Happy summer! If you’re in a part of the world experiencing record-breaking heat, please stay safe. Otherwise, I hope you’re enjoying the new season (happy winter if you’re in the southern hemisphere).
For military families, summer often means moving season. You know, new home, new friends, new streets to learn…
When we first moved to Dayton, Ohio, I got lost while test driving a used car. We’d only been there a few weeks, so I didn’t really know my way around. This was also pre-GPS, and before most of us had even basic cell phones. My husband had stayed at the lot with the kids while I pulled out onto the busy road, took a right at the next light, and then another right, expecting it to take me back in a big rectangle.
Wrong.
After forty-five minutes of mild panic on country-adjacent roads, I somehow found my way back to the car lot, a very stressed out husband, and a seriously annoyed salesperson. Which is how we ended up with a beater of a Camry with a soft clutch and a battery that kept dying. 😭
Behind the Scenes
I’m starting a monthly update to share some behind-the-scenes peeks into my books. It’s how the sausage is made, but hopefully more appetizing.
And since nothing says summer vacation like a jungle paradise, I thought I’d give you the scoop on the first book I set in a Caribbean jungle, Blind Ambition (Men of Steele #2).
When I wrote Blind Fury (MOS #1), I wasn’t thinking about creating a series, but then I fell in love with the world and characters and wanted to write more for them. So, I tried to center the second book on Tara and Dan, who’d played pivotal roles. They did not work together romantically, despite me sort of trying to set that up in book one. 😭
My plan was for her to get taken hostage during a labor dispute in a Caribbean country and for Dan to come to the rescue. Sounds cool, right?
But, nope.
Then I tried to pair her with newcomer Scott Kramer and that fell flat. (Just like in real life, you can’t force chemistry.) So, I gave up on poor Tara for a while and let her mature through the series until book 5. And I loved Scott, so I found the perfect heroine for him in book 3.
Sounds wacky, but it was part of my learning process in the early days. I think I’m better at understanding my characters than I used to be, and I’m not so worried about writing quickly as I was back then either (sorry!).
Dan Molina did get to be the hero in the second book after all though, and I love his story. It’s a second-chance romance wrapped up in a jungle adventure, and I had a blast with it. Alexa really puts Dan through the wringer, but she has her reasons, and I think it makes their happy ending even sweeter.
There are kisses in the rain, feats of strength, so much yearning, forced proximity, he falls first, and plenty of danger.
If you’re looking for a hot summer book with a tough heroine and a sexy-as-hell hero on the run together, Blind Ambition is it. And it introduces most of the cast of the rest of the series. This is where the men (and women) of Steele Security really come together.
Learn more about any book by checking out its book page from the menu or Romantic Suspense Books by Series.
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