Title: Way of
the Warrior
Authors: Suzanne
Brockmann, Julie Ann Walker, Catherine Mann, Tina Wainscott, Anne Elizabeth,
M.L. Buchman, Kate SeRine, and Lea Griffith
Release Date: May
5, 2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Casablanca
Summary
EIGHT PASSIONATE LOVE
STORIES ABOUT AMAZING MILITARY HEROES BY AUTHORS Suzanne Brockmann, Julie Ann Walker, Catherine
Mann, Tina Wainscott, Anne Elizabeth, M.L. Buchman, Kate SeRine, Lea Griffith
To honor and empower
those who've served, all author and publisher proceeds go to the Wounded
Warrior Project.
The Wounded Warrior
Project was founded in 2002 and provides a wide range of programs and services
to veterans and service members who have survived physical or mental injury
during their brave service to our nation. Get involved or register for programs
and benefits for yourself and your family online at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
Buy Links
IndieBound: http://bit.ly/1Pod2Af
Suzanne Brockmann on
“Home Fire Inferno”
I write about a SEAL team,
so my military heroes tend to show up in a rather large group! And although Home
Fire Inferno focuses on Navy SEAL Dan Gillman (whose wife, Jenn, is
about to have a baby!), you’ll also see quite a bit of Izzy Zanella, along with
Mark Jenkins, Jay Lopez, and the inimitable Senior Chief Stan Wolchonok.
Readers will also get to meet the SEAL with the face of a serial killer and the
intriguing nickname HoboMofo . . . who happens to live with
his mother and his ten-year-old daughter. But all the SEALs in this story would
be in full agreement that family is the one word answer to the
question “What is your military hero/ine most excited about returning to after
active duty?”
Honoring love and family
is a long-held tradition in the U.S. Navy. A ritual called the First
Kiss is still practiced for ships returning to their homeports.
(Google “US Navy first kiss tradition” to see pictures that will brighten your
day!) All married sailors, officer and enlisted alike, can take part in a
lottery in which the winner is the first to disembark, greet, and kiss his or
her spouse after many months away from home. It’s a huge deal, with boatloads
of ceremony involved. This is the big, bad U.S. Navy, part of the most powerful
military force in the world. But everyone—from admirals to seamen
recruits—unabashedly recognize that the most important part of their homecoming
lies in the arms of the men and women waiting for them.
Julie Ann Walker on “Hot
As Hell”
Despite running missions
to the ass ends of the earth, Navy SEAL Michael “Mad Dog” Wainwright from Hot
as Hell is a family man at heart. Born and raised in Atlantic
City, he longs for the sea when he’s conducting sorties in the desert.
Hankers for the boardwalk when he’s belly deep in some bog in the jungle.
And craves a slice of Tony Bologney’s pizza when he’d eaten one-too-many
MREs – meals ready to eat – to count. So when Michael gets time off from
missiles and mayhem, you can bet your bottom dollar he races home to be with
his two brothers and his mother and father. Together, they make a night of
pizza, walks along the boardwalk, salt water taffy, and some tossing of the
dice at one of Atlantic City’s seaside casinos. It’s a bit of normalcy in
a life that’s otherwise filled by the extraordinary. A bit of fun in a
world Michael knows can be full of horror and woe. A bit of life to
go along with so much death. Michael “Mad Dog” Wainwright lives for those
moments, for those homecomings. They’re what he fights for…
Catherine Mann on “In
Plain Sight”
Tech Sergeant Gavin
“Bubbles” Novak isn’t known for a sparkling wit, but his steely eyed focus on
the job has made him the go-to guy in the most stressful of pararescue
missions. Until a fateful military mission leaves him blind and ends his Air
Force career. With nowhere else to go, he returns to his small Kentucky
hometown with his seeing-eye dog and takes a job as a 9-1-1 operator. His first
day on the job brings a voice from the past, the only woman who has ever
blasted through that tough shell to reach his soul - his high school sweetheart
Stacie Curry. She’s being stalked by her abusive ex-husband and he’s broken
into her home.
Stacie Curry thought she
made the safe choice in marrying the hometown boy rather than leaving with
brooding outsider Gavin. But her decision has led to a nightmare existence.
Since her divorce, she is stalked and terrorized by her ex. When she calls
9-1-1, she’s stunned to hear Gavin’s deep voice on the other end of the line.
And when she sees him face to face afterward, she’s shocked – and heartbroken –
to learn he’s blind. But she soon finds Gavin will let nothing stand in the way
of protecting her.
Learning to overcome the
loss of his sight and his Air Force career, Gavin comes to her rescue,
protecting her, helping expose her ex … and rekindling their old romance with a
blazing-hot flame.
Tina Wainscott on
“Beauty and the Marine”
Once the gorgeous golden
boy of his small Georgia town, Marine Griff Tate returned home scarred from an
explosion in Afghanistan. Now, the only people he sees are his family and the
out-of-towners he takes hunting and fishing on their private acreage. Griff
thinks that all he wants is to be with his family in the comfort of the woods
in which he spent his youth. He can barely look at himself in the
mirror—how can he expect a woman to want to wake up to his ugly mug every
morning? But even a battle-scarred veteran needs love … even if he
doesn’t know it!
Anne Elizabeth on
“SEALed with Passion”
Navy SEAL LT Cmdr Jonah
Melo has his feet back on American soil. That's when the itchy-need begins--to
get back into the action and/or to fill his time with something useful.
Luckily, he's got an opportunity to jump in and do a building project for the
Wounded Warriors. This particular house is special because it's going to be the
home of his long-time friend Kevin Toms. Melo has participated in a lot of
builds before, but seeing his buddy in a home that enables his happiness and
mobility is going to top the list of experiences. If only he could be as
blessed in love as he is in friendship.
M.L. Buchman on “NSDQ”
U.S. Army Captain Lois
Lang knows only one thing, flying combat search-and-rescue helicopters into the
heart of the battlezone and getting her people back out. And when a CSAR
mission gone wrong forces her to make the ultimate sacrifice—for her it isn’t a
choice. Her crew and the wounded they’ve recovered always come first.
But the battle that
awaits her will test her limits. She can learn to walk again, but she must
discover the strength to face what to do when she can’t fly.
Kate SeRine on “Torn”
During his deployment,
the thing that kept Joe Dawson going was the thought of returning home to
Sadie—his best friend since childhood and the woman he’s been in love with for
as long as he can remember. But a mission gone wrong has left him scarred—both
inside and out. And when he and Sadie finally share an unexpected moment of
passion, Joe has a hard time believing that Sadie could have feelings for the
damaged man he has become and worries that her heart is being ruled by pity and
not love.
Those doubts are
compounded now that he’s set to resume his duty as a deputy sheriff. With his
father and three brothers already making names for themselves with successful
law enforcement careers, the pressure’s on, leaving Joe torn between honoring
the family tradition and leaving behind the only career he’s ever known outside
the military.
Lea Griffith on her
inspiration for “War Games”
There are many things I
could tell you about my stepfather. He married a wonderful woman with a tiny, 6
year old girl from a previous marriage who still wondered why her daddy
couldn’t be a daddy—and then he became a stepfather and helped raise her. A
strict disciplinarian he nevertheless was giving to a fault. He was a veteran
of the Vietnam War. (Side note: he refused to call it a “conflict”. He always
said, “When people kill people like we killed people that’s a goddamn war.”
Finally, I guess I’d tell you he was one of the most tortured souls I have ever
known. In the midst of his torment, the nightmares and flashbacks, the anger that
always simmered just below the surface there was a strength to be admired and
it is that strength that makes him one of my heroes.
My stepdad was born and
raised in a little town called Tennille, Georgia. It’s nothing but country with
field after field of corn and cotton and country folk living a simple life.
When young men came of age they either went into the family business of cotton
and corn or they went into the service and this is the route William Thomas
Howell, Jr. took. He entered the Air Force and lost any innocence he might have
once had running tactical rescue and recovery missions in Vietnam of which he
would say nothing about. I remember asking him what war was like and he refused
to answer. Then one day when he was talking about Vietnam—not the war, mind
you, but the country itself—I asked him what he missed the most about home when
he was “in country”. He smiled and for some reason my gut clenched and I
remember wishing I hadn’t asked the question. But then he answered and I had to
smile with him. “Lightning bugs,” he said. “Lightning bugs and Coca Cola.”
My stepdad passed away
almost nine years ago. He has missed the births of several of his grandchildren
and the marriage of one of his children. But in the midst of his loss, he left
a legacy that includes perseverance, giving and most of all a love of Coca
Cola.
Oh, and the lightning bugs.
I cannot forget the tiny bugs with the “lights in their butts”. It seems the
smallest bug made a light big enough for my stepdad to yearn for. They make me
smile every time spring comes. And yes, because he made me smile with his
longing for lightning bugs I taught my girls how to catch them and put them in
a mason jar for a little while before you release them. This more than anything
else has helped me remember him.
Suz Brockmann is the
award-winning author of over fifty books, and is widely recognized as one of
the leading voices in romantic suspense. Her work has earned her repeated
appearances on the New York Times bestseller list, as well as
numerous awards, including Romance Writers of America's #1 Favorite Book of the
Year and two RITA awards.
Julie Ann Walker
Julie Ann Walker is the New
York Times and USA Today bestselling author of
romantic suspense. Her books have been described as “alpha, edgy, and downright
hot.” Most days you can find her on her bicycle along the lake shore in Chicago
or blasting away at her keyboard, trying to wrangle her capricious imagination
into submission.
Catherine Mann
USA Today bestselling author Catherine Mann
specializes in military romances with over 50 books in print. A RITA winner,
she has also won the Bookseller's Best Award. Catherine's books have been
widely released internationally including in Great Britain, Germany, Spain,
France, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Iceland, Australia, and Japan. She lives with
her husband, who is a combat veteran and retired Air Force Colonel, near
Pensacola in the Florida Panhandle.
Tina Wainscott
Tina Wainscott has
always loved the combination of suspenseful chills and romantic thrills. She's
published fifteen romantic suspense novels, as well as ten paranormal romances
as Jaime Rush. Losing her nephew, a Marine, in the war made her realize that
our military men are really the perfect heroes. Not only during the war but
afterward as they try to stitch their lives and souls together once they're
home.
Anne Elizabeth
New York Times bestselling author Anne Elizabeth is an
award-winning romance author and comic creator. With a BS in business and MS in
communications from Boston University, she is a regular presenter at
conventions as well as a member of The Author’s Guild and Romance Writers of
America. Anne lives with her husband, a retired Navy SEAL, in the mountains
above San Diego.
M.L. Buchman
M. L. Buchman has over
30 novels in print. His military romantic suspense books have been named Barnes
& Noble and NPR “Top 5 of the year” and Booklist “Top 10 of the Year.” He
also writes thrillers, fantasy, and science fiction. In addition to his career
as a corporate project manager he has: rebuilt and single-handed a fifty-foot
sailboat, both flown and jumped out of airplanes, designed and built two
houses, and bicycled solo around the world. He is now making his living as a
full-time writer on the Oregon Coast with his beloved wife.
Kate SeRine
Kate SeRine (pronounced
"serene") is a hopeless romantic who firmly believes in true love
that lasts forever. So it's no surprise that when she began writing her own
stories, Kate vowed her characters would always have a happily ever after. Kate
lives in a smallish, quintessentially Midwestern town with her husband and two
sons, who share her love of storytelling. She never tires of creating new
worlds to share and is even now working on her next project.
Lea Griffith
Lea Griffith began
sneaking to read her mother’s romance novels at a young age. She cut her teeth
on the greats: McNaught, Woodiwiss, and Garwood. She still consumes every
romance book she can put her hands on, but now she writes her own. When not
working as a Practice Manager for an Internal Medicine Physician, you’ll find
her at her keyboard, writing. She loves romance and nothing is off-limits when
it comes to her muse. Lea lives in rural Georgia with her husband, three
teenage daughters, two dogs, a cat, and a Betta fish named Coddy George.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeaGriffith
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