I am proud to announce and be part of this momentous event In Amber Easton life.
The release of her new Contemporary Suspense Romance.
RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT
Today is Reckless Endangerment's release day! You can buy a copy now at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/305522#longdescr.
Print copies will be available through Amazon.
As of next week, the book will be available at all major ebook outlets.
But why wait? Go to Smashwords now.
In my new release, Reckless Endangerment, I'm taking on the issues of post-traumatic stress in war veterans and human trafficking in the United States. Sounds romantic, right? Believe me, the love story between Colonel Michael Cedars and Hope Shane takes precedence in this romantic suspense; but the core conflicts are based on real world issues.
PTSD in war veterans isn't new; however, it is finally
accepted as a genuine disorder. My
research for this story included watching programs like NBC's Dateline amongst
others and reading many articles in both magazines and on the internet. There are support groups for marines with
PTSD on Facebook and other programs set up across the country. What used to be an issue that was shoved
aside as "made up" or "not manly to discuss", people are
seeing that seeking help is the best way to combat this very real disorder.
I first became aware of human trafficking when I attended a
documentary called, "The Price of Sex". Wow.
If you haven't seen it, do. It
will blow your mind. The entire theater
sat speechless long after the lights came up, that's how powerful it was. From
that moment, I felt compelled to do something to help these women. I started
researching it, discovered more than I ever thought I'd want to know about what
goes on in the shadows in some of our most beautiful cities.
So how in the world did I figure this could be wrapped
inside a romantic suspense novel? As my
friends will tell you, I'm not one to play it safe. Perhaps that's why I relate to my character,
Hope Shane, and her reckless nature, I don't know. From all of this research, a wounded marine
and a redheaded journalist were born in my mind. They met in a warzone. She was
a war correspondent and he was a commanding officer. But that's their back story...the real story
is what happens back home in Denver, Colorado.
That's usually where the story is...home. The nitty gritty of life isn't always out in
the light. More often than not, what's
real is in shadow, behind closed doors or hidden beneath a smile.
To find out more about human trafficking, check out these
links: http://www.combathumantrafficking.org
To discover more about PTSD
in war veterans: www.ptsd.va.gov
Today
is Reckless Endangerment's release day!
You can buy a copy now at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/305522#longdescr.
Print copies
will be available through Amazon.
As of
next week, the book will be available at all major ebook outlets.
But why wait?
Go to Smashwords now.
A
blurb of Reckless Endangerment:
Heroes come in many forms--soldiers who fall and rise, ordinary
people doing extraordinary things, women who battle for their marriage,
reporters who fight for truth and justice, and men who put it all on the line
for the women they love.
Sometimes heroes fall.
Colonel Michael Cedars is a decorated war hero returning home
from Afghanistan. Wounded, unsure if he’ll walk again, he’s not sure how he
fits in civilian life, and he definitely questions if he wants to remain
married to the feisty redhead, Hope Shane.
Hope’s never been one to play it safe. She met the Colonel while
working as a war correspondent, fell in love with the man in uniform, watched
him get blown up, and isn’t willing to give up on him now.
Back in Denver, Colorado, she’s working as an investigative
reporter who becomes entangled in a human trafficking story. As the danger of
her story intensifies, Hope and Michael are tested more than they ever
imagined. Will Michael be able to see beyond what he’s lost to embrace what
remains? Is he still the man she married or has he become a liability that
could get her killed? Is he still the hero she claims him to be? Will her
reckless pursuit of justice endanger the life they’ve pieced together?
An excerpt:
“Maybe I need to stop trying to hold
on. Maybe you’re right.” Sighing, her
shoulders slumped. “We were this close,”
she held her fingers an inch apart, “to having a life together when everything
blew up in our faces. Literally. What else do I have to lose, right? I already
lost my dignity when I begged those damn bureaucrats to let me see you in
Germany. And when I say begged, I mean I
begged, pleaded, bartered, whatever I could possibly say or do to get in and
they told me that you,” she pointed at him, “said no, you told them I lied about
being married to you. McGee backed you up. I looked like a fool and a liar.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Now you’re doing it again, denying
me. You’d rather sit in this place alone than admit to the world that I’m your
wife. It’s true.” She nodded, gaze gluing him in place. “I gave up my
everything for you, soldier boy. My life. My pride. My dignity. I gave it all
up for you.”
“Why?” he choked out the question. “I
did everything to get you to let me go.
I don’t want you to give up anything for me; can’t you see that? You
were born to be in the spotlight, dodging bullets, charming your way into and
out of trouble. I’m an anchor to you now; you know it but refuse to admit it. I
want you to forget me. Why won’t you let me go?”
She closed her eyes, face tilted
toward the ceiling. “Because maybe I went crazy over there. Maybe we weren’t
this close,” again with the fingers, “to having a life together. Maybe we were
already there. Maybe it wasn’t conventional, but it was real, it was us. Maybe
I misunderstood sex for more. Maybe I thought that our wedding meant as much to
you as it did to me. Maybe I’m the biggest fool to walk planet earth.”
“But now I’m broken so...”
“Yeah, that’s right.” Nodding, she looked away and brushed the back
of her hand over her eyes. “And I’m too
shallow to be the person you need, right? Too superficial? I know the truth. I
know that you should be capable of limited mobility, that you are not trapped
in that chair, that you have sensations in your right leg and have even managed
to stand for a brief period of time here and there. Didn’t you think I’d do
some research on your injuries? I may have kept my distance, but I have a knack
for getting people to talk to me, remember?
Yes, you’re in a wheelchair, but your situation isn’t hopeless. You’re the one who gave up, but for the life
of me I don’t know why. It’s not like
you. You’re a goddamn colonel in the Marine Corps. You don’t surrender, so what’s
going on with you?”
Her words stung. He had heard them for
months now and he didn’t know the answer. He couldn’t explain anything to
anyone, not even himself.
“You need to be in New York or in the
middle of the action. You’re the It Girl, isn’t that what they called you? Headed for a network anchor job one day,
right? Your own show? Watch out Manhattan, here comes Shane. You’ll have them
eating out of your hand within months.”
“Maybe you don’t know me as well as I
thought,” she said with a bitter twist of her mouth. “I’ve been waiting...don’t
you see? I could care less about a network job and you know it.” She finished stuffing the contents into her
bad before standing. “I love you. I thought you loved me, too. Until you can look me in the eye and tell me
you don’t, that you never did, I’ll keep coming back.”
He grabbed the picture frames fro the
sofa cushion where she’d tossed them and looked at the broken glass. Guilt and confusion ate away at his brain.
“Do you have any idea what it’s like
for me not to know what to do? I’m a decorated officer. I made decisions minute
by minute that affected the lives of my unit, yet I don’t know what to do
anymore. I don’t know what to do about this,” he smacked the arms of his chair,
“I don’t know what to do about you and I definitely don’t know what to do about
Dalton. I’m fucked up. I hate not knowing what to do. You’re right...it’s not
like me. Don’t you think I know that?”
With a muttered curse, she sat on the
edge of the sofa and blinked at the ceiling.
He noticed her hands trembling as they gripped the strap of her bag. The
room seemed abnormally quiet without her storming around and threatening him.
He didn’t like her docile and reflective...it threw him off.
“I’m sure it’s hell. You were always in command. For months now,
you’ve had one surgery after another, been under constant care with zero
privacy, me pestering you with my endless notes and your family hauling you
across the country without anyone asking what you want. No one is respecting
the officer in the room.”
He squinted at her. “Exactly. People
talk about me rather than to me.”
“Yet expect you to snap out of your
funk and get on with your life.”
“But I don’t know what that means.”
Her understanding shook his resolve, weakened his resistance.
“And you haven’t tried because you’ve
been mourning your old life and don’t know what the new life is yet.
“Everyone thinks I’m a rotten,
self-pitying bastard.”
“Because that’s what you want us to
think so we leave you alone.” She shoved
both hands through her hair and sighed. “You’re exhausting.”
“I know.” He smiled for the first time
in months. “I exhaust myself, too. I’m really sick of my crap.”
“Well, that’s something.” She grinned,
eyes dark with defeat. “I haven’t respected the officer in the room, have I?”
She skimmed her thumb across the scar on his forehead. “I love you, if that means anything to you at
all.”
“It means something to me.” He snagged
her hand, but she yanked it away and stood.
“My business card is on the table near
the sofa if you need me, want to talk or whatever. My cell phone number’s on
the back.” She hesitated at the door before looking over her shoulder. “I want
my husband back.”
Author bio:
Amber Lea Easton is a multi-published fiction and nonfiction
author. For twenty years, she's worked in the
fields of journalism and
marketing.
Smart is sexy, according to
Easton, which is why she writes about strong female characters who have their
flaws and challenges but ultimately persevere. She currently has three
romantic suspense novels out in the world, Reckless Endangerment, Riptide, and
Kiss Me Slowly, with three more slated for publication in 2013.
Find
out more about Easton at http://www.amberleaeaston.com or follow her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorAmberLeaEaston.
Today is Reckless Endangerment's release day! You can buy a copy now at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/305522#longdescr.
Print copies will be available through Amazon.
As of next week, the book will be available at all major ebook outlets.
But why wait? Go to Smashwords now.
Thanks for hosting me, Lynelle!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great pleasure Amber :)
ReplyDelete