My New Muse

Look what I got in the mail today! I know, wearing this necklace makes me a geek, but I don't care. I'm a Civil War nut and proud of it, and besides, General Lee and I share the same birthday. That makes us kindred spirits. And now he can hang around my neck and help me churn out more pages! He graduated at the top of his class at West Point, after all, and was a master of organization. If anyone can whip my muse into shape, good old Marse Robert can.

I've just finished reviewing galleys for my first erotic romance story that will be published under a different name, but no word yet on a release date. I've subbed the 2nd story of that series to my editor over at TWRP and hope to hear back soon. The two others I have with Carina Press won't be out until winter this year.

In other news, another side benefit has come about since the death of Osama bin Laden. Since that day--literally--Navy SEAL romance books have seen a spike in sales. Including mine, Cover of Darkness. Actually, the whole series has seen a bump in sales this past month. I couldn't be more thrilled about that, and I hope my new readers will learn something about the various branches of the Spec Ops and Special Forces world that they never knew before. That's my favorite compliment to receive (other than the readers loving the story and my characters, of course)--that the reader appreciates the effort I've put into research for each book. I know I won't always get all the details right, but I hope I always get most of them right :)

With my desk pretty much cleared off, I'm back working on my CCT novel, Crash and Burn. Again, I've had more great input from my CCT contact (thank you, A.L.!) and it's just a matter of getting the words down now. Hope to finish off the draft within the next couple of months.

How's everyone doing out there? If you're in an area prone to tornadoes, I hope you and yours are keeping safe and warm. My thoughts go out to to those affected by these horrific storms this year.

Navy SEAL Heroes

Well, with all the media coverage about SEALs lately, I felt the need to do up a short post here. By now we all know about the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, and which group of SEALs carried it out. This morning I was disturbed to learn (from a former SEAL's wife) that reporters are scouring the towns and bars closest to DevGru's base in VA, trying to learn the identities of the team members. Call me crazy, but I thought they were a Black Ops group for a reason. "Outing" the members is not only bad for security and morale, it places their families in danger from any extremists looking for a way to exact revenge. If I was a SEAL, I'd be pissed about this. And maybe it's just me, but pissing off a SEAL doesn't seem like a good idea. Ever.

Since the May 1st night-time announcement by President Obama, there has been an insane amount of increased interest in these elite warriors. There's even been a huge increase in demand for SEAL romance novels, as outlined in a recent Washington Post article that mentions Suzanne Brockmann's series (click HERE to see article). Even my little series has seen a bump in sales since last week. Yay!

The emblem at the start of this post is the coveted SEAL Trident, and only a very select few will ever earn the right to wear one. For good reason. The Navy does a very good job at weeding out all but the toughest, most determined and physically fit men. It's no wonder why the public sees them as heroes, so it stands to reason that these alpha male warriors would wind up as characters in romance novels. But I suspect that SEALs, and all other Special Ops members for that matter, don't do what they do to win the hearts and minds of the US public. In fact, they'd no doubt prefer to stay off the radar, and simply be left alone so they can do their jobs and hopefully come home safely to their families. They are all to be admired, yes, but let's give them the respect they're due. Along with our heartfelt thank-yous, let's give them the privacy they deserve. I think they've earned that right.