Extraction by Lex Valentine - Available Nov. 18

Two soldiers, former lovers, each think they are saving the other from a South American drug cartel, all the while rehashing their broken relationship.

Green Beret Shane Cullen has been undercover for the DEA with a South American drug cartel. Eighteen months into his assignment, and unbeknownst to Shane, the cartel's number two man is captured by the U.S. Marshals and starts to talk. Shane's mission becomes endangered. His Special Forces commander calls in a favor and pulls in Shane's former lover and teammate Elliott Hutchens for an extraction.

Elliott hasn't seen Shane in almost two years, since his lover walked out on him. But Shane's in trouble and doesn't know it, so Elliott can't refuse the mission. Getting himself captured by the cartel in order to force Shane to rescue him is the easy part. The hard part comes when Shane discovers he's the real extraction, not Elliott. Shane's bad temper ended their relationship once before. Will it get in the way again or can these two soldiers work through their issues and find their way to a happy ever after?

Release date is Nov 18 from MLR Press.
http://www.mlrbooks.com/upcoming.php. 
Cover artist is Winterheart Design.

Military Heroes - Happy Veteran's Day

Whether a military hero is a soldier, a sailor, a pilot, or a navy seal, those warriors are sure to capture a readers heart. I know they capture mine. Why? Because they risk it all for the greater good and what is sexier than that?

I've written before about how I love the warrior archetype when I write heroes and it still goes.  Warriors give up their freedom, their families and even their lives to serve their country. They face hardship, terror, danger and injury every day of their lives and they do it for honor. To stand in the way of a foe who seeks to damage everything that they hold dear. It's a noble profession and those that serve aren't given their due by the rest of us. They serve so we don't have to. They give so that we are safe. They're poorly paid and they and their families sacrifice a great deal.


To quote Wikipedia, "Veterans Day is an official United States holiday honoring armed service veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11th. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, with the German signing of the Armistice.)

Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while while serving." 

Veteran's Day is about the sacrifice, not the loss. The risk, but not the grief. It's about giving thanks to those face tough odds everyday but persevere in the face of those odds.

So today, especially, I want to say thank you to those who serve. Whether they served long ago or are currently serving. Whether they are at home or on deployment. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your service.