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Monday, June 11, 2018

Heart of a SEAL by Dixie Lee Brown - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host fellow Oregonian Dixie Lee Brown and her new book, “Heart of a SEAL”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Dixie and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!


Heart of a SEAL
by Dixie Lee Brown

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GENRE: Romantic Suspense

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BLURB:

They’re brothers in arms, Navy SEALS risking their lives for their country… and the women they love.

This is Luke Harding’s story.

Six months in a desert hellhole taught Navy SEAL Luke Harding things he never wanted to learn about life and death. Only tender memories of the beautiful brunette he met a few weeks before his deployment helped get him through the torturous days and nights. Back in the States after a perilous rescue, physically and emotionally damaged, Luke’s about to plunge into a new kind of war. In a seemingly bucolic Idaho town, Sally Duncan faces real—and unpredictable—danger.

All Sally ever wanted was a safe place to raise her nine-year-old daughter. Her identity hidden behind a façade of secrets and lies, can she trust Luke—a man she barely knows—with the truth? Even as they give in to long-denied passion, a killer with a personal vendetta is setting an ambush that will leave them praying for a miracle and fighting for the future they may not live to see.

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EXCERPT ONE:


“Are you Petty Officer Second Class Luke Harding?” The man in battle gear knelt beside him.

As hard as he tried, Luke couldn’t make a sound—or even nod his head. All he could do was stare until his eyes misted, and he squeezed his eyelids shut so he wouldn’t humiliate himself.

They know my name. Somebody knows who I am. Gratitude washed over him even as sorrow intruded into his momentary peace. Except for two short weeks, he could have celebrated with Ian.

The warrior reached for Luke’s hand, gripping it firmly. “It’s okay, Son. You stay with me. You hear me, Sailor? That’s an order.” He leaned over Luke and there was understanding in his eyes. “We’re here to get you home alive, and failure is not an option. You copy that?”

Luke would have smiled if he could have. Did the guy know the phrase he uttered so effortlessly was the only thing holding Luke together?

“Medic!” the man yelled over his shoulder, and two seconds later another warrior stuck his head into Luke’s space.

It was getting harder to breathe. His rasping and gurgling grew louder and filled his ears.

“Chest wound.” The second man applied pressure, none too gently, to the hole in Luke’s torso.

Jesus, you stupid SOB! Luke would have given anything for the strength to shove him away, while using every four letter word he knew, but the most he could manage was a pained groan.

“Hang in there.” The first man pulled Luke’s attention from the medic. “I know you’re in pain. The chopper will land any second, and we’ll get you onboard. Next stop—a nice clean hospital and then…stateside. We’re going to give you the good stuff so you can sleep through this next part. You’re going to make it, Sailor, so start planning your homecoming.”

Sally. The image of the sweet brunette he’d promised to return to flashed in Luke’s mind. He barely felt the prick of the needle before his eyes fluttered closed on his last memory.

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GUEST POST:

Thanks for stopping by the Fabulous and Brunette Blog site. I’m Luke Harding, and I have something I’d like to get off my chest.

Life is a constant learning process, and that’s a good thing because the minute you stop learning new things—well, that’s when you get left behind, lamenting by-gone days when you could pump a gallon of gas for less than a buck—or some foolishness like that.

We may not have met, but you can call me Luke. I was a Navy SEAL up until about two years ago. A few of you might have read about me and some of my friends in Dixie Lee Brown’s Heart of a SEAL, released recently. Pull up a chair, if you’ve got some time. I’d like to tell you what I learned from the most important person in my life.

It’s not all about me!

My last deployment to Iraq didn’t go quite the way we expected. Returning from a successful mission, one of our choppers was shot down. Another SEAL, Ian Matthias, and I were the only survivors, which was bad enough, but then we were captured and held hostage in a filthy terrorist stronghold. Those were the darkest days of my life, but Ian and I had each other, and we managed to keep our spirits up. Until they killed him…and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop them.

Life got hard after that. Long days of mind games and torture—longer nights of cold, loneliness and pain. Hatred drove me. Hatred and the tattered picture of Sally and her daughter, Jen, gave me a reason to live, despite being critically wounded in the rescue operation that brought me home.

Meanwhile, Sally, my sunshine and the reason I didn’t go stark raving mad, went through her own hell. Her torture was mental and emotional. Going to bed every night, not knowing if I was alive or dead—not knowing which to pray for. Crying herself to sleep because she couldn’t stand the thought of what might be happening to me. Trying to explain my disappearance to her nine-year-old daughter without shattering Jen’s innocence.

To make matters worse, when I arrived stateside, crushed in body and spirit, I couldn’t face her. I sent her away without a word of explanation. Always thinking about myself. Never giving a thought to what she and Jen, my brother Garrett, my father or friends and fellow SEALs were wrestling with in the quiet hours of the morning while they worried…about me.

The epiphany hit me hard one day when Sally, Jen and I were driving down a backroad in Idaho. Though I’d been the prisoner, trying to survive in that hellhole, their suffering was equally unconscionable, if not more so. It took Sally’s shattered expression and the resolve in her beautiful eyes not to let one more tear fall as she told me she wouldn’t allow me to hurt her daughter ever again. I’d have had to be blind not to see what my imprisonment and the wounds that nearly took my life had done…to her…as she waited halfway around the world, hoping to hear I’d be coming home. Until that moment, my self-absorption had known no bounds. I’d given no thought to the sacrifice made by loved ones left behind to keep the home fires burning, alone.

Seeing the world through Sally’s eyes started a whole new chapter in my life. First and foremost, I need to make sure Sally never spends another night alone and scared—that she never has to wonder where I am or if I’m safe—that she knows I’ve got her back, just like she had mine through a worn and faded photograph.

After talking it over with Sally and with input from Jen, we decided to do more for families separated by military service—specifically spouses and children of active service members who put their lives on hold for our country. Here are seven ways our new family plans to spread the love:

·         Join with local churches or civic groups and volunteer to perform maintenance and minor repairs at the homes of active duty military spouses.

·         Offer to watch the kids of families we’ve become acquainted with through such outreach, while the spouse goes shopping, gets a manicure or meets friends for coffee.

·         Mentor a young person whose parent is overseas.

·         Give an anonymous gift card for a meal out, a movie, a tank of gas…or?

·         Remember a child’s birthday with a small gift.

·         Hire a veteran. (MacGyver, Coop, Travis and I are starting a private security company. Travis says it’s the wave of the future, whatever that means.)

·         Check out various organizations and support ones that help veterans re-enter civilian life, get a job and succeed after military service.

To all the service members and veterans reading this, Sally, Jen and I say: “Thank you for your service.” It’s the least we can do.

To the rest of you, thanks for stopping by and reading the post. I’m sure there are many more things we could have included in the list. Feel free to leave your ideas in a comment.

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AUTHOR BIO:


Dixie Lee Brown lives and writes in Central Oregon, inspired by gorgeous scenery and at least three hundred sunny days a year. Having moved from South Dakota as a child to Washington, Montana and then to Oregon, she feels at home in the west. She resides with two dogs and a cat, who are currently all the responsibility she can handle. Dixie works fulltime as a bookkeeper. When she's not writing or working, she loves to read, enjoys movies, and if it were possible, she’d spend all of her time at the beach. She is also the author of the Trust No One romantic suspense series, published by Avon Impulse.

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CONNECT WITH DIXIE:

Website:

Facebook Page:

Facebook Group – Street Team:

Twitter:

BookBub:

Goodreads Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page:

Amazon Author Page:

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle:

Barnes and Noble:

Kobo:

Apple iBooks:

Google Play:

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Dixie will be awarding a $30 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

21 comments:

  1. I enjoyed getting to know your book and thanks for the chance to win :)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and following the tour. Good luck!

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  2. Thanks so much for hosting "Luke" and Heart of a SEAL again, Ally!

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  3. I definitely need to add this book to my reading list.

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    1. Thanks, Kim! I hope you will. Thanks for stopping in and reading the post!

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  4. Hi love the cover of this need to finish reading it!!!

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    1. Thanks, Sandra. I was happy with the job my publisher did on the cover too! I hope you get time to finish it soon. Thanks for coming by.

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    1. Thanks, Rita! I think that's the first time for this particular excerpt. Thanks for reading it!

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  6. Sounds like my kind of book, thanks for sharing :)

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    1. You're welcome, Victoria. I'm glad you liked the teaser!

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  7. Good luck with the release!

    --Trix

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  8. Congrats on the release. I hope you have a great tour. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com

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    1. Thanks, Joseph. The tour has been great and I've met such nice people. It's a good way to connect with readers who've never read my books, as well as reconnect with old friends!

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  9. An excellent post and interview.
    I look forward to more with Luke and his friends.
    Dixie's books are excellent.

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    1. Aw...thanks so much, Chele. Luke's friend, MacGyver, has his own story releasing October 9th! I hope you'll check it out as well.

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  10. What a great cover and I would love to read your book.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and reading the post, Bridgett!

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  11. I really enjoyed reading the excerpt, thank you!

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