Shannon here: Patricia Lee shares a romantic excerpt that leads up to latest Contemporary Romance, Love Calls Her Home. Comment or answer the question at the end of any post dated Feb 13 – 16 to enter the drawing for a copy. Deadline: Feb 24th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Patricia:
Two different branches of the military.
Separated by oceans.
Non-responsive communications devices.
Can these two lovebirds find their way to a stable relationship?
In my upcoming novel, Love Calls Her Home, which releases in March the heroine, Melissa ( Lissa) Frye, and the hero, Kurt McKintrick, met by accident over Thanksgiving weekend two years before. Lissa had come home on emergency family leave when her father, Marshall, fell and broke his leg. When she arrived, her father had been invited to the widowed neighbor’s home for Thanksgiving dinner. Lissa is to come as well.
Not known to them, the widow’s Marine son, Kurt, shows up unexpectedly. His commanding officer sent him home to recoup from his near death experience hiding from the Taliban for almost two weeks in the Afghan mountains. When he rejoins his unit, he is told to go home for some rest and relaxation, reconnecting with his worried family, especially his mother, Eily.
The McKintrick siblings are anxious to meet the invited guests. As father and daughter arrive at the McKintrick home, Kurt is spellbound. Lissa is wearing her Navy dress—skirt, shirt and hat, along with insignia that indicate her rank is higher than his.
Excerpt by Patricia Lee:
“A black SUV just pulled into the driveway.” Kurt nodded toward the front of the house. “That them?”
His mother nodded, wiping her hands and removing her apron as she walked to the living room to make introductions. As if she were a magnet, her children all moved that direction as well. They stood around the room, sporting Cheshire cat grins while Marshall and Melissa climbed the front steps and knocked.
Grabbing his hat and sending his mother a wink, Kurt opened the door.
Melissa entered ahead of her father, Navy dress and hat accenting her tall, slender figure. Hair drawn back in a clip, soft tendrils curled around her face.
Seeing Melissa, Kurt popped on his hat, his right hand immediately at his brow.
Melissa blushed slightly, saluting him back. “At ease, soldier.” As she dropped her arm, Kurt lowered his as well. His face beamed as he held the door for Marshall, his gaze following Melissa across the room.”
His mother gave him a look, one that said, “Now that’s what I call a reaction!”
He ignored her, his attention drawn to the beautiful woman filling the room. (Excerpt taken from An Onion in August, Chapter Nineteen)
They spent their week of leave visiting the ocean, shopping in Portland, and sharing a meal and a movie. He had promised he’d keep in touch when he kissed her goodbye. Until they meet again in Love Calls Her Home, their relationship appears to be at a standstill.
Can they save what promised to be a budding romance? Readers will have to probe the pages of Love Calls Her Home to find out.
About Patricia: Patricia Lee is a published author, having written since she first learned what words
could do at the age of six. She holds a BA in journalism from the University of Oregon. Articles to her credit have appeared in Moody Monthly, Power for Living, Expecting and Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse as well as in two anthologies— Cup of Comfort Bible Promises and In the Company of Angels. She is part of a team of bloggers who submit short devotionals for FaithHappenings.com.
Patricia is a member of the Oregon Christian Writers and of American Christian Fiction Writers. She and her husband have two adult children and live in the Pacific Northwest with two sleepy cats. Learn more and connect:
Patricia’s Website Patricia’s Amazon Page Patricia’s Goodreads
Patricia’s Facebook Patricia’s Twitter
About the book – Love Calls Her Home:
Can a hurting boy help two broken people find their way back to love ?
Lissa Frye returns home from the Navy hoping to find a different future—one which includes a husband, marriage, and a family, until news from her sister impacts Lissa’s personal life and derails her plans.
Kurt McKintrick, having lost his best friend to an IED in Afghanistan, has returned to help the man’s mother run a horse rescue ranch. Images of war plague him, and thoughts of anyone else he might love falling victim to an untimely end, distance him from the person most likely to help.
Eleven-year-old Jayden Clarke seeks to fill the ache in his heart from his father’s death two years before. But his life is turned upside down when the rancher who befriended him is found dead, the horses neglected, and the dog missing. When authorities arrive to investigate, Lissa and Kurt, estranged after a former relationship, are forced to meet again. Lissa must confront images from her past and Kurt struggles to live with his present truth.
Will Jayden be the catalyst that draws Lissa and Kurt back together for a happily ever after?
Question for Readers: Do you think a military romance can be kept alive when both parties are so distant from each other?
Come back Feb 20th for Angela Ruth Strong!
Yes it can if both are willing to work for it
Any relationship can be saved if the people involved are willing. God can redeem our mistakes.
Yes. As long as both parties are willing to do anything to make it work.
“True Love” always wins in the end no matter how difficult the circumstances are.
I agree with Janet, having moved from Ohio to MI to get married. If it’s real, you can’t not be together, and if it’s faith-based, you know that only distance is temporal, for you’ll be together forever, in one place, as of the Last Day.
I have a winner! Kristen Collier won the drawing. I appreciate Patricia for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.