Thank-you to Jess for inviting me and to the rest of the RollCall-ers for having me by the blog today!

I have been writing, and thinking, about alpha males a lot, and what makes for a ‘warrior.’ My current release, THE IRISH WARRIOR, has obvious ties to the topic. And my husband works for the MFLC program—Military and Family Life Consultant Program—which provides free, anonymous, completely confidential short-term counseling by Masters-level licensed therapists to Military Personnel and their Spouses and Families on all CONUS and OCONUS instillations.

Wow. That was a mouthful of information and syllables and acronyms. Still with me?

The heroes in the romance genre—and fiction–are often the warrior archetype. I think many people often equate ‘the warrior’ with ‘the fighter,’ and while that is often true, it misses the mark if its aimed too closely. It dilutes the totality of what makes for a warrior, in fiction and in life.

The warrior is active, not cringing at what is to come or may come, but moving forward into it. This doesn’t mean there’s no fear. It means the fear is integrated into the rest of the ‘knowing.’

The warrior is self-directed. Not that s/he does not take orders, but that she has an inner compass for what needs to be done, and takes care of that without needing someone to tell her to. This requires a focused mind and determination, and the exercise of both restraint and power, following along the trajectory of will.

The warrior has the capacity to be a master. And there is only one route to attain such a height: devotion, dedication, hard work and utter focus.

The warrior has a variety of intelligences. She can absorb information, accurately determine what’s relevant to the goal, distill that knowledge into something meaningful, and adapt in response. The true warrior is flexible—the essence of intelligence.

The warrior values life, sometimes as a direct result of having taken it, but certainly as a result of knowing he can take it. He has that power. And therefore, exercises that restraint.

Many of you are warriors. Many of you love warriors, as husband, wife, son, daughter, cousin, friend.

I call it the ‘good alpha.’ Adrenal junkies, sure. There are worse things to be. Alphas in charge, often. Real men and women with families and feelings. Above all.

Even in our books, there’s that inner world, the one that fuels the hero’s fire, for better or worse, usually a little of both. In our books, the love of the heroine is at minimum the motivation for growth. That’s true in real life too. In real life, though, there’s more than 400 pages, and sometimes the love of a good person (and insight) is not going to be enough.

Warriors use all the tools available to let them become a master.

Like the MFLC program.

It’s possible this program may be just the thing our real-life warriors needs once in a while. Again, it’s free. It’s confidential—no one ever knows you even went. It’s on US military installations in the US, Europe and Asia. It’s for military personnel and their spouses and families.

And best of all, it’s completely anonymous. You don’t even have to say your name.

You can contact the Family Support program on your base/post to find out more. The MFLC consultants also often give program brief at various meeting. And they just walk around the installation, hoping to get the word out, so keep your ears open.

They’re there for one reason: to help. They serve the warriors and their families.

Because the strongest among us cannot stay strong for the rest of us if they don’t stay strong. And it is a tripartite: mind, body, heart/spirit. So here’s to keeping our warriors true to the spirit of a warrior in our fiction, and here’s to keeping them healthy and strong in this real world.

Thank-you to all the warriors who serve our country.

Kris Kennedy writes sexy, adventure-filled medieval romances for Kensington and Pocket Books. At her website (http://kriskennedy.net) , you can sign-up for the newsletter and drop Kris a line saying Hi! THE IRISH WARRIOR, winner of the 2008 Golden Heart® Award for Best Historical Romance, released June 1. Read an excerpt here!

Like many romance readers, I love my alpha heroes. So when British editor Trisha Telep asked me to contribute a story to her anthology, The Mammoth Book of Special Ops Romance, my first reaction was yes!
My second reaction was SEAL. After having just returned from a visit to Coronado, California, where U.S. Navy SEALs undergo their basic training, I was brimming with admiration for these amazing special ops warriors.
The next question–where to set my tale–was almost as easy. The story called for romance, action, and adventure, and so I decided it should take place on one of the world’s most beautiful beaches. Ever heard of Phi Phi Don? You might remember the exotic Thai island from the Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach. I had the privilege of visiting this spectacular place as a backpacker long before it (and Leo) achieved super-stardom, and it truly is one of the most romantic spots you can imagine–white beaches, turquoise waters, emerald-green islands jutting straight out of the sea. What better place to set a love story? (Or in this case, a romantic thriller in which an American woman searching for her missing brother enlists a former SEAL’s help to snatch him out of the clutches of an international terrorist ring).
If you like romance, action, or simply reading about those adrenaline-seeking warriors who populate special ops teams, I hope you’ll check out SURRENDER AT DAWN, one of the many military romances in the mammoth-size Mammoth Book of Special Ops Romance that hits bookstores today. The collection contains twenty short stories from an array of romance authors, including Marliss Melton, Debra Webb, Shannon K. Butcher, and more.
To celebrate today, I’m giving away two prizes: a signed copy of the anthology, as well as my latest romantic suspense novel, Untraceable. For a chance to win, just drop me an email at laura@lauragriffin.com and put Mammoth Book in the subject line. Good luck and happy reading!

LAURA GRIFFIN is the RITA-nominated author of seven romantic suspense novels. Her titles include Whisper of Warning, Untraceable, and Unspeakable, which comes out June 29 from Pocket Books. Visit her Web site at www.lauragriffin.com.

I didn’t know what to expect when I sent my literary baby off to be published.

Like the writerly mother I’d become in the process of penning ‘Beyond Those Hills: an Officer and a Lady’, I was afraid something terrible might happen to it, now that it no longer was hidden in the protective shell of my computer, safe from critics, mean reviewers and readers who would wonder why on God’s green earth I chose to write about something from which I’m so far removed. In the year following the release of my first novel, I’ve encountered reactions ranging from sheer skepticism, dismissal, and suspicion over the content of the book to wonder. “How can you know all this, since you’ve never served?” many have asked.
How?

Isn’t the first duty of a writer to research what she intends on writing about? Wouldn’t you extensively read on a topic about which you feel unabashedly passionate? I did, passionate as I was, and still am about the military. I’ve read my share of military fictions, non-fictions, and romance, some great, others not so much. But as satisfying as delving into the good ones was, as enthralled as I was by tales of modern-day warriors falling for women like you and I, I ended up feeling like something was missing… I had come to realize that there never was a female central character in any of the books I’ve read, at least one who could fire a gun, lead men and kick butts as well as the men do. One who would be one the guys, not one merely involved with one of them, yet remain the lady her mother raised her to be.

So I created my own alpha female, Lt. Laura P. Armitage, USN, a bright, no nonsense, half Caucasian, half Hispanic, young woman who embarks on a self-discovery journey when she volunteers for Special Operations (SEAL) support. With her confidence in her skills and her allegiance to the flag put to the test when she is thrown in a den of full-time warriors, she approaches every challenge with combat intensity and a desire to win. She’s also aware that her tenacity may never be enough to earn her the respect of her teammates and her contemptuous commanding officer, Lt. T.J. Wilkins (follow him here). Between the apparently unreciprocated love she feels for her tormented mentor, the secretive Jim Marshall, Wilkins’ unsuccessfully concealed and unreciprocated lust for her, and the tragic loss from which she’s hoping to recover, there are much private battles for Lt. Armitage to ponder.

I relish tales of damsels in distress whom handsome, tattoo-ed soldiers/sailors will rescue then love, as much as the next girl. But this is 2010 and there ought to be a designated spot in the pantheon of imaginary naval warriors for a naval warrior who happens to be a female. Don’t you worry, die-hard fans of stories involving rescued damsels! Even a tough cookie of Lt. Armitage’s caliber still needs to be rescued, and rescued she will be since two men compete for the honors. After all, hasn’t someone once said that no matter how secure, accomplished or successful we are, something in us longs to feel safe?

I concocted a dish full of the ingredients I love: romance, suspense, controversy, action and history… ‘Beyond Those Hills’, my Cold War era tribute to all females in uniform, past, present and future, was truly a labor of patience and passion.

I hope you will have as much pleasure reading it as I had writing it.

I’m kind of surprised to find myself here today. I didn’t set out to write military romances, and to tell you the truth, I’m not sure I do write them. In my books, there’s darn little action of the military kind, though I try to offer plenty of the more intimate kind.

I write romance, pure and simple.

“If you didn’t want to write military romance,” you might ask, “what’s the point of writing a series starring the ultimate warriors, Navy SEALs?”

The point, dear friends, is that SEALs make great alpha heroes in a character-driven romance.
SEALs are real; my heroes are products of my imagination. It’s a distinction I never lose sight of, but anytime I need someone larger than life and yet engagingly, touchingly human, I troll through the many SEAL memoires I’ve accumulated. Though the stories they tell might be old, human nature doesn’t change. I’m reading for character—and by golly, I find it.

My mental picture Davy Graziano, the hero of SEALed with a Ring, began when I noticed how unselfconsciously aware SEALs were of other men’s attractiveness and how frankly they expressed their appreciation. I think its their competitive nature that makes them size up every man they meet, but it’s disconcerting the first time you read a description, by a clearly heterosexual man, of his admiration of another man’s butt size.

Being me, I instantly wondered, how would it feel to be a slam dunk winner in the looks contest on top of enjoying a SEAL’s über self-confidence?

Suddenly I could see Davy. Understanding full well that he has a Neapolitan masculine beauty that would have made Michelangelo reach for his chisel, Davy’s reaction is to laugh. See, Davy likes sex. Not seduction. Not the thrill of the chase. Sex. Being handsome confers no advantage at all in becoming a SEAL, but being a SEAL sends a handsome man’s ability to attract women off the charts. He gets the best of the best. Works for him.

My challenge as a writer was to show his unconscious sense of entitlement without making him look like a jerk. Because he isn’t….Well, okay, he is…a little…in the beginning. But he’s also an absolute sweetie.

That’s the other thing about SEALs. Although alpha to core, they are not stereotypical, emotionally walled-off, “make my day” Rambos. They easily admit that they have tender feelings.

And they have an extraordinary joie de vivre, an enthusiasm for all of life that fuels their never-say-die attitude.

Davy turned out to be perfect for a marriage of convenience plot I had in mind. Excerpt here.

A few days ago in these pages, Jessica Scott spoke of the difficulty of overcoming the perception that romantic suspense and military romance were synonymous. I understand. Even though I, of all people, know better, I wondered about my fitness to contribute to this blog since my books don’t fit the stereotype either. Fortunately as the TV series Army Wives has shown, there is a market for military stories that aren’t action-packed.

Now I’m thinking, this blog might be an excellent forum to discuss the subcategory: tender, of the subgenre: military romance. In your mind is military romance the same as romantic suspense except the hero is military?

Would a military romance without suspense appeal to you?

What catch phrases can Jessica and I use to let people know right up front what kind of reading experience we are offering?

I may be a writer about those amazing Navy SEALs during the day, but every Tuesday afternoon I become a Girl Scout leader. A few years ago, one of my Brownie’s father went to Iraq and we sent him Girl Scout cookies. Since then our girls have challenged themselves every year to send more cookies to our soldiers overseas. Here’s a note from a brother of one of the girls we sent cookies to, and is in Iraq right now:

“Thank you so very much to all girls in your troop! Me and my platoon buddies all enjoyed receiving the cookies that you all sent us. My favorite were the peanut butter patties. We really appreciate and are thankful for your support, there is nothing like knowing that the people back home care, especially when you don’t know all of them.”

PFC. Nathan

And you can help, too! Right now we’re taking donations to send cookies to our soldiers – we’re calling it Troops for Troops! What’s even better, it’s totally tax deducible. A box is $3.50 and a case is $42.00 – and all money is welcome!

If you’d like to donate contact kkloman@aol.com We’re hoping to make the next March 21st mailing – thank you so much in advance!

If you’d like cookies for yourself, you can easily find a troop in your area by going to: http://www.girlscoutcookies.org/

My favorite is thin mints!

Jill Monroe writes sexy Harlequins and can be found at www.jillmonroe.com

We are the new kids on the block and we have attitude but we back it up with years of inside information collected from both sides of the publishing table. Our sole purpose is to introduce books that make a statement with their unique voice, strong plot lines, and complex, well developed characters. At Accomplice Press our excellence shines through in the tiny details and this produces polished literary works.

After doing extensive research we know what the readers want and we are going to give it to them without worrying about selling millions of copies out of some mammoth warehouse. We are an independent, boutique style publisher and our focus is on the skilled authors and their target audiences, you the readers. The Partners at AP have decided to launch a series of specialty lines to answer the growing demand for something innovative and new. Curvalicious is our first endeavor and it will be a romance line spotlighting plus-size heroines but their size will not be the focus of the plot line. As publishers and women we feel that there are countless romance lovers who don’t see real life females, like themselves, portrayed in the books they read. We plan to change that with this specialty romance series.

Curvalicious women are voluptuous, beautiful, strong, sexy and intelligent. These inspirational main characters will always get the man of their dreams without losing weight or changing who they are on the outside. Romance is all about fantasy; our stories will keep the home fires burning even on the coldest night of the year. We are offering two different heat levels for our reader’s pleasure. Curvalicious Sweet is romance with sweet or sensual love scenes, but no explicit language or sex and Curvalicious Spicy is erotic romance containing explicit language and sex scenes. The stories will be available in e-book format with periodic print anthologies.

Accomplice Press is shaking up the publishing world one book at a time and you can be part of the revolution. We are holding a Curvalicious writing competition which began on Valentine’s Day and ends at midnight on May 14, 2010. We’ll be accepting stories for both Sweet and Spicy heat levels and on May 28, 2010 two winning entries will be contracted to be published in ebook format. The top three submissions of each category will also be included in the first Curvalicious print anthology. The specific guidelines for Sweet and Spicy submissions, word count and formatting requirements are all available at our website accomplicepress.com. All contest entries must be sent to curvecontest@accomplicepress.com. We are also holding an “open call” to all authors, so this is the perfect time to submit that manuscript you have written. Just remember Accomplice Press is NOT a self-publishing company.

It is an exciting time at Accomplice Press and we will be releasing more lines as the year progresses. There will be Silver Sirens, which will be romance about female characters over the age of 40, a Young Adult line called Fierce and a line dedicated to “men in Uniform”. Please check out accomplicepress.com for more information. Also we will be attending Romconinc.com in Denver this July, please look for us there.

Good luck authors!
Karen Jones
Public Relations Manager for Accomplice Press