Lindsay McKenna Winter Newsletter 2013
Is it cold enough for you in February! Brrrrr….. Here in Arizona, we get 60 to 70 degrees during the day and 50’s in the night. And no snow. I’m not rubbing it in, but this is one the reasons I live in a desert state.
I’ve got LOTS of ongoing news to share with you. I’ll try to compartmentalize it so it doesn’t sound confusing or mix you up. In my last Newsletter, I talked about the Black Jaguar Squadron. I gave you the books that are on that list. Now, on February 1, 2013, the next book, BEYOND VALOR, HRS, comes out. It’s actually a ‘bridge’ book to a new military romance series I’ve created and have written eight books for already.
This next series I had referred to as Operation: Valkyrie. But then, I thought up a BETTER title for the series (I think). I talked it over with my patient editors at Harlequin and they loved it too. So, forget Operation: Valkyrie. Just know that Operation: Shadow Warriors, is replacing it. This term is a black ops term, one used by US Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces, Army Delta Force because it is about being in the shadows quietly doing their work to protect all of us.
So, let’s hope I’ve not confused you :-). BEYOND VALOR is the first book I’ve written about women in direct combat. And was it any surprise when Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense, in late January, threw open all the combat careers to women in the service? Not me! I’ve been writing about my heroines who are in constant combat in Apache helicopters in the Black Jaguar Squadron!
Now, with BEYOND VALOR, this is a ‘boots on the ground’ novel. I’ve have a video trailer on the front page, an excerpt from the book, so check it out. The heroine, a US Navy corpsman who is a woman, has taken a year’s worth of combat training so she’s of use in the Marine Company she get assigned too. Judging from the rave reviews its garnering in January, before its release, have been enthusiastic! RT Reviews, for example, gave it a 4 1/2 stars, their highest rating and said, “McKenna steadily ratchets up the tension throughout the story as Luke and Megan lie day to day in dangerous, war ravaged Afghanistan. A fresh plot and a good blend of romance and action make this an amazing read.” A Goodread’s review by Susan Frank, gave it five stars, their highest rating. She said, “I love Lindsay McKenna’s military romances and this was another top notch book. Megan is a Trayhern, and as such has followed in the family tradition of military service. She is also a healer and nurturer so she chose to train as a nurse and become a combat medic. She is part of a group that assigns women to combat units so that they can interact with Afghan women who are forbidden to speak to men who are not family members. Her presence also makes things safer for the men of the unit.”
Rhonda from Goodreads also reviewed BEYOND VALOR and gave it five stars. She said:
“This novel is full of action and drama, strong characters, explains pretty good the life the Afghans villagers must face with different factions willing to kill anyone who does not believe like them. Some of the things that we take for granted they have to fight for. I was drawn into the story and did not want to put the book down till I had finished it.”
Harriet Klausner, a long time romance reviewer on Amazon.com gave it 5 stars out of 5 stars. She says:
“The latest Black Jaguar Squadron military romance (see His Duty To Protect and Operation: Forbidden) is a great tale due to the deep look at daily survival of combat medics in the field. The Afghani villagers bring the freshness with their fear of the marine and the Taliban. Action-packed, readers will appreciate Lindsay McKenna’s excellent forward deployed romantic thriller.”
Judith A. Meece Kendric, on my Facebook page wrote:
“I just finish reading…Beyond Valor….as always I love reading your book….I got a surprise in this story, a twist that I was not looking for. I won’t say more, in case some of your readers have not read it yet. I’m looking forward to reading about the Shadow Warriors… Thanks for the wonderful ride :-).”
I walk away with the knowledge that my women (and male) readers are NOT going to shy away from my coming stories in HQN and Harlequin Romantic Suspense (HRS) that are about military women who are on the ground, fighting alongside their male counterparts. The US military has had ten years of watching women in combat (unofficially) in Iraq and Afghanistan. Panetta would not have thrown out the law about barring women in combat if they hadn’t done a good job. And so, I’ve been lucky in the timing on BEYOND VALOR coming out just as this announcement came down the line. And it does show a woman in combat with all the reality of what it’s really like, the stresses, the tests and challenges coming from the enemy as well as those inside her own Marine company who don’t think she can do the job a man can when the chips are down. Read the book and let me know what you think.
With BEYOND VALOR paving the way for Shadow Warriors series, it also is standing at an important fulcrum point with Panetta’s announcement. He said the black ops branches (SEALs, Special Forces, Delta Force) had ninety day to tell him why women shouldn’t be in their ranks as well. I can tell you right now they ALL, in one voice, will say women can’t do the job, if for no other reason, the weight bearing loads they must carry (usually 65 pounds but can run up to 120 pounds upon occasion).
Shadow Warriors is about this section of the mandate by the Defense Department (synchronistically). My new series deals with military women being part of this operation created out of the Pentagon. Forty women volunteers undergo rigorous training at Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton and then are assigned to one of the black ops group. They will have a story to tell.
The hallmark of Shadow Warriors, as I’ve already told readers who are on my Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eileen.nauman, is I’m taking my gloves off on my writing. I’ve often pulled a punch in my military romance books, thinking my readers couldn’t take it, but I want to stretch my wings as a writer and create at full capacity. These books are going to be visceral, hard hitting, gritty, realistic, highly sensual, hot love scenes, action, suspense and romance as you’ve never seen me write before. So buckle up, put your helmet on, your Kevlar vest and get ready, as the SEALs say, “Rock it out!”
Do give me feedback on BEYOND VALOR. You can pick it up at www.harlequin.com. Just go to Harlequin Romantic Suspense and you’ll find it there. Send your reflections to me. Your voice counts as it always has.
Happy Valentine’s Day!