Countdown to Being Prince Charming commences.

Sometimes fairytales come true...

They say write what you love, and nothing is nearer or dearer to my heart than the military. Every man or woman in uniform has a story or two they could tell you. As the daughter of an Air Force veteran, granddaughter of a WWII naval hero, wife of an Army grunt, daughter in law of a female Marine (yes my mother in law), mother of a Marine and Army combat medic, I have a lot of connections with the military. But the biggest connection, the reason I write stories about love in combat boots, is that I’m an Army veteran. I believe some of the greatest love stories take place in uniform.

The military is a brother and sisterhood you have to experience to understand. Inside this world there are struggles, victories, heartbreak and romances, and I hope my tales can bring some of that to you, my readers—the good times, and sometimes, the hard times. In my humble opinion, nobody deserves to have their stories told more. There are no heroes larger in life, than those that place their lives on the line every day serving our country.

What’s not to love?

So, what’s the next fairytale, military romance coming down the pipeline?

For those of you who have been asking what comes after Cinderella Wore Combat Boots, and does Gunny have a story? He does it’s called Being Prince Charming.

Being Prince Charming

DL Jackson

Decadent Publishing

Blurb:

“You’re no Prince Charming.”

Words screamed in anger, an empty nest, empty life--there are a lot of reasons people divorce. For Gunny, a diehard Marine who refuses to give up the Corps, and Lissa his wife of over twenty years, the reason isn’t a good one. When words exchanged in anger morph beyond their control, Lissa leaves and August doesn’t go after her, letting his pride get in the way.

Two years later, Lissa is about to move on with her life and marry another man, except her reason isn’t the right one either. Her heart still belongs to a Marine she left behind. 

Now, an unexpected gift in the form of a 1Night Stand may change everything.

August is back, looking for a second chance, but this time he isn’t letting Lissa walk away without a fight. He’s thrown everything he’s got into their date to prove that he can still be her Prince Charming. But if he can’t convince her in one night it’s for keeps, he may very well lose the only woman he’s ever loved.

Virg's Review:

Real people fall in and out of love and sometimes you can't fix mistakes made out of neglect. Like an untended garden, hurt feelings bloom and flourish in a garden of words that aren't said and Jackson takes on just this kind of struggle in her Charming novel.

 I've read quite a few of Decadent's 1Night Stands, but this one gave a really believable and identifiable couple who never lacked in love, but got tangled up in the day to day monotony of life to the point they lost sight of what mattered when they started out. Since this happens a whole lot in the real world, I think it made it even more beautiful that Gunny wasn't willing to give up, even when things didn't look so great. A realistic love story that readers are sure to enjoy, Being Prince Charming has a prince of a Marine who is willing to put it all on the line for love.

 Excerpt:

Lissa never returned, going home to where they’d been high school sweethearts, even if her family had long since moved on. Gunny crumpled the divorce decree and tossed it in the trash, refusing to hold onto the one souvenir he’d retained from his marriage with Lissa. Gone were their wedding pictures, the dishes, pots and pans, everything that had made their off-camp apartment a home, including the woman he still loved. He surveyed the room. Except for a few pieces of plastic outdoor furniture, the apartment sat empty as his life. 

No matter how he tried, he couldn’t wrap his mind around the finality and accept it. Marines didn’t give up. He picked up his bags and walked out the door, not bothering to lock it behind him. 

Anyone who wanted it could have the remnants of his life. He’d finally retired from the Marines and, thanks to Cori, had secured a job working for Sol’s company, Protect and Serve. Not that it mattered. Without Lissa, he had no reason to care, but it would help him to get by until he could figure out how to get his wife back. 

Make that ex-wife. 

And he would find a way. Eventually, she’d come to her senses. No one could turn love off. He’d be the one to know. His heart ached constantly for the woman he’d once had. He’d been an idiot not to listen to what she said, to put the Corps before her. Hindsight being twenty-twenty and all that, he decided he needed to man up, improvise, adapt, and overcome.

August strode up to the unsexiest vehicle a man could own, a fifteen-year-old minivan with rusty doors, a black cloud of smoke that followed wherever he drove it, and a driver’s side door that wouldn’t open. He tossed his bags in the rear cargo area and climbed over the passenger seat to take his place behind the wheel. Patting his pockets, he searched for his key and extracted it, wondering why he even bothered to remove it from the ignition. A thief would be doing him a favor to steal it.

~ * ~

Thanks to all who allowed me to guest blog today. To one lucky commenter, I am giving away a copy of Cinderella Wore Combat Boots. I will draw a name from my virtual hat and post the winner’s name in the comments section. Please be sure to leave your email addy, so I can contact you if you are my winner.

Best,

D. L. Jackson

***RELEASE DAY BLITZ!! Review, Q&A with Laura Kaye, and a trailer!!! Hard As It Gets PARTY!!!!***

My Review

I’ve always had a thing for a man with ink and Kaye gives us a hero marked with art so beautiful it writhes across the pages and into your heart. Nick is a hero, served his country and stood up for what he believed in. Becca is a woman on a mission—to save her brother at all costs. When these two passionate characters meet up on the page, sparks fly and the results are PHENOMENAL! Chock full of suspense, military intrigue, and deliciously funny and realistic characters, Kay delivers a one-two-punch and hits all the notes of an edge of your seat adventure. When you add in the obvious chemistry and oh-my-lord sexiness (I’ve never read of a punching bag that turned me on more than this one), I have to say this was a read I absolutely devoured. I’m sincerely hoping that future installments of this series trace the storylines of her well-developed secondary characters because Kaye managed to introduce quite a lot of them while we skated from sexy to snarky…both Nick’s brothers in arms and his staff at Hard Ink have me completely intrigued. This story is a romance, so I expected Nick and Becca to fall in love and the tumble was glorious. Sexual tension snapped almost as tight as the corded muscles of Nick’s irresistible and tatted up arms. If you’re looking to steam up your holiday season, you can’t miss by grabbing a copy of Hard as It Gets. This reader is excited to have received a copy in exchange for an honest review—and, baby, lemme tell you it’s going to be a while until my glasses stop being fogged up from the steam of it.  I’ll be picking up book two on preorder because I can’t WAIT to see what else she has in store in future installments. Fantastic read, kudos to Kaye for this awesome book.

Q&A WITH LAURA KAYE

HARD AS IT GETS is one steamy read! How did you first get into writing?

 

Thanks so much! And thanks for having me here! I’ve been a writer all my life. I’m a historian by training, so writing non-fiction was a part of my job for the fifteen years I worked as a college professor. But I started writing fiction in 2008 in kind of an unusual way. I hit my head on July 4, 2008. I didn’t think much of it that day, but soon after I realized I’d really hurt myself, and it turned out I had a minor traumatic brain injury. As I recovered, I was filled with an amazing urge to be creative, so I started taking guitar lessons (still not very good at that!) and wrote my first novel in 12 weeks (fortunately, I’m better at that LOL!). The experience of writing that first book was truly transformative. It was what I was supposed to be doing, so I revised that book until it sold and kept writing new ones. And I haven’t looked back since!

Why did you choose to write romance?

 

I had been an avid reader of paranormal romance for years at that point, so I wrote what I loved. But I also picked romance—unconsciously, I think—because to me it’s an incredibly hopeful genre. Romance stories are inherently stories about people who can’t find love or think they don’t deserve it who overcome the odds and find it in the end. In the years leading up to starting writing, I experienced a number of very hard personal losses, so writing in this genre was one way I worked through those issues.

 

What does “Hard Ink” refer to? What importance do tattoos play in your story?

 

Hard Ink is the name of the Rixey brothers’ tattoo shop in the Hard Ink series. Nick and Jeremy Rixey are co-owners, though Nick (the hero of book one, Hard As It Gets) prefers to be more of a silent partner, despite Jeremy’s efforts to put Nick’s artistic talents to work. In this series, tattoos are a way people remember, pay penance, or highlight what’s important to them. The act of creating permanent marks on skin has deep meaning to them. And the shop creates a gritty setting where diverse kinds of people meet and interact in the series. I really love it!

Describe Becca—what do you love most about her? And Nick?

I’d love to! Because I really loved writing these characters!

 

Becca Merritt is smart and strong and honest and protective. I really loved the way she was willing to stand up for those she loves, even against people and forces who might be stronger and even a little scary. There’s a scene in particular when she dresses down Nick’s Special Forces teammates after a fist fight where I was particularly cheering for her! LOL

 

Nick Rixey is, omg, so freaking hot, you guys! He’s brooding and tortured and honorable and when he falls he falls  so hard. I especially loved Nick’s mix of hard, alpha edges with his artistic side. When Nick shows Becca what her idea for a tattoo might look like on her skin, it’s just scorching!

What significance does the military play in the book?

Military themes are central to the whole Hard Ink series. The military isn’t just sexy window dressing nor is it just there to provide an intriguing backstory. The prior SF guys are this series are entirely defined by their military experience good and bad. It informs their identity, their sense of honor and duty, their view of the world, and of course gives them the skill set required to fight the battles they face in the series. The overall series mystery the characters are working to solve revolves around a military conspiracy in Afghanistan, so even though they’re out of the Army, the military themes are central.

If you could describe your book in a 140 character tweet, what would it be?

In #HardAsItGets, an ex-soldier joins forces w/his dead commander's daughter to regain his tarnished honor & save her brother from a gang

Is there a particular author or book that has influenced your writing?

There are a number of authors that have influenced me, but if I had to pick one it would be J.R. Ward. A lot of what I know about how to write sexy, authentic male point of view comes from reading her books. And I definitely learned the importance of a good bromance to a romance novel from her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, too. Given my ginormous fangirling, you can only imagine how flipping excited I was when this happened:

“Edgy, sexy, and full of suspense! A great read from a great new author!”

~J.R. Ward on Hard As It Gets

You guys, I bawled like a baby in the middle of a huge workshop put on by my publisher. For real. LOL

What advice would you give aspiring writers looking to get into the publishing industry?

Here’s my advice:

1) Write, write, write. You can’t revise what you haven’t written and you can’t sell what you haven’t written. And the psychological and emotional boost you’ll get from writing “The End” for the first time cannot be overestimated.

2) Revise, revise, revise. That first time you type “The End”? Yeah, you’re nowhere near done. Your book will need to be edited, by you, several times before you ever put it in front of an agent or editor. You get one shot with them, so don’t waste it by not showing them your very best and most polished work.

3) Find critique partners. And your mom, siblings, and best friend do not count (unless you’re really lucky, like me, and your best friend happens t also be a professional author). You need other aspiring writers in your genre who will give you honest but constructive feedback about how to improve your manuscript. Let them catch all the embarrassing goofs and plot holes you thought you caught before it gets to an agent or editor.

4) Want to be a professional, then act it. And by that I mean join the professional organization(s) of the genre in which you write. Through them you will find classes to help hone your craft, critique partner match-ups, networking opportunities, calls for submission, and other opportunities invaluable to breaking into publishing.

5) Don’t give up. You will hear way more no’s than yeses, particularly early in your writing career. Stick with it. Believe in yourself. Give yourself one day to wallow in the rejection and eat a bunch of chocolate and then get right back on the horse. If your first book doesn’t sell, chalk that up to learning and write a second.

What can fans of HARD AS IT GETS look forward to next?

I’m currently writing four series: two contemporary (Hard Ink, Heroes) and two paranormal (Hearts of the Anemoi, Vampire Warrior Kings). I’ll have books from all four of those releasing in 2014. My next release is Hard As You Can (Hard Ink #2) coming 2/25/14!

About Hard As It Gets:

Five dishonored soldiers.

Former Special Forces.

One last mission.

These are the men of Hard Ink.

 

Tall, dark, and lethal...

Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome--pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.

With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.

Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge...

 

Read Chapter 1 of Hard As It Gets

Buy at Amazon | B&N | iTunes

About Laura Kaye:

Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter SignUp

 

I got to name a Marine...

Heather Long is an outstanding author of military, paranormal, contemporary, and western romance and I've been lucky enough to call her crit partner for a few years. Actually, almost two years exactly since we just celebrated the anniversary of our friendship (which coincided with the end of a mutual publisher, sadly).

She's read all my books, offered invaluable advice, and been a cheerleader and boot in my ass when I needed it, so I'm maybe just a little fangirl over her work. Since I've read just about every word she's written in the past couple years, I feel like a proud auntie when a new book releases. With this story? A proud auntie who hung out in the delivery room.

You see, Heather bestowed a great honor on me and let me name the character in this story. I named him after a friend and rattled off a few characteristics of my uncle, a Marine himself, who served proudly. The uncle was a prankster, loving nothing more than making others laugh, and the friend was one who helped me through some really dark days.

That said, she then molded what I mentioned into a character I fell in love with. Rebel is injured in body and spirit and this Christmas tale is heartwarming. Capturing that spirit and the magic of the season, Long crafted a tale that made me laugh and cry in turns--while remaining sexy and sweet.

A portion of the proceeds of the sale of this and her other holiday Marines will benefit Toys for Tots, a campaign to put gifts in the hands of children in need. If you're looking for a well told tale which gives not only in the transformative and uplifting nature of the story, but literally GIVES this season, you should look no further than Have Yourself a Marine Christmas. Better yet, snag all of the holiday Marines and settle down with a cup of cocoa and gobble them all up. I know I'll be rereading them this season :)

Have Yourself a Marine Christmas
By Heather Long
Always a Marine Series
ISBN:

Buy Links

 

Amazon | ARe | B&N | Bookstrand | Decadent | Smashwords

Blurb:

Rebel with a holiday…

Ryan Edward Brun—Rebel to his friends—has always loved Christmas. Whether raising money for Toys for Tots, delivering presents dressed up like Santa Claus or driving his platoon crazy with Christmas ‘surprises,’ he never lacked for Christmas spirit—until he lost his legs to an IED.

Operation Good Cheer…

Noël Torres has watched over Rebel for months, holding his hand when he wanted to give up, and bullying him when he got lazy. But with Christmas right around the corner and decorations filling every room in their wing of Mike’s Place, the barren oasis Rebel surrounds himself with breaks her heart. He won’t call his family, he’s not sending out cards, he won’t pull any pranks—she decides to get this Marine back into the holiday action.

An elf on a mission…

With the help of some kids, a few good Marines, and Santa Claus, Noël is determined to give Rebel a very Marine Christmas…

Find it on Goodreads!
Heather Long's Website

More Marines from Heather Long!!

Marine Ever After

Always a Marine, Book 14

by Heather Long

Buy

All Romance Ebooks | Amazon | Bookstrand |Decadent 

Marine Paul Torres is used to the casual thing, women who enjoy the pleasure of the moment and whom he can bed with a wink and a smile.  Lately though, he’s turned on by the allure of finding the right partner for him with so many of his friends settling down.  Attending a wedding in Texas for one of his oldest friends, he meets Lillianna Hansen.

Paul and Lillianna get off on the wrong foot, enjoying a wildly passionate encounter after the wedding. He wakes to find her gone, but still tries to track down her number. Paul wants more than a one-night stand, but his limited leave is up and must return to active duty.

He might be ready to take their relationship to another level, but all Lillianna thought she wanted was a good time. But Paul’s attention—even from thousands miles away—is hard to resist and while she tells herself repeatedly she doesn’t want a relationship with a Marine, she can’t deny the consequences of their passionate night.

And when she finally does reach out, it’s to confess she’s pregnant, and she has to figure out if she’s ready to let the father of her child be her Marine ever after…

I loved this book and if you want to read a bit more about it, check out the author's website here.

Feel free to share this meme created just for this special book!