Gotta Love the Internet: More Research Connections!
This past week I’ve been dying of a flu/strep throat/sinus infection I came down with two weeks ago when we got back from our trip. Today is the first morning I woke up and thought I’m actually going to live. I can almost breathe through one side of my nose, and though my head and face feel like they might explode if I bend over, things are looking up.
Right now I’m working on the dedication and acknowledgements for Deadly Descent. As you know I got in touch with some really cool inside sources for research on this one, and had a ball talking with them. When I e-mailed my recently retired PJ contact and asked what official title to call him in the dedication, I got a response that so typically embodies these men that I could only smile and shake my head. I’m paraphrasing, but basically his answer was, “No thanks are necessary. We’re just ordinary guys, and I’m glad I could help.”
If that doesn’t encapsulate their humility and heroism, I don’t know what does. So Weaver, if you’re ever reading this, just know you’re a hero to me and always will be no matter how much you try to downplay your years in Pararescue. So there.
Another cool thing happened too. I don’t even know how he found out about me (must have been through this blog, but I never asked him), but a retired Air Force Combat Controller (CCT) contacted me to ask how the heck a young woman from Canada became interested in CCTs. He said some people in the Air Force don’t even know about them–which I hope isn’t true–so he was curious about me. I joked that I’m a little odd, and that on top of being a Civil War superfreak, I love learning about Spec Ops stuff. I love it even more when I can put what I’ve learned into my writing and give it more realism.
Wait–what? You don’t know what a CCT is either? Not to worry, there’s a picture of one at the top of this post. Deadly Descent will introduce you to Ryan, a CCT embedded with a SEAL team out of Bagram. You’ll learn plenty about why these guys are damn handy to have with you out in hostile territory. Or in any combat mission, for that matter. At the most basic level, they’re Special Ops trained air traffic controllers that go out into harm’s way and bring a lot of firepower with them. They bring the rain. Heavy ordinance from bombers, missiles from fighter jets, or close air support from gunships, just to name a few. And that’s merely a part of their job description. I’ll be highlighting the hellish ordeal they undergo just to earn the right to be called a CCT in a later post, so stay tuned.
Anyway, this retired CCT and I chatted back and forth a few times, and I assured him that while my books are steamy romantic suspense, I make an effort to research my heroes’ line of work and add a level of detail that readers won’t find in other books of the genre. His response surprised me. He said he’s actually proud that I’m taking the time to learn about his CCT brothers and bring them into the spotlight. Even if it’s only a small spotlight.
He also said he sincerely hopes my hero gets to spend the night with a belly dancer at some point in the upcoming book 🙂 He wants to read the book, but I told him it’s pretty steamy and he probably wouldn’t like it. “Are you kidding? I love steamy!” was his reply.
He’s in his early sixties now and has been out of the game for a long while, but he offered to put me in touch with a recently retired CCT while I’m writing the draft of Crash and Burn. And he’s sending me a DVD on CCTs and a couple trinkets, just because he’s a nice guy. How awesome is that? And to think this connection literally landed in my lap (er, inbox) last Monday. Gotta love the Internet! As soon as I’m finished this latest novella, I’m back into Ryan’s book, and I’m looking forward to writing it more than ever.
So, Mr. A.L., if you’re reading this, thank you so much for taking the time to contact me. Very cool getting to “meet” you.
Damn I love what I do 🙂
We’re Having Twins!
No, not me, silly. The eagles.
I keep forgetting to tell you all, but David Hancock (of the Hancock Wildlife Project) has put up permanent cameras in the eagle nest on my father’s property here in White Rock. While we were in Hawaii (the day after the tsunami, actually), the female eagle laid an egg. Two days later, she laid another. This is unusual, especially since she had twins last year. Pickin’s must be good out there for her to be able to lay two eggs again!
The eggs will hatch 35 days after being laid, so here’s the link if you’re interested in watching the live camera feed. (in case the link doesn’t show up in the text, here’s the website: http://www.hancockwildlife.org/index.php?topic=White-Rock-Eagle1) Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Play button for either the wide angle or close up feeds. I prefer the close up, so I can watch the wind ruffling their feathers and see the eggs when they shift in the nest. This pair of mates has been together for a while, and you may recall the posts about the baby twins last year. Very entertaining to watch them trying to figure out how to fly 🙂
It’s really cool to watch mom and dad taking turns sitting on the eggs, but around April 19th or 20th, we should have some new chicks to meet. How amazing is that? The cameras are crystal clear, and also have night vision so you can watch the eagles after dark. I hope you’ll check it out and let me know what you think.
Kaylea Cross week !
I’m finally home, safe and sound after all the excitement of my trip, and I’m glad to be able to put my feet up for a while. That was a wild vacation, for sure. A tsunami, a 4.6 earthquake on the big island, then exposure to some low level radiation all the way from Japan in California the day we left. Yup, home’s looking pretty good right now.
In writing news, I got word last week that Carina Press has acquired my latest naughty novella I sent them, tentatively titled Touch Me. Very excited! I love being accepted 🙂 Have to say, writing these spicy novellas has been really fun, but after finishing this next project for TWRP, I’ve got to get back to my Bagram Special Ops trilogy and finish Crash and Burn. I’ve left my poor hero in the midst of a night-time HALO jump deep behind enemy lines, and that’s just not right.
Starting today, the fabulous bloggers over at Guilty Indulgence Bookclub are featuring me on their blog for the entire week! I’m very flattered by that. I’d love some company over there, so feel free to drop by and visit with me. They’re going to feature the books in my romantic suspense series and I’ll talk more about why I love to use special ops soldiers as my heroes. But really, what’s not to love?
Also, I’m being featured at author CR Moss’s blog as well, and I’m giving away a copy of Cover of Darkness there.
Last but not least, both Cover of Darkness and No Turning Back have been nominated for best romantic suspense of 2010 by The Romance Reviews. If you’d like to vote for either of them, please follow this link.
Hope to “see” some of you at these sites this week!
Kaylea 🙂
Hawaii Tsunami
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, by now you know about the horrible quake and tsunamis that shattered Japan last night. For my family and I visiting the big island of Hawaii (including my dad, sister, step mom, step siblings and their families), last night was certainly more exciting than I’m comfortable with.
We’d spent the day in Kona, eating lunch at Bubba Gump’s and shopping for some souvenirs. When we arrived back at the hotel we had a late dinner out at the fancy surfside restaurant here, bathed by a warm Trade wind while tiki torches flickered amongst the hibiscus flowers. Just another gorgeous evening in paradise. Or so we thought.
Someone took our reserved table, so we didn’t get seated until 9, very late for the little ones we had with us (my two weasels, and two two-year-olds). About ten minutes before our mains arrived, Dave Ritchie, founder and former CEO of Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers, came over to tell us there’d been a massive quake in Japan, and powerful tsunamis were on their way toward us.
My face blanched. I literally felt the blood drain from it. All I could think about was the Boxing Day tsunamis in Thailand/Indonesia a few years back. With an 8.9 quake sending waves at us and nothing but open ocean standing in their way… Yup, I was already making evacuation plans in my head.
Big weasel didn’t understand the magnitude of the threat (he’s 7), but since he was running a fever with a sore throat, hubby took him up to the room early. I stayed with little weasel (not quite 5) and wolfed down what should have been a decadent dinner of beef tenderloin and lobster tail. Afterward I took him straight up to the room, going past the front desk on my way. People were milling about already, and their concern was palpable. One lady was in tears.
I went straight up to the room, turned on the news, saw the pictures of the tsunami in Japan, and started packing. No evacuation orders had been issued yet, but I’m not the type to take any chances, especially with my little guys. Then the tsunami alarm sirens went off at 10, and that sealed the deal. Hubby and I packed up pillows, blankets, clothes, ID, food and water. And some TP. If I’m going to have to do my business and wipe my bits and pieces out in the great outdoors, I’d just as soon have TP to wipe with.
A couple minutes later the phone rang. My dad, saying the rest of our group (13 in total) was planning to head for higher ground, and that I should pack emergency supplies. I almost snorted. Did he not realize who he was talking to? He’s only known me for 36 years.
By this time the weasels were scared to death. I had two sets of huge blue eyes fixed on me as I packed. When they saw me shoving things into a bag, they quickly dumped their stuffed toys into their backpacks and stood by the door with anxious expressions. While hubby left to start packing the car, I tried to calm them down, explaining the waves wouldn’t hit for at least another four hours, maybe more. We had lots of time, and it was important to be calm in the meantime. We had a plan to get everyone to safety, and we were acting on it. Was I scared, though? Hell yeah. None of us knew what to expect or how bad it was going to be. If it was going to be a repeat of the Thailand/Indonesia tsunamis…
And then little weasel broke my heart. Standing by the door with his running shoes on and his little backpack strapped to his shoulders, he looked up at me with brimming eyes and said, “Can we just go, now? I don’t want to swim–I don’t know how to swim!” Big weasel joined in, begging me to just go, go now and get in the car and get away from this place. Talk about a punch to the gut. I thank God we had enough warning to get packed and make it to somewhere safe. People in Japan weren’t as lucky.
A mandatory evacuation order was given soon after that, but we were already packing up the cars. Our rental, and an SUV for the rest of our group. The hotel guests were stressed; you could feel the tension as people prepped to leave. The adrenaline was pumping pretty hard, and we still had four hours until the first wave was expected to hit. We were parked at the curb waiting for my step siblings to get their babies into the SUV with all their gear, and a bus driver stopped near us. He opened his door and brusquely said, “You guys better move that thing, or I’m taking it out.” Nice. Like we weren’t stressed enough.
The minute we left the hotel and started for higher ground, I felt better. The weasels were absolutely silent in the backseat as we headed down they highway and then inland, up the mountain. We stopped at 1,000 feet, since my sister, step sister and her hubby had been scuba diving earlier in the evening and couldn’t ascend past that altitude. I tell you what, I felt ever so much safer up the hill parked next to that horse pasture at the side of the road than I did back at the hotel.
We spent a very cramped night in the car, and only the weasels slept a little. I made good use of my TP stock, which took me back to my days as a Girl Guide. Peeing outside turned out to be the weasels’ favorite part of the whole experience 🙂
None of us knew how bad the damage was down along the coastline, but as we listened to the news reports over the radio, it varied from area to area. Bubba Gump’s, where we’d eaten lunch the day before, was heavily damaged by the waves, along with some of Kona. We got conflicting reports about the damage levels to our hotel, but weren’t allowed to go back because waves were still coming in and the state officials hadn’t issued the “all clear” yet. The SUV’s battery had died overnight, so hubby took us into town to get some jumper cables, and after the others were good to go, we found a Subway for breakfast. Information was sketchy; someone reported damage to our hotel and that we wouldn’t be allowed back for hours yet. Police were turning people back from the area.
Eventually the tsunami warning was lifted and we went back to the hotel, not knowing what we’d find. Turned out there was no damage to the buildings, but the man-made beach was damaged and they’d lost some furniture to the tsunami. The images of the devastation in Japan are heartbreaking, and I’m so thankful we were all safe up on that hillside. Turned out we would have been safe at the hotel, but even in hindsight I’m glad we evacuated. My heart goes out to the people of Japan affected by this disaster, and all their loved ones.
So we’re all safe and sound, and there might even be a future book in this somewhere down the road. My family kept teasing me about that, and asking if I’ll ever travel again after this. Wouldn’t you know something like this would happen while I’m here? But you know, suddenly the thought of getting on a plane doesn’t seem so bad anymore.