Operation Red Wings

Picture from SEAL of Honor Facebook page

Today is the anniversary of Operation Red Wings. For those who may be interested in learning more about what happened eight years ago in Afghanistan, Marcus Luttrell's book The Lone Survivor tells the story. They are currently making a movie of the book, too. I'm looking forward to seeing that.

Never forget the men, the heroes, who lost their lives eight years ago. 

Lt. (SEAL) Michael P. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y.

Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew G. Axelson, 29, of Cupertino, Calif.

Machinist Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Eric S. Patton, 22, of Boulder City, Nev.

Senior Chief Information Systems Technician (SEAL) Daniel R. Healy, 36, of Exeter, N.H.

Quartermaster 2nd Class (SEAL) James Suh, 28, of Deerfield Beach, Fla.

Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny P. Dietz, 25, of Littleton, Colo.

Chief Fire Controlman (SEAL) Jacques J. Fontan, 36, of New Orleans, La. 

Staff Sgt. Shamus O. Goare, 29, of Danville, Ohio.

Chief Warrant Officer Corey J. Goodnature, 35, of Clarks Grove, Minn.

Sgt. Kip A. Jacoby, 21, of Pompano Beach, Fla.

Sgt. 1st Class Marcus V. Muralles, 33, of Shelbyville, Ind.

Maj. Stephen C. Reich, 34, of Washington Depot, Conn.

Sgt. 1st Class Michael L. Russell, 31, of Stafford, Va.

Chief Warrant Officer Chris J. Scherkenbach, 40, of Jacksonville, Fla.

Lt. Cmdr. (SEAL) Erik S. Kristensen, 33, of San Diego, Calif. 

Electronics Technician 1st Class (SEAL) Jeffery A. Lucas, 33, of Corbett, Ore. 

Lt. (SEAL) Michael M. McGreevy Jr., 30, of Portville, N.Y.

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (SEAL) Jeffrey S. Taylor, 30, of Midway, W.Va.

Master Sgt. James W. Ponder III, 36, of Franklin, Tenn. 

(List of names from the Summary of Action at NSW/www.navy.mil)

Respect & Honor

More than a hundred US Navy SEALs pounded their tridents into Chris Kyle's coffin at his burial yesterday. Pretty much all that needs to be said.

When a romance hero sends a Valentine...

This came across my newsfeed on Facebook yesterday. It's brought to you by Tiny Prints. Clever and funny. Enjoy!



Gotta love the fan blowing in his face! Remember, Valentine's Day is in less than two weeks! Don't forget to buy or make your sweetie a card!

Someday my prince will come

The kidlets and I were watching the Disney Channel when a movie trailer came on. Seeing Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia, especially the close up shots of his eyes, were just what I needed. I got that feeling and and knew... I'd found inspiration for my current hero also a prince. Have a look.



So glad I found him sooner rather than later. Having a visual really makes the character writing easier for me!

Have a nice Tuesday!

A New Project

I sent my editor an idea for a new book now that I've put the royalty one on the backburner. I'm still waiting to hear back from her, but as I mentioned in a post in May, this is who will provide the physical inspiration for my new hero:



I have no idea what the words say since I don't speak French, but the pictures speak for themselves. I just need a way to justify the facial hair without it being a yuck factor for readers like me who normally hate it! Maybe he starts with it, then shaves? All these little details I get fixated on! It probably just means I need to head back to YouTube and watch some more Lancelot videos as my new hero comes alive in my mind! A rough job, I know, but what's a writer to do?

Speaking of YouTube, I finally signed up for an account a couple of months ago mainly so I could save videos I liked and those I might want to put on here someday. Tonight, I noticed a new feature (new to me at least) where they recommend videos to you based on what you've watched in the past. A couple had funny cats, but a few others were down right bizarre choices including one about the most ridiculous death scenes in movies! I have no idea how they thought I'd want to see that one.

Has that ever happened to you? Either on Amazon or YouTube or iTunes (or another site), where they recommend something "you'll like" but it's totally off-the-wall and so-not-you?

Backcountry Heroes

With the research I did with SAR for my two 2008 releases, I find myself following SAR operations in the Pacific Northwest. In December, three snowboarders went missing at Crystal Mountain while backcountry snowboarding. Their bodies were never found. I can't imagine how the families would deal with such a tragedy. To make matters worse, all the snowfall this year kept official recovery efforts at bay though a friend continued searching on his own.

Back in December, a few backcountry skiers and boarders saw the three and that memory, no doubt etched in their minds, prompted one to organize a search when he started this thread on the website Turns All Year.

It's a great read to see how things literally snowballed into twelve strangers from an Internet forum joining forces to look for the three. They were joined by a couple friends of the missing and supported by the families. The ski patrol got involved, too.

What's even better? They found them, bringing much needed closure to family and friends and, I hope, to those who had seen the three that day back in December, too.

Here is an article about what happened as well as a link to a thread about the article.

When I was researching my books, all of the mountain rescue volunteers said they weren't heroes. One told me he was trained for this so it's no different than being a policeman or firefighter. That's their job. I disagreed with him, but that's worthy of another post.

In the case of the twelve who found the three snowboarders... They prove heroes aren't just found between the pages of romance novels. Real heroes are out there and may be as close as some person posting on an Internet forum you read.

The deaths of the three snowboarders was a tragedy. I pray for the three as well as their family and friends, but something positive did come out of this. The recovery effort shows the goodness of people and what can be achieved with a little heart and effort.

Like the dancing video I posted earlier this week, this story put a big smile on my face, too. And made me wonder... what kind of romance could I write with a backcountry skier or snowboarder hero?

My Next Hero?

I have a couple of possibilities as to who will be the inspiration for my current hero (which means I haven't found the right one yet!), but I think I already know who will be my next hero after I finish with my current work in progress...



He's not a typical hero of mine. Far from it actually. I normally hate facial hair, but Lancelot as played by Ioan Gruffudd is totally crush worthy in my book. Sexy and dangerous with a great voice, too.



Can you envision him as a modern day romance hero? Who do you think is the ultimate modern day romance hero?

P.S. If you ever watch the movie King Arthur, make sure you watch the Director's Cut not the one shown in the theaters. The Director's Cut adds 15 minutes of deleted scenes including a couple with Lancelot and Guinevere so the final battle scene makes a little more sense.

P.S.S. If you read my Silhouette Romance If The Ring Fits... Ioan Gruffudd as Horatio Hornblower provided the inspiration for one of my fave heroes Prince Richard de Thierry of San Montico.