne’s one-piece slid up over her hips easily and fit her surprisingly well. A little gappy in the boob area, but there was nothing to be done for it. She then unwound the Ace bandage from her wrist, dropping it on top of the clothes. Crossing to the stairs she slid a foot into the water, moaning at the warmth that welcomed her. Stepping all the way into the tub, she lowered herself into the water and pushed to the side. Shuddering with the sharp temperature, but relishing it, she settled into the corner of the tub, her head resting on the back edge.

The heat sank into her bones, chasing away the chill of the past few months. It was the warmest she’d been in as long as she could remember. “This is heavenly, Chad.”

He chuckled quietly, but didn’t turn around. “I thought you’d like it. My mother is a soaker too, bubble bath, the whole bit, so my dad got her this a few years ago. She likes to take midnight breaks, when the ranch is completely quiet.”

“Does your dad join her?”

“Mm, sometimes. When she can talk him into it.”

Lora swirled her hand through the water, restless.

“Chad,” she hesitated.

“Yes?”

He turned his head enough that she could see his face in profile, lit from behind by the house lights, but he kept his eyes down on the ground. As he’d promised he would.

“Are we safe here?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he answered firmly. “I wouldn’t have brought you out here if I thought otherwise.”

He faced the house, feet planted. Looking at him from behind, his back seemed so broad, his legs so long. She wanted to explore him, to take her time and touch every square inch of his body.

Lora knew, though, that he would never make the first move. It would be up to her to do that.

And she didn’t know if she had the courage.

Cheyenne’s challenging words came back to her, and her resolve solidified.

“Chad?”

“Yes?”

“Can you turn around please?”

He’d been still before, but now it was if he were frozen in time. For several long seconds, she didn’t even hear him breathe. But then he swiveled on one boot heel to face her.

Lora sank down into the water until only her shoulders were exposed. His gaze travelled over her as if he could see more, though.

“Would you join me?”

Lora actually heard him swallow from several feet away and it gave her courage that he was nervous.

“I don’t know if that’s such a great idea.”

“Please?”

He took a step forward across the deck, then a few more, until he stood at the side of the tub. “I’ll have to take the prosthetic off,” he admitted.

Lora hadn’t even thought about that. “Okay.” She was struck with something, then, and she grinned. “Want me to turn around?”

She thought she’d been funny but he gave her the strangest look.

“If you keep giving me smiles like that, you can look at anything you want.”

Her laughter faded at the sincerity she saw in his shadowed face and her heart started to thud as his fingers reached for the snaps on his shirt.

~*~*~*~

Hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for a release date for Embattled Home!

Life After the Military

Les and Pappa (one of his students from India)

Hey, everyone! I have been in hibernation for the last few months as we get settled in our new home in Virginia. Life has definitely has changed but for the better. I do not regret our 20 years in the military. While I was not thrilled with living in Alabama, I was very happy for Les. He had a job he loved working at the AF International Officers School. He truly enjoyed the students he met over the last 2 years. But, we were ready for a new start. We met a lot of great people, expanded our horizons, and now...we get our time.

Since we moved 8 times in 20 years, and we always threw together a house we have been taking our time getting the house we built in order.
There have been some settling in pains and I am still dealing with the health issues I had last year. Still, it is much easier to deal with them now because we don't have have been working, and have exciting news for you Santini and Semper Fi folks.
the possibility TDYs or deployments hanging over our heads. I

First, Leonardo is on audio! You can get it at Itunes, Amazon, and Audible.
And, the next two Semper Fi books are up for preorder. They are at Amazon right now but will be available everywhere in May!

Amazon preorder: US | UK | CA | FR | DE | IT | JP | ES | BR | MX

The man who could be general.

Jesse Johnson is a man everyone assumes will be a general. Everyone, that is, but Jesse himself. He isn’t sure if he wants to give that much to the military. His father has spent most of his life surviving a lonely existence with only his work for comfort. Jesse doesn’t want that—he wants it all.

The woman who tempts him to misbehave.

The last year has been bad for Zoe Jones. Her boyfriend was killed by some nasty guys who then put her in the hospital. She’s come to Virginia to heal not to fall for some by the book, drop dead gorgeous Marine with a chip on his shoulder. But one little encounter leads to a kiss and that kiss leads to all kinds of interesting entanglements. She knows it won’t last because he has big plans, but she can’t help but falling a little in love with him.

A Marine on a mission.

Jesse knows Zoe thinks they’re just having a bit of fun, but he has other plans. Forever kind of plans. He’s one man who knows how to organize a full on assault to get the woman he loves—and nothing will stop him.

TOUCH ME

Coming May 20th, 2014

Preorder Amazon: US | UK | CA | BR | IT | DE | ES | JP | MX | FR

A man trying to forget.

Jackson Johnson had always planned to spend his life in the Marines serving his country—that is until

he came back from a mission with memories he’d rather not have. He feels like he’s circling the drain until he meets the new tenant next door. An altercation with her unruly dog has them at odds.

Veterinarian Hannah Richmond doesn’t have time for the surly Marine or any man for that matter. Still, resisting his kisses proves futile and soon she finds herself falling for Jack. For the first time in a really long time she discovers she might just want to try for that happily ever after—that is until her past comes back to haunt her. That is until he finds himself kissing her.

A woman who doesn’t have time for love.
A Marine determined to prove his love.

Jack knows Hannah is pushing him away because she wants to keep him safe but there is one thing she needs to understand: this Marine will never retreat until she surrenders.

All SEAL Romances Heating Up Winter

So excited for my new release, Cruisin' For A SEAL, which comes out this Saturday, March 1st. The book was written partially on a cruise my husband and I took between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year, beginning in Italy and winding up with four glorious days in Brazil. Because it was a repositioning cruise, most the time was at sea, although we did visit Casablanca, Marrakesh, The Canary Islands, Cape Verde and several ports in Brazil.

I became interested a year ago in the "what if" scenario of a cruise ship being taken over by terrorists to extort cash or power over an American-owned ship. Although my story tells of American passengers being mistreated, on the cruise my husband and I took, we were the only Americans on board. Most the passengers and all the crew were either Brazilian, Italian or German. In fact, very little English was spoken during our month-long vacation.

Here's a little treat, a sample narration from my very talented narrator, J.D. Hart, who doesn't just read the story, but acts it for your listening pleasure. He becomes one of the characters, in a way:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVeT8IbV6ZU&list=UUzNxtQuHsd8Lq0YtQeAGcjw&feature=share&index=3

It actually was rather nice to learn all sorts of cultural things at every meal, on every tour.

As I did my research, I discovered that it isn't a matter of if but a matter of when there will be a terrorist takeover of a large ship like in my story. There have been attempted takeovers in the Greek Islands and around Cypress and Turkey. In those cases, most the passengers at risk were Israeli.

In my story, the head security officer is Israeli, trained in the Israeli Special Forces. One of the Jr. Officers is a former Italian frogman, and named after a famous early frogman from WWII era, Teseo Tesci from Elba. Some of the equipment he invented, particularly the early rebreathers, were crude versions of equipment our current Navy SEALs use to this day. He became known as the human torpedo. Due to the technology he invented, he could swim under water virtually undetected. From what I understand, the Allies had tried for years to get their hands on this and only could do so after his death.


I also wrote in a Ukrainian officer with his counterpart, the Chief Engineer, who were part of the terrorist cell, and made strange bedfellows with others in the group, namely the Moroccans. Maksym is a very hunky, tall, handsome officer with a Czech girlfriend. The terrorists are thus an international group, with sometimes

conflicting reasons for wanting to ransom the ship and put the passengers in harm's way. This becomes part of the conflict.

All this is with the background of the ten Navy SEALs who are taking their wives on an excursion, a holiday, just precious weeks before their next deployment. Of course, it turned out to be a working vacation in more ways than one. One of the SEAL wives is ill with an early pregnancy.

I traced the routes we actually went on, through the souk at Marrakesh, sipping coffe at an open-air cafe that had previously, the year before, been blown up by an Al Quaeda-styled group. It was odd seeing Sharon Stone wandering the shopping areas and rug merchants, that an international film festival was going on, where a year before it had been chaos. And might be again some day, perhaps soon. Who knows? I could feel all the underlying tension in the crowds as we "mingled" with this unfamiliar culture.

On the ship, I spent time crawling up and down stairways, learning about the series of staff elevators that snaked everywhere away from passenger's eyes, and the lifeboats on board, where some of the love scenes take place.

I felt stories lurking behind every marble or mosaic column, every cobblestoned street. In these ancient lands, I felt the presence of stories carved out in the temple walls and shopping stalls outside. It was very inspiring, and the words flowed easily.

As with all my stories, I try to let the reader understand a little bit about the culture of the SEAL Brotherhood, which is really all I care about as a reader, personally. So I hope I've given readers a little slice of life into the "what if" scenario, because, even if it does happen some day, we are never going to know about it as up close and personal as readers will in my novels. I was delighted to discover this morning Amazon has selected several of these books as free reads with the purchase of the audio versions.

Part of the wonderful things about being a Military Romance writer is the community we have together, a sort of Writers' Brotherhood, if I can borrow a little something from the SEALs. I have teamed up with writers Marliss Melton, Stephanie Tyler, Teresa Reasor, Gennita Low, Elle James, J.M. Madden, and Delilah Devlin, some who have been writing about SEALs for more than two decades.

We created an anthology of ALL-SEAL stories, novellas, and all new material for the most part. Some of these stories will be full length books later on in the year. My contribution is SEAL My Destiny. I have never before worked with such a talented and cooperative group of women. It has truly been an honor. Right now, our anthology, SEALed With A Kiss, is only $.99, which is a bargain any way you slice it. But it's first class material from some of the best military romance writers on the planet. Won't you give it a try as well?


I'm feeling generous, as I have been doing lately. I'll give two people an audio book from one of my four SEAL Brotherhood series, to someone at random, if you leave a comment. We'll announce Sunday night who the winner is on this post. Here's the question: what do you love most about reading military romance?

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