Special Guest Sharon Hamilton Author of Accidental Seal

Today I have a special treat.  Sharon Hamilton’s fantastic SEAL books were just released and I’ve invited her join us and share.  But let me tell you a bit about her first. :)

Sharon loves all things paranormal: Angels, Dark Angels, Watchers, Guardians, Upogenie and Vampires. She also has developed a series of hot romantic suspense Navy SEAL stories. Her characters follow a spicy road to redemption through passion and true love—not exactly what they taught you in Sunday School!  

She is represented by agent Jill Marsal, and has finaled in several erotic, contemporary,  paranormal and single title contests over the past three years. She regularly participates in four RWA and California Writer chapters, and two blogs.

An avid organic vegetable and flower gardener, Sharon and her husband live in the Wine Country in Northern California, where most of her stories take place.

And now, please welcome, Sharon...

GIVE ME SOME OF THAT STRONG SILENT TYPE OF ALPHA

Writing about Navy SEALs  has been a fun journey for me. I’ve previously had dark angels and 300 year old vampires as my alpha males. But writing SEALs, those real-life guys who are trained so that hesitation is drummed out of them, has been even more satisfying.

I’m lucky too that a lot of these SEAL stories the public hears are mainly made up of rumor and speculation. A good thing for a writer! We will never truly know what goes on in their community, but I can describe it through a fictionalized story. The public wants all the gory details. As a romance writer, I want to give the story behind these modern day super heroes, and I get to make up the details.

I also experimented this time with a short novella, bringing the two characters in Accidental SEAL almost together, but not quite. The idea was that readers would like the short so much, they would want to read the full length book next. So far, it’s working.

What I try to capture in the SEAL series is how this well-trained hero can handle dangerous situations, but is thrown completely outside his comfort zone when it comes to a long-term committed love. These guys aren’t celebate, after all. We find our hero, Kyle Lansdowne, coming back from recent deployment, knowing that he is tired of the one night stands, and perhaps beginning to think about something long term. Or pushing the thought out of his mind completely, steadying on a single life. He is heroic because he thinks he isn’t capable of a long term relationship, and doesn’t want to hurt an innocent women. So he’ll bear the loneliness in silence.

The SEAL community is very strong. Families get together, children are raised together. They band together in times of stress and tragedy and celebrate life together. In writing these stories, I get to show this secret community, in a fictionalized manner, so that the reader gets to experience something of what it is like.

I hope you enjoy these stories of brave young men so worthy of our praise.

Click Here to Purchase

Accidental SEAL:

Christy Nelson embarks on her new career in Real Estate by holding her first open house. Entering the wrong house, by accident, she finds the nude sleeping body of a young man.

Navy SEAL Kyle Lansdowne, on a mission to find his AWOL Team buddy, is staying at his buddy’s home while investigating the disappearance.  When someone breaks in, he takes protective measures. He doesn’t expect to find that a beautiful young woman is responsible for his teammate’s abduction.

What starts out as a meeting by accident becomes a hot affair neither one is ready for. Kyle is conflicted about getting Christy involved in his mission, but his hand is forced when he learns the same San Diego gang responsible for his teammate’s abduction has kidnapped her.

Battling a cadre of dirty law enforcements hell-bent on getting military equipment, especially state-of-the-art firepower, Kyle is forced to admit that he would be willing to die to protect her.

Excerpt:
Chapter 1
*Adult Content*

Christy Nelson worked to keep her breakfast down when Wayne Sommerville came lurking around her cubicle. He’d pestered her every day since she’d been introduced as the newest agent at the Patterson Realty sales meeting three days ago. His soft, flabby torso was repulsive, and those distinctive hair plugs, installed at an angle on Wayne’s shiny salmon-colored forehead, were distracting. Her gaze followed rows of black dots receding into his dyed-black hair. A life-sized version of Mr. King’s Chuckie.

Wayne winked at her again, and her blood turned to ice.

His horse teeth and foul breath could raise the dead. He’d made it clear he wanted to mentor her, but she suspected he had more in mind than real estate contracts and short sales. He was persistent, though. She’d give him that.

He draped his bulky frame against the back of her chair. She wanted to duck for cover. The eerie need to protect her neck put her radar on high alert as she visualized violence and fangs.

“I’ve coached quite a few of the new agents over the years.” Wayne’s look lasted too long—hungry and inappropriate. Christy didn’t trust one single hair plug.

“Well,” she said, resisting the urge to escape, “I do need a good open house.

Now, why did I say that?

“I’ve got the perfect one! Great little short sale.” Wayne launched into his routine, oblivious to the fact she’d become dizzy from the smell of the garlic fries he’d apparently had for lunch. “The house is a little rough around the edges, but in a super neighborhood. The sellers are about to lose it.” He threw her a mock frown. She could see him singing a hymn, asking for money on TV.

Perhaps a second career.

“No sign on the lawn yet and it’s not even on the computer,” he continued. “You can snatch all those buyers for yourself.” He leaned in and whispered like it was a national secret. “And I could help you with the paperwork. You know, show you how it’s done.”

Male alert. If he touches me, he’ll get a knee to his groin. She swung her chair to angle for quick action.

He stepped back just in time. She exhaled, grateful for the distance.

“Doing short sales is a real art,” he added with a frown, stiffening. His shiny suit fit like one of those unfortunate animals in a teddy bear factory, stuffed into its fur. The silver glint of the fabric reminded her of fish scales.

Run, Christy, run. You could be the one who got away…

She had never in her life paid a favor with sex and wasn’t about to start. She would hold his new listing open, but only if she could do it without owing him.

Besides, she had to do something to drum up business. Her move to San Diego marked the beginning of her new professional career as a Realtor. Being the top salesperson at Madame M’s lingerie boutique on Maiden Lane in San Francisco had only barely paid the bills. She’d loved Madame and had thrived as a sales clerk, but had recognized the time for a real career and had trained in Real Estate, then moved to San Diego after her mother had passed on and left her condo to Christy.

Though she’d been was comfortable selling to the rich and powerful of the City by the Bay, Wayne, even if he was half the success he claimed he was, made her nervous.

This is a very bad idea. Just say no.

“Fine.” It sounded like it came from the cubicle next to her.

But then she spotted Wayne’s dimples and canines.

Oh. My. God. I’ve just said yes.

Christy’s red Honda looked like a wet cherry lollipop, shined and polished to perfection. Cute and shiny on the outside, but hot and sweltering on the inside. Sitting in the cramped front seat, she stopped and squinted to make out house numbers, comparing them to the address Wayne had minutely scribbled on the back of his business card. Then she found it.

The house appeared nicer than he’d described. The advertised price, he said, was the lowest in the neighborhood, going back ten years. Hopefully she’d pick up a young couple out looking for their first home, complete with good credit and a wad of cash from Mommy and Daddy. Wouldn’t it be great to make a sale on her very first day on the job?

She parked in the driveway, popped the trunk, and brought out three sandwich signs with the Patterson Realty logo, on loan from Wayne. He was out with his family today. She hoped the Somervilles didn’t stop by since she’d feel uncomfortable looking into the eyes of Wayne’s wife, a woman he probably cheated on and would again, if he got the chance. One of Christy’s other rules: no married men. She wasn’t about to change that, either.

A perfumed late spring breeze blew softly against her face and neck, sending a thrill up her spine. The air ripened with possibility. This was her favorite time of year.

The walkway looked freshly swept. After placing one sign in the front yard, she stacked the other two beside the front door and inserted Wayne’s key. While the lock accepted the new shiny silver metal, the tumblers stayed in place, frozen.

Way to go Wayne. Waste my time and give me the wrong key!

Irritation bubbled, ruining her cheerful, spring-induced mood. She yanked on the front handle and pushed against it out of frustration. It opened.

“Anybody home?” Her voice wavered like that of a small child. She waited. No answer.

Christy stepped inside, onto a striped cotton rug lying cockeyed behind the front door. The smell of fried food hit her. She walked across the wooden floor of the living room, her stilettos clacking. She cracked open a window. Air scented by fresh blossoms poured in, diluting the smells of ordinary life. She grabbed the newspaper tossed on top of an ottoman and folded the crinkling pages under her arm, aiming for the kitchen to find a trashcan. She passed the dining room table, which was strewn with a map of the area, a couple of felt-tipped pens, and a letter-sized yellow lined tablet. She collected these items as well and made her way to the kitchen.

Christy threw the tablet and newspaper onto the tiled countertop and placed her hands on her hips to assess the scene before her. She squinted at several days’ worth of dishes piled high in the sink. Next to it, a large stainless steel bowl sat encrusted with dark green and purple leaves at the bottom, evidence of a salad—several days old.

Maybe Wayne had neglected to tell the sellers about the open house. She decided it was entirely possible. “How can you expect to sell a house this way?” she muttered, then sighed and removed her jacket, slinging it over the back of a clean-looking kitchen chair. She decided to take a tour of the place, checking for other things to clean or straighten before she’d be ready to hold it open.

But this house was such a mess, an uneasy darkness chilled her. She tiptoed down the carpeted hallway, feeling like an intruder, past empty rooms, to a closed door at the end.

Probably the master bedroom.

Something about the whole scene was strange. These people left without cleaning up dinner from several days before, in a hurry. She’d been told short sale houses rarely showed pride of ownership, but this felt absolutely creepy, like she’d stepped on someone’s grave. The hair at the back of her neck bristled as she gripped the doorknob. She lightly tapped with her other hand, and then opened the door.

A naked body lay on the bed.

Holy crap.

Hesitant to look at first, she pushed through her fear. She saw movement. Tanned skin, a muscular male chest that rose and fell. Earphones were wired to a phone balanced on his open palm. The man was very much alive, and healthy. Her eyes drifted further down to a dusting of dark brown hair that led to an impossible-to-miss erection. His penis stood at attention, like a deep rose-colored light standard under a matching fireman’s hat of deeper pink.

Blood pumped to her ears, making them ring, as her heart raced. A wave of anger coursed over her at the realization she had been the victim of a very sick joke perpetrated by Wayne and one of his disgusting friends.

Christy silently closed the door and tiptoed back down the carpeted hallway, her three-inch heels wobbling on the thick, padded surface. Her knees knocked against each other as she picked up speed, her anger building. She grabbed her jacket, keys, and purse, and crossed the living room, headed toward the front door. She was almost free.

Christy wouldn’t give the prankster the satisfaction of knowing she had even seen him. She wanted to stomp her foot and kick something through the window. This was Wayne’s doing.

That sonofabitch and his lopsided plugs will pay for this.

She pulled the door handle and was rewarded by the smells of a warm spring day bleeding through the inch-wide crack she’d created. An enormous hand and forearm came from behind her and slammed the door shut. She saw a familiar blue-green tattoo of some animal tracks on his muscled forearm just before his other hand gripped her mouth. Callused fingers pinched the sides of her cheeks. The grip hurt.

Giveaway!

Sharon is giving a Kindle copy of SEAL Encounter to everyone who comments!  So, leave a note and get a taste of these great books!

Click for Amazon Link

This is a private glimpse into the hearts and minds of these fictional SEALs, their community, and the women who are lucky enough to be loved by them. Their brotherhood, loyalty and mission to protect and defend, sometimes at great personal cost, is what makes them heroes. They do so quietly, not seeking public recognition. 

Where you can find Sharon:

Sharon's Blog 

Sharon's Website

Facebook

Twitter

Check out Sharon's other books:

Heavenly Lover    Underworld Lover    Honeymoon Bite 

Accidental SEAL   SEAL Encounter   

Thank you so much for being with us, Sharon!

Until next time, may your dreams be magical.  

      Charlene