Visiting Dawn’s Reading Nook Today

Today I’m visiting Dawn’s Reading Nook, Dawn Roberto’s home away from Love Romance Café. SEARCH & RESCUE my contemporary military romance that takes place in my hometown of Mobile, AL and the deserts of eastern Afghanistan is featured there.

For Army Ranger Captain Taylor Jackson and college coed Lexie Carter, it’s love at first sight. Young Lexie’s non-traditional family, however, isn’t exactly pleased with her choice of a military officer a decade her senior. Her middle-aged guardians, former Green Berets, know quite a bit about the problems of military service. Lexie’s guardians were in the Army and gay when gays were discharged with little recourse. My special feature at the Reading Nook today is “A Very Short History of Gays in the Military.” There’s also a blurb and excerpt. Check out my post at Dawn’s HERE.

I’m pleased to announce that Secret Cravings has contracted Todd and Ely’s story, a nontraditional Christmas story–ELY’S EPIPHANY.

SEARCH & RESCUE is available from Secret Cravings Publishing. Click HERE to read excerpt/buy.

Release Day for Finding Eve

Celebrating the release of Finding Eve (Lyons’ Tales #2), a shapeshifter paranormal from Champagne books. It’s a stand-alone sequel to Into the Lyons’ Den. When Eve observes Marie Maxwell—Atlanta’s most sought-after event planner—through the bars of her cage at an exotic animal sale, she has flashes of a different life – a life in which she was something other than feline.

Can a feral cat ever return home? Nicholas Lyons, chief physician to the Lyons clan of shapeshifters, has mourned the death of his promised lifemate until a rogue shapeshifter reports having seen her at an exotic animal sale. Accompanied by Marie Lyons who is no stranger to the dark side, her new lifemate Anthony, and the imperious Lady Bat, he embarks on a frantic search for Eve through the dangerous world of exotic animal trafficking.
  
Eve, whose first memories are of recovering from an injury at an isolated animal refuge, has lived through a succession of owners in a world filled with cages and cruelty. When Eve meets Marie at the exotic animal sale, she begins to have flashes of a different life – a life in which she was something other than feline. Her last sale, however, has landed her as prey to exotic animal hunters and the clock is ticking.
Click cover or links to buy Finding Eve at Champagne Books or Amazon.

 

Rita Bay Rita Bay’s Webpage & Blog

  

“Finding Eve” Champagne Books, September, 2013

“Nimue’s Daughter,” Shared Whispers, Champagne Books, September, 2013

“Search & Rescue” Secret Cravings Publishing, July, 2013

“Her Teddy Bare” Carnal Passions, May, 2013

“The Aegis” Champagne Books, April, 2013

  

“Into the Lyons’ Den” Champagne Books, August, 2012

“His Desire” Siren BookStrand, May, 2012

“His Obsession” Siren BookStrand, April, 2012

LABOR DAY – Celebrating the American Worker

Celebrating Labor Day with a World War II Icon!!

Rita Bay

Moonday’s Heroic Hunks in History: Aeneas

My last post we left Troy in flames—its heroes fallen and the women and children brutalized and enslaved. A few, however, escaped. Aeneas, one of Troy’s heroes who was honored second only to Hector, led a small group of refugees out of the city when the gods ordered him to leave. He escaped the doomed city carrying his elderly father Anchises and his son Ascanius. His wife Creusa was lost in the confusion of the burning city and when he returned for her he was greeted by her spirit who told him about his destiny and sent him on his way.

Aeneas’ father Anchises was a cousin to King Priam; his mother, the goddess Aphrodite. Aeneas is mentioned as a hero of Troy in Homer’s Iliad. The Latin poet Virgil’s Aeneid, an epic poem, chronicled the life of Aeneas as he left Troy, wandered much of the known world and eventually ended up in Italy, where he became the progenitor of Rome. Julius Caesar’s family claimed descent from Aeneas’ son, Ascanius.

Aeneas’ most famous stop on his journey was outside of Carthage (a city in North Africa) where he fell in love with Queen Dido. He later deserted her to fulfill his destiny and she committed suicide in her anguish. On a personal note, Virgil’s Aeneid was the bane of my senior year in high school when the homework for my Latin IV class involved nightly struggles translating multiple stanzas of the damned poem.

The statue on the right by Gian Lorenzo Bernini was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in 1618. It was completed in 1619 when Bernini was only twenty years old and is housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome. The statue depicts the moment that Aeneas carries his father, the elderly Anchises, and his son Ascancius from burning Troy.

 

July Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Thank you to Celia Breslin for tagging me in to the Next Big Thing Blog Hop. Check out her gorgeous website HERE  featuring original artwork in the header and her new release Haven, my current read. Here are my questions and answers about my new contemporary military romance, Search & Rescue, for the blog hop.
 
 
1: What is the working title of your book(s)?

Search & Rescue

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

The story just popped in my head demanding to be written while I was in the middle of NaNoWri Mo. Never did finish that story.

3: What genre does your book come under?

Search & Rescue is a contemporary military romance.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

The hero is an almost-thirty, battle hardened Army Ranger – maybe Chris Hemsworth from the Avengers.  The heroine – Kirsten Dunst. I’m not very good with this.

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

After escaping captivity in Afghanistan, Army Ranger Captain Taylor Jackson carries out a frantic search and rescue for his missing fiancée, Lexie Carter.

6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?

Search & Rescue was recently published by Secret Cravings Publishing.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Less than two weeks. Didn’t need to do any plotting, they story was already there.

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

None that I know of, but it’s not my usual genre.

 

9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

 

The characters just popped up and I HAD to write the story. I was a nurse in the Army Reserve and was familiar with Army protocols. I set the story in my hometown – Mobile, AL – so there wasn’t a lot of research there.

 

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

 

The heroine, Lexie Carter, is a wealthy orphan – a college coed – raised by two former Green Berets who are gay which creates some interesting situations between Taylor and the guardians. 

 

I’d like to write a freebie quickie about the aftermath of Search & Rescue and maybe a short on the guardians – they are just too much fun to let go and they certainly have a story to tell.  

 

You can read an excerpt or buy Search & Rescue at Secret Cravings Publishing or Amazon.

 

Now I’m tagging Champagne author Graeme Brown with his edgy paranormal, The Pact HERE.  

 

Rita Bay Rita Bay’s Webpage & Blog

Release Day for Search & Rescue!

Today I’m celebrating the RELEASE DAY for SEARCH & RESCUE, my first contemporary military romance. Search & Rescue is my first novella published by Secret Cravings Publishing. I used my experiences as a military dependent and a nurse in the U. S. Army Reserve to write the story. Here’s the blurb:

Not every search ends with a rescue. One look at Captain Taylor Jackson at a college Career Day and wealthy coed Lexie Carter knew he was The One.  In six months they’re engaged and the wedding set for after graduation. When Taylor was reported killed in action in Afghanistan two months before their wedding, Lexie was devastated, her hopes for a family of her own crushed.  Can she survive a future without Taylor or will she succumb to her grief?

Army Ranger Taylor Jackson falls hard for young Lexie Carter. He introduces her to passion and she teaches him to love. While on a mission in Afghanistan, he is captured by insurgents. When Taylor finally escapes and returns home on what should have been their wedding day, Lexie has disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Can he find her in time to rescue her from her fate?

Search & Rescue is an erotic military romance that is rated four flames by the publisher because of the subject matter – language, wartime violence, and sex. There’s a bit of humor, also, because Lexie’s guardians (two former Green Berets) aren’t exactly happy when she brings Taylor home. Read an excerpt or buy HERE or click the cover.   Rita Bay

World’s of the Imagination 7-7-7 Challenge

Have you ever picked up a novel, opened it to a random page and read a snippet to see if the book was worth reading? During July, the Worlds of the Imagination writers are going to put our books to the ‘snippet test’ with the 7, 7, 7 challenge. We will be posting 7 lines starting from the 7th line of page 7 or 77 of our latest works. Check it out and let us know how we do! (Thanks to Audra Middleton for this “snippet.”)

Today is my day at the WOTI Challenge. Since I’m first, I’m sharing a snippet of my next Champagne release .”Finding Eve,” Book 2 of The Lyons Tales from Champagne Books in September. Click the icon to visit.

Tomorrow, my new release from Secret Cravings Publishing. Rita Bay

Moonday’s Heroic Hunk in History: William Harvey Carney

William Harvey Carney (February 29, 1840 – December 8, 1908) was the first African American soldier to be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Fort Wagner. His actions at Fort Wagner preceded those of any other black recipient but he was not presented with the honor until nearly 37 years later. He was the second African-American to be awarded the Medal, the first recipient having been Robert Blake, in 1864.
Sgt. Carney was born a slave in Norfolk, Virginia but escaped through the Underground Railroad to join his father in Massachusetts. They bought the rest of the family and settled in Massachusetts where Carney joined the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry where he participated in the Battle of Fort Wagner. He saved the colors (the flag), even though suffering multiple wounds. He eventually made his way back to the Union lines, and turned over the colors to another survivor of the 54th, modestly saying “Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!”
Citation: When the color sergeant was shot down, this soldier grasped the flag, led the way to the parapet, and planted the colors thereon. When the troops fell back he brought off the flag, under a fierce fire in which he was twice severely wounded.
After the war he worked at a post office and was a guest speaker at public events until his death in 1908.

Tomorrow, Another MOH winner. Rita Bay

Moonday’s Heroic Hunk in History:

THOMAS W. CUSTER, brother of the famous General George Armstrong Custer, was one of only nineteen recipients of TWO medals of honor. Thomas W. Custer, Company B, 6th Michigan Cavalry, was only 18 years old when he earned his first Medal of Honor on May 10, 1863, at Namozine Church, Virginia, by capturing an enemy flag. Two years later, Custer captured a Confederate color guard, in spite of being shot in the place.
Riding up to his brother Brevet Major General George A. Custer, the lieutenant told him, “The Rebels shot me, but I have their flag.” He turned to return to the fight, but the general, realizing the severity of Tom’s wounds, ordered him to the rear. His brother refused, so the young major general placed him under arrest and had him escorted to the aid station. Custer died on Jun. 25, 1876 with his brother in battle at Little Big Horn. He is buried at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery.

Next Week,  A Greek Hero              Rita Bay

Moonday’s Heroic Hunk: The First Medal of Honor Recipient

The Memorial Day observance brought to mind the military heroes who defend our nation. In particular, the Medal of Honor recipients who distinguish themselves by conspicuous bravery should be remembered for their bravery. For the next couple of weeks, I’m blogging at ritabay.com about the Medal of Honor and those who received it. Today, our first hero is the first recipient of the Medal of Honor, James Parrott.

In July 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed law into law the Army version of the Medal of Honor. Jacob Wilson Parrott (July 17, 1843–December 22, 1908) was the first recipient of the Medal of Honor, the new military award presented by the United States Department of War to Parrott and other Union Army soldiers who participated in the Great Locomotive Chase in 1862 during the American Civil War (1861–1865).

Under the command of civilian scout/spy James J. Andrews, a group of Union soldiers stole the “General” locomotive in what is now Kennesaw GA and headed north toward Chattanooga TN with the intent of cutting Huntsville AL off from military reinforcements by rail. They were captured and all the prisoners were tried in military courts, or courts-martial. Fourteen were hanged. The remaining raiders worried about also being executed attempted to escape and eight succeeded.

The remaining six were held as prisoners of war and exchanged for Confederate prisoners on March 17, 1863. Parrott was taken to Washington, D.C. where he met President Abraham Lincoln. Parrott who had been physically abused as a prisoner, was awarded the first Medal of Honor. He was presented with the Medal of Honor by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. He served with the Union Army for the rest of the war. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1863 after the Battle of Stones River and as a first lieutenant in 1864. Later, all but two of the other soldiers also received the medals, with posthumous awards to families for those who had been executed.

Parrott’s Citation Read: One of the 19 of 22 men (including 2 civilians) who, by direction of Gen. Mitchell (or Buell) penetrated nearly 200 miles south into enemy territory and captured a railroad train at Big Shanty, Ga., in an attempt to destroy the bridges and tracks between Chattanooga and Atlanta. Date of issue: March 25, 1863.

Parrott returned to Kenton, Ohio after the war and worked as a cabinet maker and ran a stone quarry out south of Kenton, Ohio. Parrott suffered a heart attack and died while walking home from the county courthouse in Kenton, Ohio in 1908.

Tomorrow, the Great Locomotive Chase. Rita Bay