So Who's Next in the Series?

So Who’s Next In the Series?

By Dahlia Rose

My Daddy Is a Hero is a series that started out totally by happenstance. I wrote one book and my readers asked for another.  I had a spare week or two on my schedule (trust me they are few and far between). Instead of my vacation lovingly imposed by my husband I spent that time writing the second, then a third and now we’re on book number five.

I was once asked why the title My Daddy Is A Hero? Why not? They aren’t just single moms out there, they are single dads to and some of them are in the military. Trying to hold down a career, being deployed and being a father in a one-parent household.  I’ve met a few of these guys and you can see the pain on their faces torn between a child crying for daddy to stay home and leaving for a long deployment. I have a soft spot for kids and soldiers so in this series I fell in love with the premise, my heroes and their children. To me they are so real that I sit and fuss when things go wrong and tear up when they go right. The finally words of ‘The End Brings me such a sense of happiness that I sigh… then eat chocolate.

So who’s next in the series? That would be LCDR Chase Latos; he’s a PJ in the Air Force. PJs are in the Para Rescue unit of the Air force.

They are the medics who come out of the sky like angels. They land in the middle of a firefight and take the wounded both military and civilians to safety. And in a helicopter outfitted with two side guns and dealing with harsh winds and a bump flight. They perform some of the most hair-raising procedures to stabilize their patients and get them to a medical base. My research and interviews with these guys left me floored. I myself sat forward in my seat listening to every word. They still knew ever patient and how they felt each and every time they saved a life or loss one. By far the loss affected them the most. I sent out to tell their story in my small way and I hope I did a good job when I’m done. I hope I did justice to the most amazing group of personnel that embodied bravery in every sense of the word. Details on the release date will be coming soon… This story took on a life of it’s own, the characters are leading and I’m following.

Hugs and Cheesecake

Dahlia

Who loves a fish out of water story?

Apparently I do, since I keep writing them!

"Fish Out of Water" in the He's the One anthology is a novella length spin-off from my ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY. The story pairs my two soldiers, Tuck and Logan, who both teach ROTC, with the English department head for an overnight camping trip planned by the military sciences department at Oklahoma State University, much to the chagrin of English professor Mark Ross. But don't feel too bad for Mark, because Tuck's assistant coach, cowgirl Carla Henricks from the OSU rodeo team, is also in attendance. :) 

Please enjoy the following excerpt.

Cat

HE'S THE ONE

Multi-author anthology releasing June 25^th in mass market paperback and eBook

LINDA LAEL MILLER "Batteries Not Required"

JILL SHALVIS "Captivated"

LUCY MONROE "Seducing Tabby"

KATE ANGELL "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service"

CAT JOHNSON "Fish Out of Water"

"FISH OUT OF WATER" BY CAT JOHNSON 

BLURB

Carla Henricks is a cowgirl through and through, but her lasso has never met an English professor like Mark Ross. It’s true opposites attract.

 Don't miss ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY by Cat Johnson for your first introduction to the sexy, nerdy English professor Mark Ross.

EXCERPT 

“Stillwater, Oklahoma’s Lake McMurtry offers both primitive and improved campsites.” Mark Ross read the description from the computer screen, and then glanced up. “Primitive or improved? I hate to even ask, because I doubt I’ll like the answer, but what’s the difference? And more importantly, which one are we going to?”

Logan Hunt grinned back at him from the other side of the desk. “Why? You worried?”

“Yes. Do you blame me? Primitive. What kind of description is that to try to sell this place to the public? They need some help with their marketing materials, I can tell you that.” With one finger, Mark pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose, from where they’d slid down. “And you still didn’t answer my question.”

“The difference is that the primitive campsites only supply water, while the improved sites have both water and electric.” Logan leaned back and rested one heavy-looking combat boot on the camouflage-covered knee of the opposite leg. Logan tended to make himself comfortable anywhere, whether he was lounging on Mark’s office furniture, or in an easy chair in his living room.

Mark, on the other hand, was not at all comfortable with the idea of this camping trip. “And we’re going to which site?”

By the smug expression on Logan’s face, Mark had a feeling he knew which the man had chosen for the staff retreat even before he answered. “The primitive.”

“Of course.” That’s what the university got for turning over the planning of the year-end faculty event to the military science department. Soldiers had a different idea of fun and relaxation—and comfort—from English professors.

“Stop scowling, Mark. We take the ROTC cadets there for overnight trips a few times a semester. Never lost one of them yet.” Logan’s persistent grin was enough to make Mark want to wipe it right off his face.

As if he could. Mark had a feeling the six-foot-two lieutenant colonel seated across from him had been trained well during his years in the army. At least well enough to defend himself against a disgruntled English professor armed with nothing more than a pen. Though they did say the pen was mightier than the sword, Mark figured Logan’s combat training would win out in this case.

“Jeez, Mark. Back out if you’re that miserable about going.”

“I can’t. I’m a department head. I have to lead by example.” Besides, it had been strongly suggested by the powers-that-be at Oklahoma State University that all heads of the departments go, whereas the assistant and associate professors working beneath him could choose not to, and quite a few had. “It is still one night, correct? Or did you tack on a few more fun-filled days?”

“Yes, we’re only staying for one night. And stop acting like the whole time is going to be torturous for you. Come on. It’ll be fun.” Logan’s enthusiasm, whether fake or not, still wasn’t very convincing.

“Oh, I’m sure.” Tons of fun.

Sleeping in a tent, in the pitch dark no less, since there was no electricity. Yeah, sure. That sounded like a blast. He’d be lucky if some animal didn’t crawl in with him in the middle of the night.

“Seriously, Mark. The site’s laid out real nice. The lake has separate areas for swimming and for fishing.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Meaning he’d be in the water right along with the fish that probably all congregated in the designated swimming area, knowing fishermen couldn’t get them there. “What other fun things do you have to entice me?”

“Come on. There’s nothing like it. Think what a sense of accomplishment you’ll have when you catch your own dinner and cook it over an open fire.” Logan leaned forward, looking truly excited at the concept.

Landing his position as the youngest head of the English department at OSU—that had given Mark a sense of accomplishment. Landing a fish? He wasn’t certain that would qualify as being in the same league.

Oh, well. Nothing Mark could do about it now. The plans had been made, and if nothing else, he’d learned his lesson. Next year, he’d plan the faculty retreat, and it wouldn’t entail fishing. He’d have to look into the local winery. They did tours and tastings. They could probably host a faculty retreat. Now there’s a place he wouldn’t mind camping out. Rather than catching a trout, or whatever species of fish he’d be swimming with shortly, he could catch a nice wine buzz.

Speaking of camping and biting insects that went buzz in the night . . . “You’re still bringing an extra tent for me, right?”

Sleeping in a tent might be pretty low on the list of things Mark wanted to do in his lifetime, but sleeping outdoors without one was even lower. The thought sent a chill straight up his spine.

“Yes, sir.” Logan nodded. “Tuck has an extra tent he’s bringing. And I’ve got a spare sleeping bag for you to use.”

He hoped Logan’s friend Tucker was aware he’d not only be loaning the tent, but also instructing Mark on how to erect the damn thing. These guys were used to camping if they owned extras of both tents and sleeping bags, while Mark didn’t own a single one of either.

Tucker Jenkins was one of Logan’s military science and ROTC instructors. Mark knew the man, though not well. He should try to get to know him better since Tuck was engaged to Becca Hart, one of the associate professors in Mark’s department. She had conveniently planned to be visiting her home in New York this week.

No dummy, that girl. Her fiancé, the owner of not one but at least two tents, had probably already taken her camping, or at least tried to. City girl that she was, Becca knew to get out of town or she’d have to go on this overnight trek into the great outdoors.

Mark had no doubt he’d have plenty of time to bond with Tucker this weekend. With no electricity, there wouldn’t be much else to do except get to know each other. He should pack a deck of cards and some poker chips, just in case they all got bored.

“Oh, and good news. I grabbed my extra fishing rod last time I was home visiting my parents. It’s light action, but it’ll be good for what’s in the lake, so I’ll bring that along, too.”

Mark had never held a fishing rod in his life and chances were Logan damn well knew that.

It looked like Mark would be learning how to fish on this trip as well as erect tents. “Okay. Thanks. I’ll, uh, bring along my extra eReader, if you’d like.”

More at http://catjohnson.net/books-2/hes-the-one/

Preorder:

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

May Winner

Running behind on announcing the winner from the May comments.

Congratulations to kreynolds0805
You've won a swag bag filled with goodies from the Military Romance Authors.

Please send your mailing address to loveofmilrom@gmail.com

Thanks.....Brandy

Always a Marine Q&A with Author Heather Long

Good morning, it's Thor's Day and for those of you who follow me on Facebook, you know it's the day I share pics of some of my favorites (notably Chris Hemsworth). The actor, of course, is best known for his role of Thor, but also for the role of Jed in the remade Red Dawn. I remember the first time I saw the trailer for the remake in the theater, there's a moment where someone asks Hemsworth's character, 'didn't you join the Army?' and he gives that little grin and says, 'no, Marines.' 

I literally bounced in my chair. Thor as a Marine? Hell yeah, I can get behind that concept! So I asked my readers to give me a hand with a few questions for this week's blog. Several sent me questions and without further ado (and in no particular order considering the low amount of coffee in my system as I write this!) here we go:

What do you find the hardest part of writing about the military?

Making sure I have my facts straight. There's the temptation to play fast and loose, but when I set out to write the Always a Marine series, I wanted to keep it honest. When I started work on a book that's coming out this Autumn, I had some scenes with food (yes, food in a Heather Long book, shocking I know!). But I had an entire set of sequences about ham until I learned that most of the deployed in Afghanistan can't have ham. No pork. Sure, I could have left that scene in--but if pork isn't a viable option on the menu and against the rules--nope, out it had to come.

Do you plot your stories or do you just wing it?

I do a little bit of both. I always know who my Marine (or in some cases Marines) are when I sit down to write, I always know something about their romantic interest and I always have a title and a blurb. Sometimes the stories decide where they are going without me and I have to adjust as I write, so let's say I work with a flexible plot!

How do you keep track of the story lines you have used?

Would you believe me if I said I have a card catalog file in my brain? It knows who everyone is, what their relationships are to each other--which of the guys have closer friendships than others. I know Matt leans on Logan because they bonded in physical therapy, on Damon because they were friends before and on James, because that's his therapist. He knows Brody, he knows Luke, and some of the others, but he isn't 'buds' with them. 

Conversely, there's Rowdy and Kim who sort stand on their own, they know some of the guys, but they aren't 'friends.'  As for the plots themselves, I try really hard to not repeat one, but if I have friends to lovers or second chance at romance, I do my best to give it a fresh spin. I have actually had one Marine that I considered writing and ultimately discarded, because it was too close to one of the others. Beyond that, I have excellent crit partners and an editor who thumps me and says 'love it' or 'hate it' and they all get to play continuity cop.

Favorite hero or heroine?

I love them all, so my favorites are almost always the ones I am writing about at the moment.

Will we get more books focused on characters who've already appeared like you did with Jazz, Logan and Zach?

I' going to say an unqualified yes here, I've had a follow-up story in mind for Shannon and Brody from Her Marine from the day I finished it, I just haven't had the 'right moment' for it yet. And I always love to go back and see my guys even as visitors in other books. Damon, for example, has a part to play in the upcoming Marine Ever After. There's a really big wedding in that book for characters we've met, too. We'll see AJ and Sheri in Marine in the Wind. Not everyone will get a follow-up stand alone book, but if I can weave them in--yeah, I will.

Will you write a Logan and Zach before they met Jazz book?

I actually posted this question on my Facebook page, because this request seems to be one I get consistently. Folks want to see Logan and Zach before Logan's injury, how they became friends, and etc. I won't say never, but based on the requests, I may take a look. Hard for me to imagine my guys without their girl though.

What's next for the Always a Marine series?

We've got three more releases this summer and then I have a series of holiday Marines coming out later this year that I keep calling my Toys for Tots Marines. I plan to use a portion of those proceeds to donate to Toys for Tots. Next year, we may have fewer "Marines" but I am planning full-length, longer books for all them. 

Will you write longer Marines?

As I said above, I am planning longer books for next year. I love writing the novellas, but like the Logan and Zach question, the will you write longer books is one of my more popular questions. Writing longer ones, also means writing fewer because a 50,000 word book is the equivalent of three shorts or two novellas.

Do you take ideas from people for your Marines?

Yeah, no. I have a story file with a little over 18 titles sitting in it to be written for my Marines, though my editor and crit partners have been known to quietly 'suggest' stories they would love to see, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, because they know once an idea starts to percolate and take root in my brain, chances are I will tell it.

Will you write about other branches?

I keep saying I plan to, it's just a matter of having the right story. It's like my male/male books, I had the right stories for those, so I went there. Fortunately, Rick is in the Navy so I did use Navy in that book!

Thanks for the great questions! Be sure to check out A Marine Affair which is my most recent release and stay tuned for Marine Ever After releasing next week! I am super fond of this book for a whole host of reasons, but mostly because of the challenge to telling that particular love story! You can find out more about my Marine series on my website and Facebook page! 

Happy Thor's Day!

Website | Always a Marine Facebook