Today is the
anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, when nearly 3,000 innocent people were
murdered. On the day it happened, in 2001, Jack and I were far away from the
events, in California. We had called home (Virginia) and Jack’s mom told us
that “a plane flew into the World Trade center.” We were getting ready to drive
to San Diego for a conference and hadn’t turned on the news, so we thought
maybe a small plane had flown into one of the towers. We naively set off on our
trip anyway, turning on the radio once we were heading south on I-5. By then,
the second plane had hit and as we listened the Pentagon was attacked. Horror
struck the more we listened, and by the time we’d driven an hour or so, we
decided to turn around and go back to San Francisco. We lived across the street
from City Hall and a check with our apartment manager let us know that a good
bit of the street was cordoned off for security. Once home, we settled in to
watch the disaster on TV.
Of course,
shortly after the attack our military took center stage in retaliation. My dad,
a 24-year veteran of the Navy, never wavered in his love of country and the
Navy. Had he been a young man at the time, he would have been first at the
recruiting office on 9/12—his dedication to the U.S. was that strong. I thought
of him while I wrote Naval Maneuvers. I hope I did him justice.
Blurb: Naval Maneuvers
Men and women of the armed forces experience lust and love pretty
much like everyone else. Except, well, there is that uniform. And the
hard-to-resist attraction of "duty, honor, service" as a man might apply
them to a woman's pleasure. All things considered, romance among the military
is a pretty sexy, compelling force for which you'd better be armed, whether
weighing anchor and moving forward into desire, dropping anchor and staying put
for passion, or setting a course for renewed love with anchor home. Explore the
world of love and the military and see just how hot Naval Maneuvers can be.
Buy link:
Amazon Kindle Unlimited
https://www.amazon.com/Naval-Maneuvers-Dee-S-Knight-ebook/dp/B079V62PT3/
Excerpt:
"And
what is your name, pretty?" Mel Crandall addressed the dinosaur bones in
an undertone, bending nearly to face level. The skeleton displayed an open
mouth and rows of fierce, sharp teeth.
"Roger,"
a man standing next to her said in a low voice. Startled, she looked up. Up being the operative word. She stood a
decent five feet ten inches, and he beat her by a good half foot. She studied
him. He ignored her.
The
guy had a solid profile, strong chin, chiseled cheekbones, and a straight back
with muscular shoulders. Short brown hair. He wore glasses and stared straight
ahead, but glasses couldn't disguise the laugh lines that radiated from the
corners of his eyes. His posture was near perfect and he was not overweight, as
evidenced by the trim fit of his jeans and red polo shirt that clung enough to
give evidence of a low body/mass index number.
As a
doctor, she immediately noticed body characteristics before actual looks. But
with this guy, examination in lieu of admiration was hard. Men were often put
off by the fact that she paid attention to whether they looked sallow or
flushed, or if their hands were cold or warm before she "saw" them.
She noticed if a man's eyes were dilated or glittered with fever before she
registered eye color. Dates started with mini examinations before she relaxed
enough to enjoy personalities, but that's just the way she was. Men had to take
it or leave it. Sadly, most left it. Which was why she talked to dinosaurs at
the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History all on her own.
Mel
moved on to the next exhibit, a shorter built specimen but still tall and with
a nasty spiked tail. "I wonder what you looked like," she murmured.
"What color were you, what did you eat, and what's your name?" She
bent to read the exhibit information.
"Gray.
Grass." That same guy had followed her. Rather than having a strong
profile, she was beginning to think he was a weirdo. "Annnd, roger."
Quickly,
Mel moved to the next exhibit. "And you are–"
"Roger."
He
stood beside her again! Mel started to look for a museum guard but saw none.
Great. Planting her hands on her hips, she turned to him. "Stop following
me," she said loudly enough that people in the general area turned to see
what was happening.
The
guy said, "Hold it."
Hold
it? Hold it, as in "Wait a
minute, little lady?" She opened her mouth to lay into him when he turned
and removed his glasses, showing her the richest, most chocolatey brown eyes
she'd ever seen. The words stuck in her mouth.
"I'm
sorry, what?"
In a
lower voice she said, "You're following me from exhibit to exhibit and
talking to me. I want you to stop."
"I
didn't realize…" He wiggled the glasses at her. "I'm working here and
I'm afraid I didn't notice you."
Well.
What was worse, that he was a pervert following her place to place, or that he
wasn't a perv and hadn't even noticed her?
His
brow furrowed while he studied her. "Yes. Yes." Then he shook his
head. "Roger."
Again
with that Roger.
"Gotta
go. Later." Then he smiled at her. "Just a minute, okay?" He
folded the glasses and put them first in a protective case. Squatting, he
placed a briefcase on the floor and opened it. He stored the glass case inside
a pocket. Then he removed something from his right ear—an earbud?—protected it
and also put it in the case.
Mel
watched all of this with curiosity. He expected her to wait for him? What
arrogance. And yet, wait she did. When he stood, holding the case in his left
hand and smiled once more, her heart stuttered. The guy was drop dead
gorgeous—at least to her understanding of the word. Normally, she appreciated
the male form, mostly from a medical viewpoint. This man she enjoyed with pure
pleasure.
And Good
God. He hadn't been talking to her, he'd been talking to whoever was on the
other end of that earbud.
Reviews:
5 Stars: “One short story
after the next in this exciting heart racing book leaves you wanting more of
them. Oh, and you may need a cold shower too. I enjoyed this book a great deal
as I am a sucker for military romances and this one delivers.”
5 Stars: “These short stories
have made me remember the passion between a woman and a man. Inspiring and
heartfelt. A true gift this author has for sharing the beautiful relationship
between a man and a woman.”
5 Stars: “I highly recommend
Naval Maneuvers to readers who enjoy hot romance and humor. Dee S. Knight kept
me turning pages until the end. I long for the next book where men and women
make each other feel whole and dive into the unexpected. You don’t choose who you
love. You just love.”
5 Stars: “Dee has an amazing ability to pull the reader into
the story, so much so, that you live and breathe the lives of the characters
until you reach the end….I'm glad I bought her book and look forward to reading
more from this author. :)”
A little about me:
A
few years ago, Dee S. Knight began writing, making getting up in the morning
fun. During the day, her characters killed people, fell in love, became drunk
with power, or sober with responsibility. And they had sex, lots of sex.
After a while, Dee split her
personality into thirds. She writes as Anne Krist for sweeter romances, and
Jenna Stewart for ménage and shifter stories. All three of her personas are
found on the Nomad Authors website. And all three offer some of the best romance
you can find! Also, once a month, look for Dee’s Charity Sunday blog posts,
where your comment can support a selected charity. Sign up for her newsletter
and have access to free reads.
Author
links:
Website: https://nomadauthors.com
Blog:
http://nomadauthors.com/blog
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/DeeSKnight
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DeeSKnight2018
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/265222.Dee_S_Knight
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B079BGZNDN
Newsletter:
https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/h8t2y6
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/dee-s-knight-0500749
Sweet ‘n Sassy
Divas: http://bit.ly/1ChWN3K
