A few months ago, the New York Times ran this photo of U.S. Navy SEALs as they prepare for a night mission to capture Iraqi insurgent leaders near Fallujah, Iraq.  My guess is there were a lot of newspapers dampened with drool that morning. I know mine was.   In a matter of hours, the photo had hit Twitter, courtesy of a few romance writers who no doubt stared at that shot and invented that hero’s goal, motivation, conflict, heroine, backstory, and probably an entire new SEAL series.  Can’t you just see him on a cover?  As a matter of fact, someone did!   

The original tweeters, Christie Ridgway and Alison Kent, started chatting about how inspired they were by the photo. That man is the essence of a hero — fearless, loyal, honorable, and willing to die for what he knows is right.  The tat, scar, and physique spell sexy, but it’s where he is and what he’s about to do that takes my breath away.  That online admiration led to the SEAL of My Dreams anthology for charity.

Within days, Christie and Alison had arranged to obtain the rights for the picture and contacted a group of authors known for their love of a good military hero, asking if we would write short stories with a Navy SEAL hero and donate the proceeds to a military charity.

I was honored and humbled to participate in this remarkable project, one of nineteen authors who contributed eighteen short stories and one tear-jerking forward by Robyn Carr.  When I first heard the ambitious schedule and the quality and quantity of the authors (oh, the deadlines!) I admit I was skeptical that this concept could fly.  Lesson to me: never doubt the power of a Navy SEAL.

SEAL of My Dreams releases on 11/11/11, with eighteen glorious Navy SEAL heroes.  Click here for sneak peaks of stories written by  Jami Alden, Stephanie Bond, Kylie Brant, Helen Brenna, HelenKay Dimon, Cindy Gerard, Tara Janzen, Leslie Kelly, Elle Kennedy, Allison Kent, Gennita Low, Jo Leigh, Marliss Melton, Christie Ridgway, Barbara Samuel, Stephanie Tyler, Loreth Anne White, and yours truly.  Wow, that is some incredible company to be in!

And very special thanks to awesome Bell Bridge Books for publishing the paperback and ebook versions of SEAL of my Dreams, with all proceeds pledged to the Veterans Research Corporation, a non-profit foundation supporting veterans’ medical research.

Many of these authors don’t just write about military heroes, we also have a few special ones in our hearts and lives.  My nephew, an Army Ranger I’ve mentioned here a few times, spent fifteen months in Baghdad and while he returned home to us healthy and whole, his health care costs and issues can be daunting.  I was thrilled to give my time and talent for a program that I know will help thousands of heroes just like my nephew.

My story, “Whirlwind,” is set on the shores of Barefoot Bay, giving readers their first snapshot of the island location that will be front and center in my upcoming contemporary romance series.   I’ve read through the whole anthology and I can assure you this collection is power-packed with romance, passion, danger, action, emotion, and eighteen breathtaking Navy SEALs.

I hope all of the Murder She Writes community members will support the Veterans Research Corporation and pick up a copy of an anthology that celebrates the men of the Navy SEALS and the women who love them.

To help that effort, I’m giving a $25 gift card to the online book retailer of your choice to one commenter.  Just tell us who is your favorite fictional Navy SEAL hero!  (Or real life hero, if you prefer!)  The only stipulation…the winner has to promise to spend $9.99 on SEAL of My Dreams.  The rest is just for fun reading and, trust me, if you read this antho, you are going to have some new favorite authors!  Please support the project and this wonderful organization that helps our heroes after they come home to us.

The eleventh book in my Rough Riders series releases next Tuesday, June 28th! Writing CHASIN’ EIGHT kicked my ass — no lie.  After I got into the story, I realized there was so much more story to tell, consequently, it’s my longest published book — readers should be happy about that

Anyway, let’s have a contest so some lucky commenter will win a digital copy of CHASIN’ EIGHT! I do have a couple of RULES:

1) By entering, you agree NOT to share your copy with ANYONE and that includes your bestest friend in the whole wide world who you’ve been friends with for 100 years, she’s also your favorite cousin, she gave you a kidney, and birthed quadruplets for you. NO SHARING. Period.

2) No posting spoilers across the internet. I KNOW how many copies have been sent out for review and who has them, so it’ll be easy to track the leak.

3) The question to answer to leave in the comment section:  Have you ever met a bull rider?

Now for the good stuff — a peek at my smokin’ hot cover, a peek at a smokin’ hot excerpt — WARNING — if you are offended by profanity and naked body parts, skip this excerpt. My characters swear. A lot. In many colorful ways.

CHASIN’ EIGHT

She wants it. He’s got it. And the chase is on.

Bull rider Chase McKay has finally landed in a pile too big to charm his way out of. Caught with his pants down, he finds himself bucked right off the PBR tour until he can get his act together.

Hollywood actress Ava Cooper became the tabloids’ favorite target when her longtime boyfriend was outed as gay. She needs a place to lay low and a chance to prove to herself that she can satisfy a red-blooded man between the sheets. The sexy, rugged cowboy she finds holed up in her Wyoming hideaway seems like the answer to her every fantasy.

But Chase has sworn off women. Forever. Or at least a month. Whichever comes first.

When they take to the road to get Chase more hands-on bull riding experience, they have every intention of keeping their hands off each other. But the two headstrong stars quickly end up riding a hot and heady rodeo circuit all their own—until the press gets wind of their affair. When the dust clears and the lights of the paparazzi fade, are they ready to give up chasing the dream for a chance of finding forever?

Warning: Strap in, another hot McKay is about to bust out of the gate and this bull rider knows a thing or two about riding hard…

 

Preorder:  CHASIN’ EIGHT amazon.com and/or  CHASIN’ EIGHT barnesandnoble.com

–EXCERPT –

Copyright © 2011 Lorelei James
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication

Chase could barely keep his eyes open. Disoriented, he slowed his truck to a crawl on the gravel road, braking at the cattle guard that denoted the turnoff to Kane’s place.

He parked by the deck and stumbled out of his truck, taking a moment to stretch his legs and adjust the crick in his neck. But anticipation of falling face-first into a puffy mattress and sleeping a solid twelve hours put a spring in his step.

Once he’d unearthed the key and unlocked the door, he slipped inside the dark trailer and caught a whiff of flowers. Probably from cleaning supplies.

Too tired to shower, Chase stripped to his boxer-briefs in the living room and wandered to the kitchen sink to wash off the worst of the road grime. Rather than flipping on the lights, his fingers trailed along the hallway wall for guidance as he headed toward the back bedroom.

The bedroom door was closed. With as hot as it’d been, the room would be stuffy, but he was too damn whipped to even open a window. He flopped on the mattress and stretched out, but his arm connected with something solid. And warm. And soft.

And moving.

Chase leapt out of bed the same time the high-pitched shrieking started.

He fumbled with the light, blinking against the sudden brightness. He kept blinking because he didn’t trust what he was seeing. There was a nekkid woman in his bed. A nekkid, pissed-off woman who’d jumped up and struck a Jackie Chan martial arts pose.

“Back off, perv! I have a black belt in taekwondo and I will fuck you up if you take another step toward me.”

Chase raised his hands in surrender, trying really, really hard to keep his eyes on hers. “Whoa, there, crouching tiger. Let’s just take this down a notch.”

“Bet you’d like that, fuckface.”

Fuckface? Christ. Just his luck he’d come across another psychotic woman. “Maybe you oughta tell me why you broke in.”

“I didn’t break in, you moron.”

“Hey, enough with the name-callin’,” he snapped. “Maybe I oughta call the deputy and let him deal with your lyin’ ass.”

“Hey, enough with the name-callin’,” she mimicked flawlessly. “Go ahead and make the call.”

Dammit. He had no guarantee Cam was on duty tonight. And did he really want to try and explain…this?

“Hah! Called your bluff, didn’t I?” she sneered.

“Yeah, honey pie, you sure did. I’m just wondering if the rash of shit I’ll get from my cousin—who is the deputy I’d call—is worth the hassle at two o’clock in the fuckin’ mornin’.”

She dropped her hands and studied him. “Wait a second. Your cousin is a local deputy?”

“Yes.”

“What’s his name?”

“Cam McKay.”

“Oh fuck me. You’re one of the two hundred McKay men Ginger always talks about.”

That startled Chase. “You know Ginger?”

“Who do you think invited me to stay here?”

“Well, we have a problem because my cousin Kane said I could stay here.” As Chase tried to stay focused on her eyes, he realized something about this woman was very familiar. His gaze wandered. Drool-worthy tits. Tiny waist. Curvy hips. Long legs.

“Eyes up here, buddy.”

He didn’t exactly hurry his gaze as it tracked her curvaceous body from the bottom up. Goddamn, the woman had it going on. “Do I know you?”

“Do I know you?” she shot back sarcastically.

“I’m serious. Were you in Playboy?”

“Is that your idea of flattery?”

“Yes, you’re sporting a helluva centerfold body, sugar t—” Shit. He was supposed to stop saying stuff like that.

Not bothered at all by her total nakedness, she pushed up the pink satin eye mask that kept slipping down. “I don’t remember seeing you at Ginger and Kane’s wedding. Which McKay are you again?”

“Chase. I wasn’t at the wedding. Mind tellin’ me your name?”

“Ava.”

“Ava…?”

“Ava Cooper is my stage name. Ava Dumond is my real name.”

Stage name. With a body like hers and zero modesty she had to be a stripper. “Well, Ava, it appears we’re roomies, at least for tonight .”

Ava didn’t respond. Her gaze was glued to his belly. “What the hell happened to you?”

Chase glanced at his stomach and touched the bruise beneath his rib cage. “That’s what fifteen hundred pounds of pissed-off bull will do to ya.”

“Bull? As in a male cow? Were you doing ranch work or something?”

“No. I was trying to ride the damn thing, but he didn’t wanna be rode. Threw me on my ass and stomped on me for good measure.”

“You do that a lot? Ride bulls?”

“That’s my job.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? That’s an actual job? You get paid and everything?”

He scowled at her. “Really. And look, no offense, but I’m dead on my feet. I’ll take the couch tonight. We’ll talk about the rest of this in the mornin’.”

“How do I know you’re not a serial killer?”

“You don’t.” Chase offered a smug smile. “Sweet dreams.”

#

Check back at this site Saturday morning for the winner — I’ll get you the digital file in your preferred format right away!

I love the Romantic Times Conference for all the reasons Sylvia named — and about 2 billion more

I am exhausted and under deadline and having a helluva time keeping my head above water as I try to play catch up. So I will hit the high points for me:

The Western Reader Round Up event (as Lorelei James) with these wonderful ladies: Beth Williamson, Cat Johnson, C. H. Admirand, Janette Kenny, Cindy Holby, Margaret Brownley — line dancing, book giveaway, all sorts of fun stuff! Ooh, and we all wore boots! This pic is courtesy of Cat Johnson:

 

The Mystery Chix and Dix morning mixer (as Lori Armstrong) where I was privileged to meet the one and only William Link, the creator of such shows as Columbo, Murder She Wrote, and Diagnosis Murder. Here’s some of the rest of the Chix and Dix – Rhys Bowen, me, Lee Goldberg, Brett Battles, Allison, DP Lyle and Robert Browne

The RT Awards ceremony where my Lorelei James book BRANDED AS TROUBLE, won the Independent Publisher Award for Best Erotic Romance! The glass award is beautiful. Ah, sorry, no pics. I sort of suck in the pic taking dept.

I loved hanging out with the posse from my publishing house, my editor, my writer friends, my readers, my fab friends here from MSW, and meeting new readers and writers and bloggers…the list goes on and on, and I know I’m leaving people out, which is why I don’t normally do a wrap up post. No, I didn’t dress in costume, but I did have people taking pics of the different pairs of boots I wore every day Sarah from Smart Bitches Trashy Books was on a mission to photograph my boots — this was Saturday’s pair

I have extra books I brought home just to give away to you all — so answer the one simple question we posed during our hunky cowboys panel: What is your favorite western?

 

Or is it?

This is the first year since I’ve been published that I don’t have a deadline in December.

Deadlines can mean a lot of things. Turning in the manuscript, copyedits, page proofs, proposal — important things that need to be done, preferably on time. But this December, I don’t have a major deadlines.

I have little things to do. Blogs to write–such as the Amazon Kindle piece I was working on yesterday for the release of LOVE IS MURDER, a novella to be released exclusively for the digital market. The blog I turned in last week for Borders Romance that will run on January 2. Updating my website . . . which will be a lot more extensive after Sylvia’s thought-provoking and fabulous blog on Monday. The short story for the untitled Thriller 3 that I’m also managing editor for. (Due 3.1 . . . the same day I need to have the rough draft of Lucy #3 done.)

And then there are the things I want to do . . . but don’t have to do. Writing short stories for the Horror Writers Association anthology (due 1.10) and the Mystery Writers of America anthology (due 3.15). I have ideas for both anthologies, but I’ll admit it’s the MWA story that currently has my heart. I’m writing it in first person. I started it in third and then the protagonist, Sacramento Police Detective Lena Moore, took over the voice and I knew it had to be first person.

I wrote my first first person POV (the villain only) for LOVE ME TO DEATH, the first Lucy Kincaid book. (Lots of firsts there!) I wrote the villain in first, and it worked well (after getting a down and dirty grammar lesson from my editor!) But I had never seriously considered writing any story in first until I started this short story. If MWA doesn’t want it, I’ll submit it elsewhere. I only have 1,000 words done out of a projected 7-9K story, but already I like it. It’s very dark, very edgy, and very sexy even though there will probably be no sex in the story. (I don’t know yet because, well, I’ve only written 1,000 words.)

But I am having SOOOOOO much fun writing this story that even if no one takes it, I don’t care. In fact, I’m going back to it after I finish this blog and if I don’t sleep much, oh well.

And I thought I had a reprieve.

Last year, I took 12 days off and it took me two full weeks to get my routine back. I realized then that I can’t take time off–at least, not that much time. A day here or there is fine, but two weeks? No. For every day I take off, it takes me a day to get back to my regular pace. I don’t have that luxury. So even when I step away from the computer for a day, I need to write at night. It’s such a part of me and my routine that without writing, I feel a little lost.

Yet, in many ways I do have a break. I didn’t stress this morning when I took time to watch my youngest sing a solo in his Christmas Pageant even though I saw him Tuesday night. Because there’s nothing better than a six year old singing. And I spent three hours Christmas shopping on-line, going to my favorite sites and comparing prices and getting what I hope my kids will like. And I’m thrilled I’m already half-way done with my shopping and still have more than 2 weeks before Christmas! Yeah me!

And I’ve been watching more television, spending more time with the kids, and taking out the Christmas decorations . . . all without the little voice in the back of my head telling me I have to get back to work. Tomorrow, I’m visiting family out of town, then heading to the Capitol for a retirement party for someone I worked with for years in the capitol. All without worry that I’m going to be late on anything.

I won’t lie. It’s 1:16 am as I write this and the kids were all asleep by 9 (bigger kids later, but I don’t have to tuck in the 17 year old and read her a bedtime story . . . she just says, “‘night mom” and staggers off to bed.) I worked on my MWA short story and edited the chapter I wrote earlier today in Lucy #3 (IF I SHOULD DIE.) I’ve been at my computer from 11 am until 4 pm, and again from 9 pm until now, because even when I have a reprieve, all that means is I can take a breath.

And that’s okay. I’m certainly not complaining! Today, I’m going to edit the Amazon blog and send it off; I’m going to finish reading an ARC for a friend; and I’m going to take my oldest daughter to her volleyball practice even though she can drive herself . . . just to watch her play. And tonight? I’ll be back at the computer to write. Because honestly, I can’t not do something. If I had nothing to do . . . I’d create something to do! (As long as it’s not cleaning, because I’d rather stare at a blank wall than clean the house.)

Come February, I know I’ll be back in full stress mode. I’ll have the anthology to manage, my short story (or two) to finish, and a book due . . . but for now, I have a reprieve.

What do you do when you have a night, a day, or a week where there is nothing so pressing that you can’t stop and smell the roses?

To celebrate the lull before the storm, someone who comments will win an early copy of LOVE ME TO DEATH, Lucy Kincaid’s first book which will be on sale December 28.

LOVE ME TO DEATH
“World-class nail-biter . . . Brennan is in the groove with this one.”—Lee Child

Six years ago, Lucy Kincaid was attacked and nearly killed by an online predator. She survived. Her attacker did not. Now Lucy’s goal is to join the FBI and fight cyber-crime, but in the meantime, she’s volunteering with a victim’s rights group, surfing the Web undercover to lure sex offenders into the hands of the law. But when the predators she hunts start turning up as murder victims, the FBI takes a whole new interest in Lucy.

With her future and possibly even her freedom suddenly in jeopardy, Lucy discovers she’s a pawn in someone’s twisted plot to mete out vigilante justice. She joins forces with security expert and daredevil Sean Rogan, and together they track their elusive quarry from anonymous online chat rooms onto the mean streets of Washington, D.C. But someone else is shadowing them: A merciless stalker has his savage eye on Lucy. The only way for her to escape his brutality may be another fight to the death.

The first time I ever thought about censorship, I was a careless twenty-two-year-old backpacker sitting on an airplane. The flight attendant came around to collect trash and asked if I was finished with my newspaper.

“Oh, no. Still reading,” I said, tucking it into my carry-on.

She nodded at it and smiled.

I smiled back. “Still reading,” I repeated, louder this time because, well, that’s what Americans do when we’re in a foreign country and someone doesn’t understand us.

“No. Sorry.” She was still smiling. “I must have newspaper. We are landing.”

It took a moment for me to understand that the South China Morning Post I’d picked up outside my sister’s flat in Hong Kong constituted some sort of contraband on this airplane bound for mainland China.

I looked at this polite woman for a long, puzzled moment and handed over my paper.

In the U.S., we take free speech for granted. Or at least, I do. I walk into a bookstore, peruse the shelves, and buy whatever catches my eye. If I want something not at the bookstore, I get online and it arrives at my doorstep in a nice cardboard box within days. I really don’t consider myself a fan of pornography or smut or otherwise offensive material. I’m mostly a curious person who likes to keep up with current events (hence, the newspaper on the airplane) and read a wide variety of fiction that strikes my fancy.

Next week is Banned Books Week. I was pretty surprised to read a list of the top 100 banned books of the last decade, and see some of my very favorite works of fiction among them. Here’s a sample:

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

Blubber by Judy Blume

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engles

The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende

Are You there God? It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Notice a name on here more than once? Yes, it’s Judy Blume. She was one of my favorite authors growing up. I remember being drawn to her books because she seemed so real. Her characters seemed to be actual people, like me, with questions and insecurities and life dilemmas I could relate to. I blew through her books like a tornado and then moved on to other, more “high-brow” fiction. For me Judy Blume was a revelation, an amazing sign that some of those dusty tomes sitting in the library or bookstore might have something to say to me.

Have you read any of these banned books? I sure hope so. If you want to see more, check out the American Library Association site:

www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/2000_2009/index.cfm

I honestly can’t imagine living in a country where flight attendants collected offensive newspapers as passengers landed at JFK. I wouldn’t like to live in a place where people got gunned down for drawing cartoons or where Captain Underpants was considered threatening.

Would you?

Tell me about your favorite banned book and be eligible to receive a $20 gift card to your favorite online bookstore. Then go buy yourself some offensive material. And guess what! Because next week is also release week for the DEADLY PROMISES anthology, featuring Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dianna Love, Cindy Gerard, and myself, I’ll give away a copy of that, too. Highly offensive and smutty. I promise. Leave a comment for a chance to win.