Strong Secondary Characters Rock

Tawny Weber is my guest today. She tells fun stories with lots of little extras that make the story feel real. One of the things I enjoy in any book is good secondary characters. Tawny discusses her view of secondary characters and why they are important to a story.

Writing a new book always means getting to know a lot of characters.  Not only the hero and heroine, but all the rest of the cast that creates their world.  In my February Blaze, A SEAL’s Seduction, Blake and Alexia are clearly the stars.   They were two characters who came, fully formed, into my head.  Both with distinct emotional baggage, with strong personalities and even stronger opinions.  But oftentimes I think it’s the secondary characters who provide the most interesting contrasts for our stars.

Secondary characters are the means to which readers get to know our stars.  Through those friendships, family relationships, adversarial jousts, etc, the reader sees first hand who this person is and how they handle life.  Which is one reason I often include pets in my stories.  I think how a person reacts and interacts with animals, small children and the elderly shows more about their character than pages of introspection.

 

A SEAL’s Seduction is peppered with strong secondary characters.  Michael, Alexia’s brother is so fun. The only son of an Admiral, he’s the headliner of a gay burlesque show and male model.  And he’s a sweetie.  Cute and upbeat, he’s faced the similar emotional challenges as his sister, but he has a very different way of dealing with them.  He is a wonderful contrast for Alexia, and works really well to show her soft side and help the reader understand why she’d make the decisions she did growing up.

 And then there are the Admiral and Mrs. Pierce.  They were SO fun to write.  Uptight and rigid on the surface, with a deep love of their children that both the reader, and their children, don’t see at first.  As is often the case with parents, it’s their behavior, both past and present, which define the heroine’s beliefs.  Her rules, her fears and her standards come from the history she has with her parents.

 

But my absolute favorite of all the secondary characters in A SEAL’s Seduction is Lieutenant Commander Cade Sullivan, Call sign: Slick.  Cade’s hot.  He’s sexy and sweet, he’s a leader.  He’s the high school football quarterback, prom king, class president and sweetie who tutored young kids on the downlow.  Like most SEALs, he’s driven.  Powerful and strong, with a clear view of his purpose in life and a devotion to duty that’s unbeatable.  And did I mention that he’s hot?  Whew!  So hot.

 

Cade is technically Blake’s boss.  He, Blake and Phil were best friends since their BUDs training days, nicknamed the Three Amigos because they were always together.  They even ended up a part of the same SEAL team.   It was while Cade was leading a standard mission that Phil was killed.  Like Blake, the loss of his best friend hits Cade hard.  And like Blake, that loss becomes a major driving force in how Cade views his career, his life and his choices.

 

There was such a wonderful contrast between these two heroes, yet they are so much alike.  Both are emotionally wounded from their childhood, both are gorgeous and sexy and both are SEALs.  Powerful, strong and determined.
            
So while I really did love so many of the other secondary characters in A SEAL’s Seduction, Cade is definitely my favorite.  Which comes in handy, as I wrote him his very own love story as soon as I finished A SEAL’s Seduction.  Titled A SEAL’s Surrender, is out in just about a week (March, 2013). 

           

• How often do you read a story and fall for one of the secondary characters?  Are there some that you just HAVE to read their story?

#####

A SEAL'S SEDUCTION

Tawny Weber  

Subject: Navy SEAL Lieutenant Blake Landon

Current Status: Two weeks of enforced leave

Mission: Distract himself in any way possible

Obstacle: A woman who tempts him to break the rules…

including his own! 

Navy SEAL Blake Landon (a.k.a. “Boy Scout”) knows the rulebook inside and out. Checked. Rechecked. But when a mission ends badly, his entire team is ordered on leave. And that’s when Blake sees the tall redhead whose dark eyes suggest that the rules— especially those in bed—are made to be broken. 

Scientist Alexia Lane has sex on the brain—partly for work, but mostly because she needs a man who makes her girly parts do the happy dance. Her only no-no? No military dudes. But Blake’s rockin’ bod promises delicious pleasures, and Alexia is halfway to sexual Nirvana before she can find out he’s actually a Navy SEAL. 

And where one rule is broken, more are sure to follow…. Excerpt 

                                                                                                            
Tawny Weber has been writing sassy, sexy romances since her first Harlequin Blaze hit the shelves in 2007.  A fan of Johnny Depp, cupcakes and color coordination, she spends a lot of her time shopping for cute shoes, scrapbooking, and hanging out on Facebook.
 

Readers can check out Tawny’s books at her website or join her Red Hot Readers Club for goodies like free reads, first chapter excerpts, recipes, insider story info and much more.  And for a limited time, she has a few open spots on her Street Team!  

M.L. BUCHMAN: YOU WRITE WHAT?

I'd like to welcome romance author, M.L. (Matt) Buchman, to Over Coffee. Here's your cuppa hot chocolate, no whip, Matt and a nice comfy chair to sit in while you visit us. 

Matt wrote one of my favorite books of the year, I Own The Dawn--part of The Night Stalkers Series. Those who know me realize, by now, that I love kick-ass stories served with a healthy dollop of romance. I say, I Own The Dawn is one of my favorites because I initially read this on my Kindle and then promptly ordered a print copy, along with the first in this series, The Night Is Mine, for my keeper shelf. Let me just say, there are only a few books I will read on the kindle and then order the print copy. This is one I know I'll enjoy reading a second time. You can read my 5 star review on Goodreads.

Matt talks a bit about what made him get into writing and the shock value of being a man who writes romance (and does it very well).

Hey Sia and thanks for having me for a little sit down. Don’t mind me if I have hot cocoa instead (no whip, please). I know, I’ve lived in the Pacific NW for thirty years, starting back when Starbucks was still only one store (now almost 20,000). Worse, I was a computer geek for over a decade, no coffee on those round the clock nights either. Anyway…

My journey to writing came late. Perhaps it was just how eclectic my background was/is. My day job resume just makes employers laugh. (And recruiters weep. Honestly, I think it’s a bit cruel. I often buy them a cuppa in apology.) I’ve worked in live theater (where I learned about electricity, lighting, sound, and dialog). And fast food (where I learned how to really tick off a parent who’d paid for a good college education in geophysics –possibly the only field I’ve never worked in).

I got a job as a paralegal, but discovered I was better at computers. I climbed fast and far, right into a high-end consultancy that blew up in my face. (There is a point to this, really; bear with just a moment longer.) So there I was in that classic place; lost the business, the career, the house, and I thought, “Hey, I could get on bicycle and go around the world.” (18 months and 15 countries later, that’s exactly what I’d done.)

The weird thing was, out there in the middle of nowhere (and I mean way out there), I started into writing. At first it was a little bit of a story. But it expanded and it grew. As the months rolled by beneath my wheels, I wrote my first novel and discovered something really cool. The best job on the planet must be sitting around and making s--- up! I get to read anything I want and call it research. I managed to write off a trip to Europe for one novel and I’ve interviewed a female U.S. Army helicopter chief mechanic for another. As a matter of fact, I interviewed her for this book, I Own the Dawn, and the one to follow in the winter, Wait Until Dark.

Sure, I go to my day job, but my heart isn’t there anymore. It’s out on a flight to somewhere. It’s snuggling up in the dark after hot sex and discussing unexpected truths. It’s about sitting down and discovering that the one person you truly need in your life is seated right across from you. I can’t believe I get to share my worlds and my words with readers. That is the greatest high of all. The thing that jazzes me up and keeps me up for hours after a long work day, getting to share my stories.

“You do what?!” I write romances.

• What do you do to startle those around you? Or what do you wish you did? I’d love to hear. 

And please check out the contest page on my website: by following along my blog tour for the month of August, you will have multiple chances to win a signed copy of I Own the Dawn:  http://www.matthewlieberbuchman.com/?p=294

BUY: AMAZON, B&N

I OWN THE DAWN BY M.L. BUCHMAN – IN STORES AUGUST 2012

Name: Archibald Jeffrey Stevenson III

Rank: First Lieutenant, Dap Hawk Copilot

Mission: Strategy and execution of special ops maneuvers

Name: Kee Smith

Rank: Sergeant, Night Stalker Gunner and Sharpshooter

Mission: Whatever it takes to get the job done

You Wouldn't Think It Could Get Worse, Until It Does...

When a special mission slowly unravels, it is up to Kee and Archie to get their team out of an impossible situation with international implications. With her weaponry knowledge and his strategic thinking, plus the explosive attraction that puts them into exact synchrony, together they might just have a fighting chance. 


I apologize, I don't have an excerpt link but you can read the first chapter on Amazon preview.

M. L. Buchman has worked in fast food, theater, computers, publishing, and light manufacturing. It's amazing what you can do with a degree in geophysics. At one point he sold everything and spent 18-months riding a bicycle around the world. In 11,000 miles, he touched 15 countries and hundreds of amazing people. Since then, he has acquired a loving lady, the coolest kid on the planet, and lives in Portland, Oregon.


For more information, please visit http://www.matthewlieberbuchman.com/.

Sign in here for a chance to win a free copy. Also, be sure to check the Contest page for a chance to win a free, signed copy of I Own the Dawn.

Jeannette Murray—Stealing Clothes

I'd like to welcome romance author Jeanette (Kat) Murray to Over Coffee. She's written the first book in her Semper Fi military romance series, The Officer Says I Do. It's a fun romantic read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I like the fact her story accurately depicts military life of family members. You can read my four star review HERE. 

But today she's covering a serious topic—women who steal men's clothes, lol! I, of course, never stole, I mean wore, any of my husband's clothes when he was deployed. Oops, was that lightning? Busted.

Thanks to the Sia McKye for having me! I’m so excited about my first paperback release, The Officer Says “I Do.” I might actually do a dance. Though really, nobody wants me to do that…it’s not pretty.

So instead I thought I would talk about a very serious topic. It’s something that my husband has been battling for months, nay years, and has yet to manage to come out victorious.

The Clothing Stealer.

Oh, that’s me, by the way. *waves* Hey! I steal clothes. But not just any clothes. My husband’s clothes. And only to wear around the house. See, he works nights sometimes, or he’s gone for drill over the weekend, or he’s gone for seven months on a deployment. And while I never suffer too greatly—hey, I’m a lady who likes the bed to myself—one thing I tend to catch myself doing a whole long more than I do when he’s home is wear his clothes.

It starts out innocently enough. A pair of his mesh basketball shorts to mow the lawn in. Mine are all in the wash, so it’s just practical. Then the house is freezing and I’m being cheap and don’t want to turn the heat on, so I use one of his oversized sweatshirts. Then it’s a t-shirt to sleep in, and another sweatshirt to cuddle with…

Before you know it, I’m using his side of the closet more than mine. But why? It’s not like these things make me look good. No. It’s the comfort factor. Despite the fact that I’m an independent woman and can handle myself for months at a time, I subconsciously seek out something familiar. The texture of his shirts, the smell of his sweatshirt, the warmth of layers (since he’s a furnace and I am always freezing).

It was this that prompted me to write about Skye stealing Tim’s sweatshirt and wearing it when he wasn’t looking.

• Ladies, do you ever steal, um, borrow your guy’s clothing?

BUY:AMAZON, B&N,
BAM

The Officer Says I Do

He’s a Marine…she grew up on a commune.

He always puts duty first…she’s a free spirit with an unshakable belief in Fate.

He loves routine and order…she brings chaos and creativity wherever she goes.

They’re going to balance each other perfectly—or drive each other completely, utterly insane…

On a wild pre-deployment celebration in Las Vegas, Captain Timothy O’Shay encounters free-spirited beauty Skye McDermott, and for once lets down his guard. Now his life is about to take off in directions he never could have imagined…Excerpt Chapter

Here’s another short excerpt from when Tim found The Sweatshirt Stealer…

Tim paused, dresser drawer half open. Wait, part of the fun was never knowing? When had he adopted that line of thinking? Consistency. Consistency was his favorite. He liked rules, schedules, stability. He lived his life by it. He breathed reliability.

He shook out a pair of basketball shorts and an old Academy t-shirt and slipped on the comfortable outfit. A night snuggling on the couch with Skye seemed like a great way to end a shitty day.

Maybe he’d even cop a feel, straight out of a middle school handbook.
But when he jogged back down the stairs, hitting second base was the last thing on his mind. 

Skye stood with her back to him, debating the DVDs in the entertainment center. As usual, she swayed from side to side as if she couldn’t stand still, as if some song in her head compelled her to move and dance.

She’d twisted her hair into a knot, though a few tendrils had already escaped and were flowing down around her neck. What he could see of her legs were encased in black leggings, though her feet were bare. But he’d recognize that top anywhere. 

That was his favorite sweatshirt from college. The soft gray material was always a comfort on chilly days. The N with a star on the front was starting to crack and peel off. A size too big on him, it swallowed Skye’s torso whole, falling almost to her knees. He’d lost it weeks ago. Or so he thought. 

She must have had it for a while now. How long had she been wearing it? 

And why did the thought of her in his clothing turn him on so much? 

“Where did you get that?” 

She whipped around, her knot of hair bobbing. Following his gaze, she glanced down at the sleeves that dangled over her hands, too long for her arms by half. 

"Oh. Um.” Her teeth caught her bottom lip like they always did when she was worried.

“I’m not mad. Just, where did you find it? I thought it was lost.”

“It was in the laundry basket one day.” Skye crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself. “I was cold with the AC on so high, but I didn’t want to turn it down, since you’re always so warm when you get home. And it smelled like you…” Her voice trailed off as if she just realized what she’d said. Then she shrugged. “I wear it to bed a lot. I get cold at night.”

The sweatshirt was like a brand. His mark. His woman. Whatever tentative hold he’d had on his urges, his cravings collapsed faster than an untrained platoon of privates. He took the three steps across the room and grabbed her by the shoulders, hauling her into his body. She grunted but didn’t resist.

And when he lowered his lips to hers, she rose up to meet him.

~*~*~*~*~

Kat (or Jeanette!) spends her days surrounded by hunky alpha men…at least in her imagination. In real life, she’s a wife and a mother, keeping tabs on her husband of six years, her three year old daughter and the family dog, a lovable (but completely stupid) Goldendoodle. Hang around long enough and you’re guaranteed to hear at least one or two stories about these three…

What’s with the two names? Great question. Kat (or Jeanette) writes for a few different publishers. And due to the timing of some releases, two names just seemed like the right option. But Jeanette (or Kat!) can assure you, no matter which pen name you’re reading, you’re going to get sexy contemporary love. 


You can find her:


Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter.

Creativity – and Candles – Multiplied

USA Today bestselling military romance author, Catherine Mann, is my guest today. This time we are introduced to another sizzling hero, Hugh Franco, from the Air Force's celebrated Pararescue Jumpers–"The PJs"– an ultra-elite force who put themselves at extreme risk in the most dangerous emergencies so that others may live. 

I haven’t had the chance to read HOT ZONE yet, but we were introduced to Hugh in Cover Me. I’ve been looking forward to reading his story.

Aside from creating hot military heroes, Catherine also uses her creativity in other ways, decorating candles. She tells us how to go about decorating. I’m certainly going to give it a try. I love candles!

Some have a theory that creativity needs to be channeled.  Certainly I can see that there has to be focus within a creative career.  However, I’m a firm believer that creativity is like bread.  Feed the yeasty starter, knead the dough, and watch it grow.

Along the same lines, I believe my creativity needs to be massaged and fed.  Luckily, I love to do creative, artsy things beyond my writing.

Over the years I’ve tried my hand at a number of artsy crafts.  Cross stitching.  Sewing.  Singing.  Guitar.  Crocheting.  Gardening.  Calligraphy.  Baking. Am I a master at them?  Not hardly. (Especially not gardening!)  But I thoroughly enjoy myself.

While writing is obviously my primary creative outlet, I indulge my muse by trying new creative endeavors.  This month?  My daughter and I decorated candles for holiday gifts.

This was one of our easier to tackle undertakings, with only a few supplies needed and simple to follow directions…

CANDLE DECORATING:

Supplies:

Candle

Tissue Paper

Pattern Stamp

Ink

Scissors

Wax Paper

Handheld Hair Dryer

Directions:

Stamp the pattern of your choice on a piece of tissue paper.  Cut out the pattern.  Trim fairly close to the edges.  Place the inked tissue paper on the candle.  Press wax paper over the tissue paper to hold it in place.  Direct the handheld hair dryer over the pattern.  Lightly move the dryer around until the candle wax begins to absorb the tissue paper – without changing the shape of the candle.   Be careful to avoid drips.  Gently peel away the wax paper.  Aim the hair dryer at the candle again and heat until the tissue paper can’t be seen and only the pattern shows.  Let dry.

Variations: Can place more than one pattern on the candle.  Or place the pattern all the way around the candle.  Also, while wax is still soft, rhinestones or tiny rhinestones can be pressed into the pattern.  We even used the leftover ink to stamp white paper lunch sacks, making our own gift bags!

As you can see from the photo, my daughter and I made a slew of candles for gifts this year.  Most have a holiday theme, but there are also some patriotic candles.  Those are for our family and friends with a military member serving.  We’ll be keeping one of these candles in our home as a reminder and tribute to those who can’t be with their families this holiday season.  Real life heroes and heroines like the characters featured in my air force novels.

And so, that wraps up my creative outlet of the moment.  Next up?  Chocolate fondue and dipped treats.

Thank you to Sia for sharing her blog spot with me today and thank you to each of you for stopping by to visit!

·        What are some of your old and/or new holiday traditions?

HOT ZONE  BY CATHERINE MANN  

He'll take any mission, the riskier the better...

The haunted eyes of pararescuemen, Hugh Franco, should have been her first clue that deep pain roiled beneath the surface. But if Amelia couldn't see the damage, how could she be expected to know he'd break her heart?

She'll prove to be his biggest risk yet...

Amelia Bailey's not the kind of girl who usually need rescuing...but these are anything but usual circumstances. EXCERPT

BUY:    IN STORES DECEMBER 2011 
Online:  AMAZON, BARNES and NOBLE, 

  

USA Today bestseller Catherine Mann writes military romantic suspense for Sourcebooks and Berkley, as well as steamy romances for Harlequin Desire. A RITA Award winner, she has over two million books in print in more than twenty countries. Catherine resides in the Florida panhandle with her flyboy husband, their four children and an ever growing menagerie of pets.  And yes, in a moment of creative inspiration, she once raided the pantry for the ingredients to bake homemade dog cookies for her local animal shelter!

For more information on Hot Zone and her other works, Catherine can be found online at:

Website  

Facebook 

Twitter

Teapots, Chicken Bog and PJs

My guest today is USA Bestselling author,Catherine Mann. She shares some thoughts that aren't new to any of us in today's world. Seems like we all have too much to do and not enough time to do it all. Catherine also shares an excerpt of her newest series on Elite Forces.

Raise your hand if you’re overworked, stressed, maxed out and need a vacation?

Okay, I’m confident hands are shooting up fast. Mine sure has been raised especially high this week. Already exhausted and irritable, I raced through chores tonight while desperately searching for an idea for this blog that’s supposed to promote my new pararescue (PJ) series.

One of my kids walked by with a question – and I shushed her as I changed over laundry loads, needing to get back to the meal cooking on the stove. She did hush (probably because of the steam blasting from my ears as hot as the pan threatening to boil over!) As she walked away with her head down, my gaze gravitated to my teapot with four angel faces.

The laundry fell out of my hands and my eyes filled with tears.

To backtrack, I have over a dozen teapots, each with a story about how it came into my life. But the angel teapot… well, it’s special.

On the surface, it means a lot to me because my husband bought it for Mother’s Day, the four angel faces representing our four children.

However, the teapot has an even deeper significance. If you’ll notice in the photo, the teapot doesn’t have a lid. And it never will again.

Years ago, a dear friend of mine – Jeri - was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. Determined to stay active as long as possible, once she became wheelchair bound, she took pottery classes. Jeri asked a mutual pal of ours to sneak the lid from the angel teapot out of my house so she could make matching teacups. Jeri wanted to thank me for the chicken bog (a Southern recipe) that I often made for her, the one food she could stomach after chemo and radiation.

Jeri’s health faded faster than expected. She wasn’t able to make the cups.
As I went to see her in the hospital for the last time, on my way I mailed a manuscript to my agent. Usually when I sent off a manuscript, I would anxiously wait to hear back, wishing away the weeks, craving that sale call. But when I mailed the manuscript that day, I vowed to myself I would never again wish away time when Jeri would give anything for one more day with her husband and children.

Later, our friend who’d snuck the teapot lid from my house called to arrange to return the lid. I told her to please keep it. And I would keep the teapot open as a reminder of Jeri and the importance of cherishing each moment.

Tonight, the pot on my stove is full of chicken bog again for another family friend with cancer, the wife of my kids’ coach. My angel teapot is open. The laundry still isn’t finished. But I hugged my teenage daughter and listened to the song she wanted to share with me.

Then, I came downstairs to write this blog. And as I thought about Jeri, I also recalled the book I dedicated to her years ago, one of my early Wingmen Warriors books – FULLY ENGAGED. It features a breast cancer survivor heroine/pilot who falls for… a PJ. A pararescueman/parajumper. (http://www.catherinemann.com/fully-engaged/ )

Life came full circle for me in that moment as I thought about that PJ hero and how I’m now in the middle of launching an entire series about PJs. There it was. My blog topic – I needed to write about angel baby teapots, chicken bog for friends, PJ stories that celebrate heroes. How life weaves itself together if we take the time to celebrate each thread, each moment.

So right now, I’m celebrating the chance to blog (I do love to write!) I’m also grateful to have teenagers who do want to talk to me – most of the time. And I’m grateful for each of you who came over to read what I had to share today. Thank you. Truly.

• What is something or someone you’re grateful for this week?

~*~*~

COVER ME BY CATHERINE MANN—IN STORES JULY 2011

It should have been a simple mission…


Pararescuman Wade Rocha fast ropes from the back of a helicopter into a blizzard to save a climber stranded on an Aleutian Island, but Sunny Foster insists she can take care of herself just fine…

But when it comes to passion, nothing is ever simple…

With the snowstorm kicking into overdrive, Sunny and Wade hunker down in a cave and barely resist the urge to keep each other warm… until they discover the frozen remains of a horrific crime…

Unable to trust the local police force, Sunny and Wade investigate, while their irresistible passion for each other gets them more and more dangerously entangled… Excerpt (bottom of website page) Book Trailer

BUY: In stores or online and print or e-book.  Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million

~*~*~*~

USA Today bestseller Catherine Mann has over two million books in print in more than twenty-five countries.  A RITA Award winner, she resides in the Florida panhandle with her military flyboy husband, their four children, and an ever-growing menagerie of pets.  Find Catherine on Facebook at Catherine Mann (Author) and Twitter @CatherineMann1.  Or check out her website at: http://www.catherinemann.com/. 

The Autograph Lunch

SEALed with a Ring

By: Mary Margret Daughtridge

Publisher: SourceBooks
Price: $7.99
Publication Date: March 2010


My guest is Contemporary Romance author, Mary Margret Daughtridge. She writes military based heroes that are hot and sexy and her latest is SEALed With A Ring.

Mary Margret made me laugh with her tale of her reaction at seeing her book for the first time--early--and her enthusiastic show and tell to everyone she met. But, let her tell the story:



When SEALed with a Ring was released at the first of March, an email came from a friend inviting me to meet her for lunch, and instructing me to bring along three signed copies of the new book.

A few days later while we ate I babbled away, as I always do, and my friend listened with every appearance of enjoyment—as she always does. After a while, she said, “How do you do it, Mary Margret? I read your books and I wonder, ‘How does she think of the things she puts in the books?’”

I’m not sure of the answer to that question. Parts of my books, like a lot of my life, seem at the time to “just happen” and it only becomes a story later when I put together the pieces.

For instance:
My first book, SEALed with a Kiss, unbeknownst to me, appeared on shelves at the local Barnes and Noble two weeks before its official release date. I was browsing the store when I saw it. I stood there, looking at the new release shelf bewildered by a spacey feeling, like “what’s wrong with this picture?” I had visualized it in exactly that spot so many times, I knew something was unusual about the display, but I didn’t know what.

After what felt like a long time, I spotted what seemed out of place. The cover of one of the new books looked just like the cover of mine! And the title was the same too.


Heart pounding, I stepped closer. Even the author’s name was the same as mine!


Let’s see. My cover plus my title plus my name…Finally, one drop at a time, it dawned on me that my book—OH MY GOD, MY BOOK!—was on sale.

I’ve told this story before, but I haven’t told what happened next.

I snatched up a copy, floated over to the cashier and paid for it.

I walked out of Barnes and Noble like I was walking on air, but crossing the parking lot to my car, I realized some of my lightheadedness might be due to the fact that I had missed lunch. I drove to a little mom and pop restaurant where they don’t mind if I tie up a booth while I scribble for an hour or more.

It was past two, the place was almost empty when I got there. At the sight of familiar faces, I finally completely bubbled over.

“Look!” I said to the woman at the register, “my book!”
“Look,” I said to my waiter, “my book!”
“Look,” I said to the busboy, “my book!”

Most people want to be kind, I think. They all oohed and ahhed—and if their faces were a little blank—I had enough enthusiasm for all of us.

A patron, a pretty woman in her middle years with great skin, perfect makeup, the tips of her short blond hair turned up in a free-spirited, windblown style, stopped by my table on her way out. “Excuse me,” she said. “Did you say you’re a writer?”

“My book!” I said, holding it up.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met an author before,” she told me. She introduced herself and asked if she could join me. “Tell me all about it.”

I told her I was a great believer in the power of visualization and what had happened at the bookstore.

She smiled with approval as I babbled away. She was a successful distributor of makeup and skin care and she was well acquainted with visualization techniques.


“I don’t read for entertainment much but I have to buy this book,” she announced after a while.

“It’s at Barnes and Noble,” I told her, thrilled with wonder that here was someone (not friend or family) who wanted to buy my book.

“No,” she said. She tapped the paperback on the table. “I have to buy this book. I don’t want a book I got from the store. I want the book from your hands. I want you to sell it to me, and I want you to sign it right now.”

That’s the story of how I sold my first autographed copy of my first book.


A few days later she emailed me that she had stayed up all night reading it. She loved it and was recommending it to all her extensive contacts.

You can understand why I was delighted, but hardly surprised when, last week, she asked me to meet her for lunch, saying I should bring three copies of SEALed with a Ring for her to buy. One she told me was for her; the other two were gifts for friends.


After we were seated at our table, I whipped out a pen and opened the top book to the flyleaf.


“For Linda,” I wrote, “my first official—and still my best—fan. Love, Mary Margret.”

Cover Blurb:

She’s got it all…except the one thing she needs most

Smart, successful businesswoman JJ Caruthers has a year to land a husband or lose the empire she’s worked so hard to build. With time running out, romance is not an option, and a military husband who is always on the road begins to look like the perfect solution…

He’s a wounded hero with an agenda of his own

Even with the scars of battle, Navy SEAL medic Davy Graziano is gorgeous enough to land any woman he wants, and he’s never wanted to be tied down. Now Davy has ulterior motives for accepting JJ’s outrageous proposal of marriage, but he only has so long to figure out what JJ doesn’t want him to know…

My Thoughts:

I will admit this is the first of Mary Margaret’s books I’ve read. I wasn’t sure what to expect, other than hot Navy Seals and the women who love them, or do bodily damage to a forgetful one.

In Sealed With A Ring, we have problems and plans. Davy Graziano is a hotshot hero with a plan—he’s been brain-injured line of duty and may lose his career. He’s forgetful of things he knows he knows and it’s frustrating. But being a Navy Seal is his life and he will do what he must to return to it and then there is the matter of providing for his special-needs brother.

Enter savvy heroine with problem and also armed a plan. JJ Caruthers has a manipulative grandfather who threatens to sell the family car dealership—unless she gives into the pressure and gets married. Grandfather has a “perfect” man for her to marry. Ugh. She’ll marry, what choice does she have really if she wants to remain CEO? But prefers a man who won’t interfere with her business as CEO. What better solution than to marry sexy Davy Graziano who has forgotten not only that they’ve met—twice—but had hot mind blowing sex. JJ gets the business, and Davy gets to play hero in the hot spots of the world. Of course, nothing ever quite goes as planned in romance and so starts the fun.

Mary Margaret writes a good contemporary romance filled with laughter and glitches. She depicts her knowledge of Seals and military without the textbook preach. Her characters are three-dimensional and after a few pages are very real. This was a fun romance to read and just when you thought you could put the book down—one does have to do chores after all—she would throw in something and you’d find yourself saying, I’ll just read to the end of the chapter. Pfft. Do you know how many times I said that before I actually had the discipline to put it down and things done? Let’s just say, not much got done that day.

:-)

EXCERPT

• Two copies of SEALed with a Ring will be given away today. Two winners, US and Canada only. Please leave me a way to contact you.

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Mary Margret Daughtridge, a Southerner born and bred, has been a grade school teacher, speech therapist, family educator, biofeedback therapist, and Transpersonal Hypnotherapist.


She has been a member since 2002 of Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Romancing the Military Soul, an online writing group, and she is a sought-after judge in writing contests.