Plot & Characters:
An all consuming powerful story that shows the price we pay for the bonds that tie us to the lives of others and the power of the choices made by them.

This riveting story holds strong roots in the romance and love we search for in life, the love that Mari and Lt. Col. Roger Weston battle against and eventually for. We see it time and again serve as the bases of what makes us human, bringing us back from the brink of destruction. Tactical Deception is a masterfully crafted story with a message hidden in and around an action packed gut wrenching tale of horrific plots of terrorism and those that must step up to the plate to defend their country no matter the cost to themselves.

In book one we meet and follow a Delta Force Team through cracking a plot of terrorism set to unfold and destroy the lives of so many. Each member is shown to us through their actions to reach the end of what is going on; actions that offer us great insight into their character. Lives were saved, a family formed, but lives were also lost which leads us to the major romance plot in book two. In Tactical Deception we join up with them again as they deal with the aftermath of the fallout from the previous attack while trying to break through recently discovered terrorist cells already killing innocent people in America and gunning for the President while also weeding out the threat from the White Aryan Vipers Militia training Camp set on setting the balance straight again.

There are intense moments when you think everything is going to go south and other moments when you are cheering for whatever advancement the main hero and heroine make in reaching towards some kind of happiness between them. Then the author throws us in the deep end by showing us what’s going on in the minds of the antagonist, of which there are many. It’s a tangled web of deceit, family treachery and love. Love of friendship. Love of camaraderie between the men of the Delta force. And love between a man and a woman that just might beat all the odds stack against them. The road is a bloody one but so worth the fight when you reach the end. It will bring a tear to your eye and pull at your soul. It also sheds a ray of light on a people and culture that are misunderstood at times. The author definitely did her research for this series and it shows through the seamless story she has written.

To go into detail of how this book’s scenes unfold would be pointless in that you, as the reader, need to experience each moment for yourself to grasp the full concept and emotion buried within each page. It’s that intense. Ms. Saint, you’ve really outdone yourself. This is the blockbuster of military romantic suspense!

Writing:
True to her talent Ms. Saint has delivered a well written a story worthy of her title as a USA Today’s Bestselling author under her writing name Jennifer Saint [St.] Giles. Her ability to write with such depth and perception, smooth prose, fast paced action and hot loves scenes make on heck of a combination that delivers explosive stories that readers will never forget.

Summary:
Ms. Saint can write one hell of a military romantic suspense! I highly recommend this book, this series, THIS AUTHOR to readers that love to step into stories with heart and meaning. Not to mention hot heroes the heroines they fall in love with! Tactical Deception was just too good to put down and I want more! Here’s to hoping bad boy Corporal Rico Santana gets his story in the next installment in the Silent Warrior Series!

The post 5 Stars and a Reviewer Top Pick for Tactical Deception! appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

“Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all..”

Great stories bring hope to the heart and with every story I write, I strive to deliver that to my reader.  To give the hope of love.  To give the hope that good conquers evil.  To give the hope that there is light in the darkness, heroes in the battles, and healing to be found within the sharing of our hearts.

So secondly I realized that touching hearts is the true meaning of success for a writer, no matter what the financial gain may be.
All of which brings me to Mari and Roger, the heroine and hero of TACTICAL DECEPTION.  I hope they touch your heart.  Both of these characters have suffered through life-altering hurts and are struggling to find their way through pain, disillusionment and guilt.  The world events playing out around them amplify their internal conflicts and as they fight their way to save lives and keep the world from spinning into chaos, they discover the healing and forgiving power of love.

I hope that I have succeeded in writing a story that will speak to your heart and invite you to give TACTICAL DECEPTION a try.  But if a military romantic thriller isn’t where your heart lies, I invite you to give one of my other stories a try.

MIDNIGHT SECRETS, the first book in my Killdaren Series, a paranormal historical suspense was re-released in print this month.  Cassie Andrews steps beyond all propriety and safety when she goes undercover as maid into Sean Killdaren’s dark castle.  As she searches for the truth behind the disappearance of her cousin, her life and her heart are plunged into jeopardy.  She’s in a battle for her life and doesn’t know who to trust.  Especially the cursed Sean Killdaren.  He may be her darkest dream…or her most terrifying nightmare.

If you’re a new reader to my books, try one of my hot contemporaries or sexy historicals with great new covers now available on Kindle.  THE MISTRESS OF TREVELYAN, HIS DARK DESIRES, WILD IRISH RIDE, and SMOOTH IRISH SEDUCTION are all ready to whisk you away into the magic of story.

If you like what I’ve written then tell me the best way possible by posting an Amazon Review so others can read why!

Now back to TACTICAL DECEPTION!

Here is an excerpt of Roger and Mari.

Before the guilt of Neil’s death could get another strangling hold on him, Roger marched to his bedroom door. He couldn’t effectively take care of Mari if she hid herself from him. Something had to change. He knocked on the door.

No answer.

He knocked harder.

Still no answer. Worried now, he opened the door. “Mari?”

Light from the bathroom highlighted her figure at the window. She stood minus her abaya and hijab—her black gown and head scarf. She wore a long tunic over slim pants, a vision of cream-colored silk and ebony hair that fell well below her waist. Gold leaves embroidered the collar, sleeves and hems of her outfit. The effect was delicate, exotic, almost ethereal.

Tears streamed down her cheeks and she had her hands pressed to her abdomen, to the child growing within her.

“Are you hurting? Is it the baby? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“No. The baby is fine. No pain.”

Relief had his blood rushing with dizzying force, leaving him almost light-headed and his chest tightened into a knot. Emotion, pain, and desire sucker punched him in the gut and below. What kind of low-bellied dick was he?

The lowest he decided. He couldn’t stop his heated arousal in response to her beauty, but he damn well could ignore it and remember with every shred of decency he had in him that if it wasn’t for him, Neil would be with Mari right now and none of the shit that had happened to her lately would have occurred.

She stood frozen a moment then turned, reaching for her black gown.

“Don’t. Please don’t hide from me.” His voice escaped in a harsh rasp.

She paused, looking at him, her hand resting on her heavy gown. Her golden eyes were wide with…fear?

He covered the distance between them.

“Are you afraid of me?” Their gazes met and she lowered hers.

He knew before he slid his thumb under her chin how soft her skin was. Just weeks ago, he’d lost his restraint and kissed her tear-dampened cheeks after Dugar had taken a shot at her outside the hospital. That night he’d held her bandaged hand as she’d restlessly slept between nightmares. And until helping her up from the street today, it was the last time he’d touched her.

He clasped her hand resting on her gown and brought it to his chest, placing her palm firmly over his racing heart. Her gaze reconnected with his and he asked her again. “Are you afraid of me?”

“No,” she whispered before shutting her eyes and pulling her hand away.

She said no, but he swore he saw fear swirling in her conflicted expression.

“Why then? Why didn’t you tell me how bad things were for you? I could have helped or gotten you help. And why didn’t you tell me about the shooting lessons? I would have arranged for them. Made sure you were safe.”

“You would have?” She blinked at him with surprise. “But you were adamant about me not leaving the post for any reason. Not even to go with Holly to the store in Fayetteville.”

“Going to a shoe sale in a crowded mall is different than going to a gun range. Besides, learning to protect yourself is more important than buying shoes.” Roger raked his fingers through his hair. He remembered the conversation they’d had a few weeks back. And yeah, he’d been pretty strong in his objections about them going to the mall. But then, someone had been calling in bomb threats at that time too. It had been three weeks after Dugar’s attempts to kill her and Roger would have bet money Dugar was behind the threats. He hadn’t told Mari about any of it though. He hadn’t wanted her to worry. Only to heal.

She frowned at him as if he’d grown horns. “What?” he asked. Had he said something wrong?

“So what does that mean? I am not supposed to do something, but if it’s something you approve of then it is all right to do it?”

Hell. She made him sound as if he were a bipolar prison guard. He counted to ten, hoping to ease his frustration, but it didn’t work. “No. Well, sometimes, maybe, yes. I mean—” Tension knotted his brow. What did he mean? Couldn’t she see the difference between the two outings? “We can discuss the details later. I just need to know why you couldn’t tell me about the anxiety you’re having and that you wanted to learn self-defense.”

“I didn’t want you to worry.”

Roger opened his mouth then shut it. He’d kept things from her for the same reason, but this was different. She’d put herself in both physical and mental jeopardy. Then again, hadn’t he set himself as her prison guard as opposed to a bodyguard? Had he done anything personal to put her at ease enough to be able to share her anxiety with him? No, he’d let his guilt and his need to avoid his attraction to her keep her at a cold, formal distance.

He had to change. “You can’t do that anymore. From now on, no matter what you want to do, just tell me and whether I like it or not, I will help you do it, okay? It is the only way I can assure your safety.”

“That’s it? If I want to go buy shoes then you’ll take me?”

He exhaled. “Yes. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to voice my opinion on whether it’s a smart thing to do or not. And if I really think something is too dangerous then I expect you to respect my serious concerns. This isn’t a forever state of affairs. It’s just until Dugar is caught, then you’ll be your own woman, okay?”

Her own woman? Did she even know who she was? Mari looked up at Roger, her heart racing so fast she could barely think.  A few moments ago, she’d been staring out at the purple-red sunset, wondering how she could face Roger.  She’d done exactly what he’d told her not to do and it had turned out so badly.  She’d been sickened over how miserably she’d failed in establishing any shred of independence.  Her worst fears about herself had come true. She’d had a total panicked meltdown. She’d been thrust back into the darkness of what had happened in Afghanistan. She’d hit the bottom and was surprised that she’d survived it all. Her pride was bruised, but she was okay.

Now she was not only facing Roger but… she stood alone with him, in his bedroom, wearing only her tunic and pants and she wasn’t embarrassed or shamed.  She wanted this familiarity between them.

He wasn’t as mad as she thought he would be either.

It wasn’t as if her choosing to leave the post didn’t matter. She could see that he was clearly upset and worried about her. But it wasn’t how she’d thought it would be. Her father would have—

Roger wasn’t her father. Never would be. But he wasn’t the easygoing teddy bear Neil had been either. In some ways Roger was like a fierce warrior. Dangerous and remote. She’d seen the deadly anger in his eyes when it came to Dugar. She had no doubt that Roger would kill Dugar with his bare hands if he had to. She’d also seen a haunted darkness in him too. Roger had deep secrets that she instinctively knew he’d never let another person near.

Neil had been different. There wasn’t a part of him he didn’t openly share with her. It wasn’t that he didn’t keep information from her. There were things about his job he couldn’t tell her and things she would never ask him. But his soul and heart had wrapped warmly around her as accepting and loving as a puppy. He’d never said anything to curtail what she did, but then, she’d never ventured beyond the strictures of her upbringing. It was two years before he could talk her into going to the store alone.

It wasn’t until she met Holly that Mari started thinking about doing things outside of the rules, about getting an education, a job, learning to shoot a gun, and yes, one of those things was standing without her abaya before a man who wasn’t her husband, her brother or her father. A man who said she could be her own woman? What did that mean?

“Okay?” Roger angled his head to look into her eyes as he set his hands on her shoulders.

She nodded. Her tongue was tied in the gratefulness clogging her throat and in the fire burning through her senses at his heated touch. He’d made this whole big problem and the fiasco of the day all so simple. So easy to let go of and move forward. At least she thought he had. Currently her mind reeled, making coherent thought debatable. His nearness and intensity had her blood racing places her mind couldn’t go yet.

He released her and stepped back. “Hungry?”

“Yes.” She drew in a much-needed breath of air. She thought about grabbing her abaya and putting it on now. Considering the way he made her feel, it would be safer.

“What do you want to eat for dinner?” He started walking out of the bedroom, but his gaze fell on the rumpled bed and she cringed. It looked as if a tornado had struck it; she’d tossed and turned so much.

She rushed over to straighten the bedcovers. “Whatever you want will be fine.”

She didn’t dare look at him. What he must think. He’d loaned her his bed and she couldn’t even leave it neat. Leaning forward with her knees against the mattress, she fixed the blanket and threw the pillows back up to the headboard. She stood back quickly and hit a hard, hot body—an unmistakably aroused, hard, hot, male body. His arm wrapped around her when she teetered with surprise and a visceral shock wave of want hit her hard.

Thank you for reading today and I hope to hear from you!

Remember every day to Dream, Believe, Create, Inspire, Love, Heal

Jenni

The post Open the Flood Gates! appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

Collateral Damage

Author: J.L. Saint

Genre: Sci-Fi / Fantasy Romance, Post-Apocalyptic

Reviewed by: Night Owl Reviews – by Talina

PERSONAL SUMMARY:

Lauren is caught in the crossfire of her ex-husbands betrayal and deceit that is stained with terrorism against his country. Lauren has no idea of the hell about to be unleashed on her. She has only one chance at proving she had nothing to do with her ex-husbands wrong doings against her country. That one chance is in the form of one Delta Force leader. With assassins hot on her trail, Lauren will have to think fast on her feet to help save herself and her twin sons. She’ll also have to work hard to keep her heart intact and closed to one sexy as hell Jack Hunter if she survives the trained killers that is.

SUMMARY: (taken from the publisher’s site)

One thing makes Jack Hunter invaluable to his Delta Force Team. The same trait that makes him suck at relationships. Single-minded focus on his career—and honing his ability to never miss a kill.

After a terrorist missile devastates his team and leaves him with only partial memory of a

a FUBARed rescue mission, he retains only one clear picture no one believes: the last face in his gunsight belonged to a prestigious American businessman. The man’s wife has to know something, but the only way to get to her is go AWOL.

After her husband trades his family to tango with double-Ds, Lauren Collins decides her dogs are better judges of character. She’s unaware how far her soon-to-be-ex’s web of deceit reaches—until the only thing between her, her sons and a killer is a wounded Delta soldier who activates her sorely neglected X-chromosome like nobody’s business.

Their instant attraction is kryptonite to Jack’s injury-dulled edge. Thrust into a world of peril, political treachery and treason, Lauren has no choice but to trust Jack with her life. Even if she and her sons survive, she’s not sure her heart will…

Contains a warrior who doesn’t hesitate to lay his body on the line, more than one emotional love story to tug at your heart, and chaos at Chuck E. Cheese.

FIRST LINE:

Pink Floyd’s “Time” hammered through Sergeant First Class Jack Hunter’s brain as he tightened his grip on the treadmill and ran harder, his heart pounding, his lungs burning.

PLOT:

Collateral Damage was one hell of a ride! One minute you just know what will happen only to have your know it all readers mind get a jolt of adrenaline from the plot twists you never saw coming. From cover to cover there was not one page that didn’t have you wanting to know what happened next. The author definitely paid attention to the plot points and threads, making sure they weaved seamlessly together to form a wonderful tale of manipulation, secrecy, betrayal and to top it all off – love. She also delved into the meaning of the two most haunting words I have ever read Collateral Damage. If you think about it, those two words can describe so much of what people are suffering and living through right now. While showing there is a price to pay for every action that is taken, the author also pointed out the one thing that is over looked at times – the feeling of being alive, the joy of falling in love, the joy of our children, the steel nerves of determination to not allow our freedom to be taken or our lives to be interrupted. And in my opinion she did a fabulous job of showing the excitement of life through her story. Ms. Saint has written a book that I hope leads to several more to come.

SETTING:

Collateral Damage takes place in the present day. Lauren and Jack’s story starts out in Washington D.C. then moves between Georgia, North Carolina, Dubai and a secluded reserve located in a section of the Peruvian Amazon Rain forest.

WRITING:

Ms. Saint has such a fabulous and strong voice. She lavishes her stories with the grit and truth that makes the story stick with you long after you’ve read the book. I loved her books under her other name, Jennifer St. Giles, and I will definitely be looking for her J.L. Saint books in the future.

CHARACTERS:

Lauren Collins brought a life force to the story that had me riveted to everything happening in the story. She showed a strength within her that made me stop and question how I would respond to the life threatening situations she was plunged into with her twin sons in tow. To follow her through the story and to ‘see’ her fall for the wounded warrior, a man that risked everything to help protect her from being collateral damage to her ex-husbands actions was an emotional journey. Her actions and beliefs in life have changed how I see my own life. And I admit, it is not often that a character can be so well written that they influence me enough to take a step back and consider my own inner beliefs and thoughts.

Jack was the perfect counterpart to Lauren. His soul is tormented and in need of someone strong enough to help him heal. His Delta Team is in need of a leader that is whole enough to lead them and Jack ‘DT’ Hunter is determined to be that leader once again. I won’t say anything else because I would be to tempted to spoil the book for you. Be warned though, DT is one sexy-as-hell warrior that will whisk your heart away!

Ms. Saint also did an excellent job in writing the antagonist. He’s a unique character with a twisted desire to only preserve the world for his son. BUT, you’ll have to read the book to find out just how sick, twisted and somewhat genius he really is. The depth of conflict and the supporting characters provide an exhilarating emotional ride, a story that is simply a must read.

LAST THOUGHTS:

After reading Collateral Damage I couldn’t help but stop and think about my own actions in life. Ms. Saint has brought to my attention just how blessed a life I live. This book has gone to my must keep pile and I look forward to reading the Silent Warrior series as each new book comes out. I also look forward to revisiting Jack and Lauren for another read soon!

The post Top Pick Review for Collateral Damage appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

I’ve had an inspiring week.  Blasted myself out of hibernation and went to a book signing at Piedmont Hospital’s Cancer Wellness Center.  Nancy Waldeck, author of the Taste and Savor Cookbook, had a wonderful mini-buffet of her recipes as well as shared her path toward making her book-dream come true.  I highly recommend this tasty treasure and will be using the delicious, healthy recipes and wine tips myself daily.  They are that easy.  Writing doesn’t leave time for hours in the kitchen, nor for blogging either.  So, here’s the seven suspenseful sentences from Collateral Damage for today and I will be back later this week with some great news and the fabulous cover for my April release, a historical suspense, Midnight Secrets.

“Jack frowned and fisted his hands, feeling as frustrated with his current situation as he did with his flashbacks to Lebanon.
Lauren looked up at him. “You’re serious about going to Brazil?”

“I think I’ll call her first, see what she says, how she reacts to my questions, okay.”

Lauren nodded, her relief evident. Suddenly pain stabbed a hot dagger into Jack’s brain followed by a loud pop. The bullet plowing into his skull had come out of nowhere, his knees buckled, and a dark tunnel swallowed him alive.”

With Jack shot, and a killer walking her way, Lauren will have to think fast.

Who is watching the Grammy’s tonight?

As Always,

Go Forth. Dream. Believe. Create. Inspire. Love.

Jenni

The post Suspenseful Seven Sentence Sunday Week Six appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

My news!:  I’m the Week long SPOTLIGHT author for readersentertainment.com. Check me out starting on Monday for fun, prizes, and uh-oh a secret or two about me!

My light-bulb realization this week:  Time may fly when you’re having fun, but it freaking breaks the sound barrier when you have a deadline.

Now to seven more suspenseful sentences from COLLATERAL DAMAGE!

Keeping the shooter in his sight had seemed the better option, but with his position blown, practically zero cover, and the bastard still functional, Jack realized he’d played the wrong hand. They were now at a standoff unless he—

WTF? Jack caught the gleaming glint of something being thrown at the house Lauren was in. It bounced off the brick and clinked over the stone toward the patio furniture and the huge stone hearth of the outdoor fireplace. When smoke didn’t immediately spew and the attacker took off running with a limp, Jack’s heart hammered in dread. A grenade?

Out of time, Jack rolled like an unfurling whip away from the garden just before a blast shattered glass in a blinding flash.

If you love it! Share it!

Go forth. Dream, Believe, Create, Inspire, and Love

J.L. Saint aka Jennifer St. Giles aka Jennifer Saints

The post Suspenseful Seven Sentence Sunday Week 5 appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

I put this quote, that is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson, at the beginning of COLLATERAL DAMAGE because to me these seven words say so much about the world in which we live.  The statement captures  just how frail freedom is within the political and economic storms that constantly bombard humanity and how easily it can be lost.

I am not necessarily political, but I do have my beliefs, of which I will share two tenets.  One, as a human being I have a responsibility to be generally aware of what is happening in the world around me.  Two, freedom is essential to the human spirit.  I won’t get into my reasons as to why, but just to say it is.  This week, the events playing out in Egypt and rippling though a number of other middle-eastern countries, have once again brought home to me just how tenuous freedom in the world is, and how easily everything can change in the blink of an eye.  I pray for these countries and for their freedom.

Now for my Seven Suspenseful Sentences! from COLLATERAL DAMAGE!

Jack calculated that he’d wasted three of the thirty seconds it would take the spinning grenade of what he prayed to God was only CS gas to fill the room and practically incapacitate them both. Already Jack’s eyes seemed to burn. Apparently the bastard outside wasn’t aiming to kill Lauren, but to take her hostage—somehow an even scarier scenario because that meant they wanted something from her. Wanted something that they didn’t find when they’d destroyed the house. Wanted it bad too. He swung on his heel, reaching Lauren quickly. 

“Come on.”

What is happening with me this week?   A mixed bag of ups and downs.  I haven’t heard back from a job interview that I’d hoped for, but do have another appointment next week for something that might even work out better with my writing goals.  I absolutely must find a job, but I cannot give up writing.  It’s part of my heart and soul.

I happily finished the final edits on MIDNIGHT SECRETS which will be available from Samhain in April.  I sadly have not finished working on taxes.  My screenplay proposal did not finish in the top ten for a much coveted contest prize.  I’ve had my emotional ups and downs this week as well.  But all in all the sun is blasting my little corner of the world this weekend, giving us a warm sixty to sixty-five degrees outside, so I am just going to bask in that simple joy, have a BBQ with the kids, and pray that the miracles I need to happen will while I work hard to make my dreams come true.

So after you eat, pray, love this sunny day.

Go Forth, be thankful, and love freedom.

JL Saint aka Jennifer St. Giles, aka Jennifer Saints

The post Week Four Suspenseful Seven Sentence Sunday appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

The question is one I am sure all of us have asked many times about a number of things. If you are Michelle Pfeiffer then you know a murdering Harrison Ford is lurking beneath the surface of your suburban life. If you are the rock group, Breaking Benjamin, then you’re searching beneath a twisted smile in a Dear Agony Album. If you are a Criminal Minds’ BAU star then you’re deep into the hidden horrors of a killer’s psyche. And LOL if you happen to be in the Highlands with bagpipes then perhaps you are staring at Loch Ness wondering if the legendary monster really lives beneath the murky waves.

In some way we all wonder what lies beneath the surface of what we see. What truths lie beneath the headlines of a gripping news story or an explosive scandal? Finding the answers to that question is never easy because life if not black and white, and there are a multitude of layers coloring the answers.

So, whenever I sit down and write a book, I always ask myself “What lies beneath?” What lies beneath, the façade of a character? The dynamics of the plot? The world in which the story is set? The answers I find often reach into the very heart of the story I tell. When I settled on the title of Collateral Damage, the first book in my Silent Warrior Series, I was drawn to explore the deeper meanings beneath phrase that had been born from war.

The military defines collateral damage as “[the] unintentional damage or incidental damage affecting facilities, equipment, or personnel, occurring as a result of military actions directed against targeted enemy forces or facilities. Such damage can occur to friendly, neutral, and even enemy forces. Since its inception, collateral damage has come to mean so much more and is now applied to many areas of life.

Put simply, every action a person takes has intent, something they are trying to accomplish, and ninety-nine percent of the time there is a world of unintentional consequences as a result of that action.

In my story, Jack Hunter, Lauren Collins and her twin sons are victims of collateral damage, and not just in regards to the injuries Jack suffers on a military mission in Lebanon. Lauren and her sons’ lives are torn apart by the decisions made by her soon to be ex. It is a stark fact in life that all of us are affected by the collateral damage from the choices other people make. And others are damaged by the choices we make, too. As Lauren and Jack realize this in their lives, they also learn from each other one very important thing. How they deal with the fallout of the collateral damage is what determines the quality of their future.

Can you see this in your own life?

Now that I likely went too deep, let me tell you that my Silent Warrior Series are romantic thrillers featuring military heroes and heroines with extraordinary hearts. Book one, Collateral Damage came out in December. The story starts two weeks after Jack has been seriously wounded on a FUBAR mission in Lebanon. Jack sees the picture of prominent American businessman, Bill Collins, on the news as having died yesterday in Brazil. Jack’s sketchy memory is telling him he killed Collins in Lebanon two weeks ago but nobody believes Jack.

Jack leaves the hospital and goes AWOL to uncover the truth. Instead of answers, he gets assassins, more questions, and a terrorist plot that threatens to ignite a world war. As he fights to keep Lauren, Bill’s estranged widow and her twin sons alive, he lays more than his life on the line and stands to lose everything when the truth behind Bill’s death comes to light.

Meet Jack “DT” Hunter…

Shorter of breath and one day closer to death…

Pink Floyd’s “Time” hammered through Sergeant First Class Jack Hunter’s brain as he tightened his grip on the treadmill and ran harder, his heart pounding, his lungs burning. Rage tinged with fear made for a potent Power Bar that fueled his drive. Sweat poured from his brow and his body screamed for relief, but he couldn’t stop. Not yet. His vision dimmed, and President Anderson’s address on the overhead TV calling for a swift but rational retaliation to al-Qaeda’s latest attack became nothing but a blur in his mind.

Life often hinged on the details, those seemingly insignificant microscopic events that most people trampled over obliviously. He’d trained to notice the details and to remember them. Yet no matter how hard he tried, his memory of the mission in Lebanon remained a kaleidoscope of combat images and one man’s mocking blue eyes…Jack clenched his teeth against the rising pain inside him. He took being team leader to heart both on and off the battlefield. The mission and his men were his responsibility. Rico, Pecos and Neil were his Delta brothers, and it killed him that he could only remember bits and pieces of what happened.

They’re here, DT. They’re alive! Will Taylor’s—aka Pecos—distorted voice echoed in Jack’s mind, sucking him down a long tunnel of fragmented memories… Suddenly Jack’s head jerked back as his headphones were snatched off and Lt. Col. Roger Weston, his Delta Team commander, whom the teams called Commander Weston because anything less didn’t fit his hard-edged charisma, got in his face. “Son of a bitch, DT. Are you trying to kill yourself?”

Jlsaint.com

You can read the full excerpt and for a chance to win an ARC email to jlsaintwrites@yahoo.com and tell me how you would choose for Lauren and Jack to meet each other for the first time.

Buy it today on Amazon Collateral Damage: Silent Warrior, Book 1
Look for Collateral Damage in print on 11/1/11.
Look for Book Two of the Silent Warrior Series, Tactical Deception to be released November 2011.
Enjoy the story and huge thanks to Pink Fuzzy Slippers for having me today.
JL Saint aka Jennifer St. Giles

The post What Lies Beneath? appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

Quietly she slipped the chain on and cracked the door open. She was in no mood to be polite. “I’m sorry. I’m not interested in anything you might be selling. There is a no solicitation ordinance in this neighborhood, so I suggest you leave before I call the police.”

“Lauren Collins?” The man faced her and arched an amused brow over his sharply intent green gaze.

Rough didn’t even begin to describe the man’s hard edge, or reveal the almost frightening freshness of the reddened scar on his right temple. His physique and square jaw cut a determined line as did his buzzed black hair and stiff bearing. Military, she thought, immediately reminded of her brother’s demeanor. Her breath caught with hope and trepidation that he was a friend of Jason’s with news.

“I’m Lauren,” she whispered.

“I realize this is a difficult time, but I need to speak with you about your deceased husband, Bill Collins. My name is Jack Hunter. I’m stationed at Fort Bragg.” He slipped a business card into the door crack.

Their fingers touched when she took the card and she practically jerked away from the heat that shot up her arm and flushed her face. The man narrowed his gaze at her, intensifying the green of his eyes. His look was almost suspicious.

She blinked and directed her focus to his card. Sergeant First Class meant the man had about twenty years of experience under his belt. Though he wore jeans and a black polo shirt that hugged well-honed muscle and not an official uniform, his boots were the kind a military man preferred.

Now that you have read the description let’s have a little fun with my fictional heroes. The lucky ladies who have read the stories might have a bit of an advantage because they have a good idea what my heroes look like…everywhere. For those who haven’t read the stories, don’t worry, just imagine what the rest of my hero looks like.

Here’s the challenge. You’ve just inherited your long lost relative’s business in Hollywood. This book is being made into a movie. Below are the actors you have to choose from to be the hero of this story. Which one would you choose and why?

The post Jack Hunter as described by Lauren Collins appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

The promised winter storm arrived in Georgia last Sunday and us Atlantans have been iced in for almost a week.  Iced in and snowed in are two different animals and I hope you never have an encounter with black ice.  He is a deceptively mean SOB who lurks in the dark of the night to steal your traction right out from under your wheels and sends you spinning out of control.  I, myself, did a 180 in the middle of a five lane highway at midnight on Friday going to pick my son up from work.   I count it a complete miracle that I and my car did not suffer damage.  When I came to a stop, I didn’t even have room to open my car door, the bridge’s guardrail was so close.  There was a reason no one was out.  The South is uniquely cursed.  Whenever we get a snowfall, because it almost always warms up just enough then freezes again to form a hard ice on top of everything.  And it is slick.  But enough about me…

This week I introduce you to the heroine of Collateral Damage, Lauren Collins, a mother of six year old twins who lives in suburban Atlanta.   In the middle of the night she gets a call from an American Embassy in Brazil.  Her soon to be ex’s body, Bill Collins, was found floating in the lake of a five star resort.  She hangs up the phone stunned and…

Suddenly glass shattered and Sasha and Sam started barking. Fearing the boys were up and in the kitchen, Lauren ran down the hall.
A quick glance in their room brought her racing heart to a stop before it thundered painfully harder. Both Matt and Mitch were asleep in their beds. Then who was downstairs? Had Sasha and Sam broken something? Halfway down the steps she caught sight of a black clad hulking figure standing just inside the kitchen French doors.

From this point on everything that Lauren believes about her life and the world around her starts to unravel.  She and her sons run for their lives.  One man puts himself between her family and a killer.  That man is Jack Hunter, a wounded soldier with blood on his hands.  Jack is determined to find the truth.  He killed Bill Collins two weeks ago in Lebanon, so how did the man’s body end up in Brazil reportedly murdered just yesterday?  What he discovers could not only destroy the world as we know it, but could cost him everything.  What does a man do when he falls in love with the woman whose husband he killed?

For those of you who tuned in last week, I was in the middle of writing the dreaded synopsis for book two of my Silent Warrior Series, titled Tactical Deception.  I am happy to say that Tactical Deception will be released in the Fall of 2011, provided that everything goes well.  This is the story of Lt. Col. Roger Weston and Mari Dalton who are secondary characters in Collateral Damage.

Here is a taste of their story in Collateral Damage

Now that Neil was gone, had fate landed her back into the death that she had escaped? For once again, Mari was imprisoned in a windowless room, and death was banging on her door.

She told the emergency operator where she was located streetwise, but couldn’t remember the name of the food mart. After hanging up, she began to wonder what would happen when the police did come. She hadn’t thought about anything but her grief and the baby since Neil was killed. Was she even allowed to remain in the United States now? Her application for citizenship hadn’t been approved yet. Would the police lock her behind bars and accuse her of wrongdoing? She had hit the man with the door first.

Heart pounding impossibly faster, she searched through her incoming calls, found the one number she swore she would never use and hit the send button, and prayed Lt. Col Roger Weston answered.  She was out of time and as good as dead.

Stay tuned for more.  As soon as I get my dreaded taxes done I will be writing Tactical Deception and giving you a taste of that as well.

Go forth and be thankful for every blessed moment that you are alive!

P.S. The Golden Globes are on tonight and a very special lady will be the Golden Globe lady!  Gia Mantegna!  Check her out!

J.L. Saint, aka Jennifer St. Giles, aka Jennifer Saints.

The post Week Two: Suspenseful Seven Sentence Sunday appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

Night Owl Reviews

PERSONAL SUMMARY:

Lauren is caught in the crossfire of her ex-husbands betrayal and deceit that is stained with terrorism against his country. Lauren has no idea of the hell about to be unleashed on her. She has only one chance at proving she had nothing to do with her ex-husbands wrong doings against her country. That one chance is in the form of one Delta Force leader. With assassins hot on her trail, Lauren will have to think fast on her feet to help save herself and her twin sons. She’ll also have to work hard to keep her heart intact and closed to one sexy as hell Jack Hunter if she survives the trained killers that is.

SUMMARY: (taken from the publisher’s site)

One thing makes Jack Hunter invaluable to his Delta Force Team. The same trait that makes him suck at relationships. Single-minded focus on his career—and honing his ability to never miss a kill.

After a terrorist missile devastates his team and leaves him with only partial memory of a FUBARed rescue mission, he retains only one clear picture no one believes: the last face in his gunsight belonged to a prestigious American businessman. The man’s wife has to know something, but the only way to get to her is go AWOL.

After her husband trades his family to tango with double-Ds, Lauren Collins decides her dogs are better judges of character. She’s unaware how far her soon-to-be-ex’s web of deceit reaches—until the only thing between her, her sons and a killer is a wounded Delta soldier who activates her sorely neglected X-chromosome like nobody’s business.

Their instant attraction is kryptonite to Jack’s injury-dulled edge. Thrust into a world of peril, political treachery and treason, Lauren has no choice but to trust Jack with her life. Even if she and her sons survive, she’s not sure her heart will…

Contains a warrior who doesn’t hesitate to lay his body on the line, more than one emotional love story to tug at your heart, and chaos at Chuck E. Cheese.

FIRST LINE:

Pink Floyd’s “Time” hammered through Sergeant First Class Jack Hunter’s brain as he tightened his grip on the treadmill and ran harder, his heart pounding, his lungs burning.

PLOT:

Collateral Damage was one hell of a ride! One minute you just know what will happen only to have your know it all readers mind get a jolt of adrenaline from the plot twists you never saw coming. From cover to cover there was not one page that didn’t have you wanting to know what happened next. The author definitely paid attention to the plot points and threads, making sure they weaved seamlessly together to form a wonderful tale of manipulation, secrecy, betrayal and to top it all off – love. She also delved into the meaning of the two most haunting words I have ever read Collateral Damage. If you think about it, those two words can describe so much of what people are suffering and living through right now. While showing there is a price to pay for every action that is taken, the author also pointed out the one thing that is over looked at times – the feeling of being alive, the joy of falling in love, the joy of our children, the steel nerves of determination to not allow our freedom to be taken or our lives to be interrupted. And in my opinion she did a fabulous job of showing the excitement of life through her story. Ms. Saint has written a book that I hope leads to several more to come.

SETTING:

Collateral Damage takes place in the present day. Lauren and Jack’s story starts out in Washington D.C. then moves between Georgia, North Carolina, Dubai and a secluded reserve located in a section of the Peruvian Amazon Rain forest.

WRITING:

Ms. Saint has such a fabulous and strong voice. She lavishes her stories with the grit and truth that makes the story stick with you long after you’ve read the book. I loved her books under her other name, Jennifer St. Giles, and I will definitely be looking for her J.L. Saint books in the future.

CHARACTERS:

Lauren Collins brought a life force to the story that had me riveted to everything happening in the story. She showed a strength within her that made me stop and question how I would respond to the life threatening situations she was plunged into with her twin sons in tow. To follow her through the story and to ‘see’ her fall for the wounded warrior, a man that risked everything to help protect her from being collateral damage to her ex-husbands actions was an emotional journey. Her actions and beliefs in life have changed how I see my own life. And I admit, it is not often that a character can be so well written that they influence me enough to take a step back and consider my own inner beliefs and thoughts.

Jack was the perfect counterpart to Lauren. His soul is tormented and in need of someone strong enough to help him heal. His Delta Team is in need of a leader that is whole enough to lead them and Jack ‘DT’ Hunter is determined to be that leader once again. I won’t say anything else because I would be to tempted to spoil the book for you. Be warned though, DT is one sexy-as-hell warrior that will whisk your heart away!

Ms. Saint also did an excellent job in writing the antagonist. He’s a unique character with a twisted desire to only preserve the world for his son. BUT, you’ll have to read the book to find out just how sick, twisted and somewhat genius he really is. The depth of conflict and the supporting characters provide an exhilarating emotional ride, a story that is simply a must read.

LAST THOUGHTS:

After reading Collateral Damage I couldn’t help but stop and think about my own actions in life. Ms. Saint has brought to my attention just how blessed a life I live. This book has gone to my must keep pile and I look forward to reading the Silent Warrior series as each new book comes out. I also look forward to revisiting Jack and Lauren for another read soon!

The post Collateral Damage Review – Night Owl Reviews appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.