Hey lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Melanie Hansen and her new book, “Keeping a Warrior”! 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 $25
Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also,
come back daily to interact with Melanie and to increase your chances of
winning!
Thanks for stopping by!
Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!
Keeping a Warrior
by Melanie Hansen
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GENRE: Contemporary Romance
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BLURB:
Devon Lowe is a survivor.
A
survivor of war. Of combat. And of a betrayal by men she considered her
brothers-in-arms. But her trailblazing work as a Cultural Support Team member
working alongside the Navy SEALs is too important for her to back down now.
Fresh
off a painful break-up, Air Force pararescueman Rhys Halloran recognizes
Devon’s trauma for what it is—something that’s left her isolated, but far from
irreparably damaged.
With
Devon’s trust still lying shattered back in Afghanistan, putting her faith in a
man who’s nursing a broken heart isn’t easy. But she’s tired of people making
her feel weak, and Rhys makes her feel anything but, sparking a heated
attraction that was never part of the plan.
With
all eyes on Devon to prove herself in a brutal man’s world, having it all will
mean putting her heart on the line like never before. But when it comes to
Rhys, it’s an uphill battle she’s ready to fight.
Publisher’s Note: Keeping a Warrior deals with topics some readers
may find difficult, including past sexual assault.
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EXCERPT TWO:
Rhys
watched until Devon had disappeared safely into her room, then turned toward
his own with a sigh.
“If
I were you, I’d watch yourself with her.”
The
voice came at Rhys out of the darkness, and he jumped. “Jesus!”
Mullet
stepped out of the shadows where he’d been leaning against the wall. He held up
his phone. “Came out to call my wife, saw you drive up with Lowe.” He paused.
“What were y’all doing?”
None
of your business. “Just talking,” Rhys said tightly. “Unwinding. What’s it to you?”
“Man,
it ain’t nothin’ to me. Just think you should be aware of what you’re dealing
with.”
“We
were just talking,” Rhys emphasized with a slash of his hand. “What exactly am
I ‘dealing’ with?”
“Why
don’t you ask one of the guys she accused of rape? Oh wait, he’s dead.”
Rhys
rocked back on his heels. “What?”
“Yeah,
that first team she was attached to in Kandahar?” Mullet’s voice was hard.
“Lowe started fucking one of the dudes there, and when she found out he was
engaged, she lost it and accused him and two other guys of rape.”
Rhys’s
mouth flapped open and closed uselessly.
“She
was hanging out with them,” Mullet went on. “Drinking with them, you know? A
real party girl. Got into a relationship with this dude, and when he tried to
break it off ’cause of his fiancée, she turned on him, tried to ruin his
career.”
“Where
did you hear this?” Rhys croaked. “Did she tell you this?”
“Nah.”
Mullet shook his head. “You think El-Tee isn’t gonna vet anyone we’re bringing
on board?”
Rhys’s
face went hot with anger. “And then what, our leadership just sat down and
gossiped with you about it, knowing it could destroy unit cohesion before it
even had a chance to form? No way. Try again, and leave El-Tee out of your
bullshit story.”
“Fuck
you with the gossip and the bullshit,” Mullet growled. “All you need to know is
it’s a fact that accusations were made, there was an investigation, and Lowe
was transferred off the team.”
The
team Rhys had been a part of for such a short time. One mission. The mission
where Devon had made such an impression on him.
“It’s
your life, Halloran, but that girl’s trouble, and if I were you, I’d keep it
strictly business.”
He
strode off, leaving Rhys numb with shock. He sucked in a few deep breaths,
horror freezing his blood when he saw Devon standing there, an ice bucket in
her hand, her face white as a sheet.
Oh,
God. She must’ve heard everything.
“Devon.”
Rhys took a step toward her, and she put up a shaking hand to ward him off.
“Just
in case you’re wondering if his facts are true,” she said tonelessly, “they
are.”
Devon’s
knuckles clenched white on the bucket, her lips twisting in a bitter smile. She
shoved open her door, and right before she disappeared inside, she turned to
look back at Rhys.
“Not
all war stories are heroic, you know.”
She
shut the door with a quiet click.
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GUEST POST:
When
most people think of Navy SEALs, they think of heroes—SEAL Team 6, the killing
of Osama bin Laden, or the rescue of Captain Phillips. In romance, SEALs tend
to be portrayed as hard-bodied sex gods in security or bodyguard roles. There
are countless movies about them, books detailing their heroics, and now even a
popular TV show.
My
goal in writing the Loving a Warrior
series was to shine a light on some of the realities of life in the military
beyond the sexiness and heroism. My dad was career Air Force, and my husband
just retired after 25 years in the Navy. During the course of his job, he
worked with SEALs, and he’s still friends with some today. While they’re all
brave, and of course mentally tough, wearing a Trident doesn’t automatically
mean they’re honorable, or even decent human beings. There have been SEALs
accused of war crimes, of drug dealing, of murder, of domestic violence. As
with any other cross-section of humanity, there are weeds in every lawn, even
special operations.
In
KEEPING A WARRIOR, my heroine’s trust is shattered by a small group of
SEALs—the very men she should’ve been able to trust the most, her
brothers-in-arms. The fact that one of them also died in service to his country
almost tears her apart. As my heroine points out, “Not all war stories are
heroic.” It’s true, and the same could be said for those who fight them.
Thanks so much for hosting
me today!
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AUTHOR BIO:
Melanie Hansen doesn’t
get nearly enough sleep. She loves all things coffee-related, including
collecting mugs from every place she’s visited. After spending eighteen years
as a military spouse, Melanie definitely considers herself a moving expert. She
has lived and worked all over the country, and hopes to bring these rich and
varied life experiences to the love stories she gets up in the wee hours to
write. On her off-time, you can find Melanie watching baseball, reading or
spending time with her husband and two teenage sons.
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CONNECT WITH MELANIE:
Website:
Email:
Facebook:
Twitter:
BookBub Author Page:
BookBub Book Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
Kobo:
Apple iBook eBook:
Google Play eBook:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Melanie will be awarding a $25 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 is 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.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!
DeleteWhere do you do most of your writing?
ReplyDeleteI have an office with a recliner, and it's just me, my dogs and my trusty iPad Pro! Nothing fancy :)
DeleteSounds really great.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dale <3
DeleteThanks so much for hosting me today!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, James <3
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
ReplyDelete