Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews: Interview with authors of contemporary military romance novel Elite Metal

Welcome to a new week, readers. We’re kicking it off with an interview about Elite Metal – Book One in the Elite Warriors series. The authors are: Jennifer Kacey, Anna Alexander, Heather Long, Rebecca Royce, Sabrina York, Saranna DeWylde, and Roxie Rivera.

During their virtual book tour, the authors will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit their other tour stops and enter there, too.

Book-related questions answered by Jennifer Kacey

Welcome to Reviews and Interviews, ladies! Please tell us about Elite Metal.

For decades the US Marines funded a top-secret unit known as Elite Recon. A deadly group of men and women sent to infiltrate dozens of countries completely undetected. Mission objectives so extreme casualties were not only probable, but expected.

The current batch of operatives had returned from hundreds of assignments unscathed…until one mission went horribly wrong. Several men lost their lives and the group disbanded. The remaining leathernecks were scattered in the wind with new identities. They were told to blend in. Be normal. Or face being forever silenced just like their fallen brothers.

Now, two years later, each living member of the group is kidnapped and given a chance to make things right. But this time they’re no longer under the thumb of Uncle Sam. A mysterious private backer who knows about their past has brought them back together. No longer are they forced to turn a blind eye to the lost and forsaken.

A new life. A new future…Elite Metal.

Blurbs from the stories in the series:

Bound By Steele

By Anna Alexander and Jennifer Kacey

To save his Marine brothers and sister he must accept the past isn’t dead and buried. Reuniting survivors means he is forced to first forgive…the enemy.

Steele, the man he was, died. A civilian with a new name stands in his place in the wake of death. Everything he had, lost when his undercover contact, Venus, disappeared when it counted most. In the shadow of regret, Steele is reborn from the flames of a Phoenix. To right the wrongs that destroyed his military family, he must put his trust in the hands of a mysterious backer, and the woman who led his team to the slaughter.

Not knowing who sold her out at the final hour, Alayna Devlin, spent the last two years on the run. Then the mastermind behind Elite Metal tracked her down, and offered her the chance to atone for past mistakes. To cleanse her conscience requires a baptism by fire and submission to the man who will either put the final nail in her coffin or set her heart free.

The past. The future. Truth. Lies. Nothing is as it seems when two shattered hearts are finally given the chance to heal.

Chrome’s Salvation

By Jennifer Kacey

A former leader of Elite Recon, reduced to nothing more than an apathetic existence.

Until his girl’s life hangs in the balance…now nothing will stand in the way of him coming back to life.

Chrome had it all. Exactly what he wanted. A career in the Marines he loved, fighting alongside his brothers and sisters to protect the US from everything set out to destroy it. Then on their last mission as Elite Recon they were double-crossed…and everything went horribly wrong.

Cammie needs help rescuing her siblings from the clutches of a man determined to crush everything she holds dear. But she has no one to turn to. No one to lean on when she’s trapped in a world she never knew existed. Lost in a world of pseudo-normalcy Chrome’s reduced to nothing more than existing. Day in. Day out. Nothing to live for.

Until his girl’s life hangs in the balance. Now nothing will stand in his way of coming back to life.

Love at first sight is a myth. Or so Chrome thought. Everything he thinks is true disappears in the presence…of his salvation.

Adamantium’s Roar

By Anna Alexander

Adamantium left Beth to what he thought was a better life, only to find she had been living in hell. Now he’ll do anything, break any vow, to claim her as his for all time.

Adamantium feels right at home being back to what he does best with his Elite Metal buddies, especially if it keeps his mind off her. Beth Bradshaw. His best friend’s girl. But when their paths cross again, he discovers Beth is in the hands of a dangerous man. Vow or now vow to his Elite Metal family, Ant will do anything to claim the woman he loves.

Pure Copper

By Heather Long

Copper will do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if it means seducing and betraying the one man who really sees her.

Former Marine special forces, Sachi “Copper” James is a chameleon. She thrives on being someone else. Her mission? Identify the rat who sold her team bad intel. Gabriel Danvers, ex-CIA analyst, is a master of disseminating the details. He wants to enjoy a normal life, retired from the game. His mission? Teach classes.

When Gabriel becomes the target of Copper’s investigation, he re-enters a world of danger and deception--all to claim the passion of the one woman who’s haunted him for years.

Sterling’s Seduction

By Sabrina York

When a snoopy reporter threatens the Elite Metal, Sterling will do whatever it takes to kill her story about the team. Even if it means he has to tie her to his bed.

When Sterling spots a reporter masquerading as a waitress in a dingy bar in Deep Ellum, he suspects she’s investigating the team. And that’s something he just cannot allow to happen. Too many lives are at stake. He will do everything in his power to learn the truth—even seduce her. And to stop her story from coming out? He might even tie her to the bed.

Nothing is off the table when it comes to keeping his brothers safe. Nothing. It’s a damn shame she’s everything he’s ever wanted. It’s a damn shame her touch warms his cold, dead heart.

Platinum’s Choice

By Rebecca Royce

Platinum left the life he had with Rose in New York to rejoin his team and silence the nightmares from Operation Phoenix. But when Rose is forced to go on the run with Platinum’s hidden son, he will have no choice but to return to his old life and reclaim what he has ached for every day since. Red Wolf’s sniper wants to nudge Plat’s underbelly and they’re going to find out quickly how deadly he can be.

Platinum was a man of few words before he changed his name and had his sniper rifle taken away. But as Elijah, he could start over, maybe even fall in love with his hidden son's Kindergarten teacher, Rose. But Platinum is reborn when Elijah is kidnapped, so he's left with no choice but to vanish, leaving Rose to wonder about his fate, broken-hearted.

Rose has spent the last year getting over the disappearance of the man she knew as Eli. Now, alone and terrified, she finds herself on the run from a sniper while trying to hide a scared little boy from certain death.

Red Wolf's crew isn't done with Plat, and his soft underbelly is just the place to nudge. Sniper vs. sniper, Platinum will reclaim what is his. That is, if she'll even have him back...

Mercury’s Poison

By Saranna DeWylde

A scarred, mad genius more monster than man must protect the beauty he's become obsessed with from a beast more terrible than himself.

Serum 17 took his face, took his kindness and took his empathy. It took, in essence, all of John Thrace leaving only the Elite Metal operative "Mercury" in his place. A man marked with a biohazard tattoo because he knows he's incompatible with other living things. Until he becomes obsessed with the seemingly innocent doctor Hazel Brewer and a chance encounter changes everything.

Hazel knows the giant scarred man won't hurt her even though she's in the business of saving lives and he'd rather take them. In fact, she's never felt safer or more alive than when she's with him. Even when a terrible biological weapon forces her into his arms for a night of hot passion she won't soon forget.

Their love could be the redemption he never thought he wanted, or something even more toxic: Mercury's poison.

Forged in Silver

By Roxie Rivera

Rebel. Nomad. Troublemaker.

After surviving the double-cross during Operation Phoenix, Former Elite Recon Marine Silver embraces the underworld and builds a new life as one of the world's most renowned thieves. Jewels, paintings, corporate espionage--there's no job he won't take for the right price.

Until Poppy Jones orders her ghosts to snatch him up in Budapest and haul him back to Texas to face her brand of justice...

Forced to decide between a prison cell and signing on to Elite Metal, Silver chooses the latter. Quietly operating in the background of a team that no longer trusts or wants him, he completes all the dirty little jobs that keep the team alive and flush with new intel.

But when he learns Poppy plans to infiltrate a terrorist gathering, he refuses to hide in the shadows a moment longer. In a world of secrets and lies, Poppy Jones is his bright light of truth and trust.

And he'll brave the fires of hell--and the disdain of Steele and Chrome--to protect her.

Jennifer, what inspired you to write this series?

A conversation with another author and we thought it would be cool to write a set together. I never in my wildest dreams thought it would turn into what it has. It’s amazing and I hope everybody loves it as much as the authors do!!

Excerpt from “Chrome’s Salvation” by Jennifer Kacey:

Unable to help himself he kept a safe distance from her and…

Nothing.

He rolled his eyes and headed off in the opposite direction of his Harley, which he was so ready to open up on the highway and blow the wistful bullshit out of his head.

Then he stopped dead in his tracks.

He was single.

She seemed single.

It wasn’t too long ago when he used to know how to actually talk to a woman to get her out of her panties, and he was pretty sure he could remember how to do that for the right person.

The chick slowly moving away from him, digging in her purse surely for her keys could definitely be the right person.

He wouldn’t know unless he actually cut the silent and deadly act and went and talked to her.

He turned on his heel, moving back toward her, and he picked up the pace to try to get to her before she got to her vehicle. The lights on an SUV blinked when she hit a button on her remote control.

The tiny prick on the back of his neck shot so much adrenaline into his system, all of his training came out in an explosion of instinct.

He swept his leg out behind him, dropping one of his attackers. But that was it. His brain kept telling his muscles to move but as if in slow motion he hit the ground.

Whatever drug pumping through his system was effective if not lethal.

Another masked man dressed all in black stepped next to him just as a van pulled up beside him.

No squealing tires. No sound at all. Pure silence surrounded him.

The door opened and two more men, dressed similarly piled out, lifting him into the confines of the unmarked vehicle. The first man grabbed his bag, which had fallen to the ground and flung it in next to him. He climbed in, shutting the door behind himself.

Chrome wanted to ask questions, he willed his mouth to move but he couldn’t get his lips, much less his vocal cords, to cooperate.

He’d had this drug before. His responses—he’d experienced them before.

His team had been chemically trained to resist the effects of most muscular paralyzers. In their line of work the government had spared no expense.

Most anyone else would have already been unconscious. But he fought just as he was trained to do.

The van moved but he couldn’t see anything but sky after they pulled out of the parking garage.

Another prick in his arm registered and he huffed out a breath. It was the only displeasure he could register before darkness sucked him under.

His eyes flicked open and closed as he tried to retain consciousness.

The crackle of a radio made its way past the fog trying to overtake him.

“Chrome secure. ETA thirteen hours.”

They found me.

Whatever torture was coming, whoever thought they could break him to get what they wanted… They were shit outta luck. He’d go to his grave before he talked. Resignation filled his mind.

He always knew his enemies would find him eventually. Or the government found someone fast enough to dispose of him.

They were quicker than he expected.

The sleeping face of the little girl, and the tear-stained eyes of the woman he’d wanted flashed in front of his eyelids.

He was glad they were the last people he’d ever see.

And no matter what was coming he’d be dead within a matter of days.

Thank God it’s finally over.

Relief settled deep inside.

Blackness seeped into his mind and for the first time, and hopefully the last …he didn’t fight it.

What exciting story are you working on next?

We might possibly be working on Book Two in the Elite Warrior series. Elite Ghosts. OMG – CANNOT WAIT!!!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

The first time I finished a full novel which was actually the first thing I ever really wrote. It was 105K I think. You finish that big of a story, no matter how sucky the first draft is, or how much editing it takes to fix it, I say you’re a writer.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

Nope. I still have a real life day job as well that I work at 50 hrs a week. I write at night and on the weekends. Keeps me sane to say the very least. You make time for what’s important. Truly.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Can’t write a book in order. Just can’t do it.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

High Risk Obstetrician since I was in the fourth grade. Go big or go home, right?

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Hope you love the set as much as we do! Writing it has been a huge undertaking for all of us and we can’t be more pleased with it. HUGS TO EVERYONE SUPPORTING THE SET!!! More to come!!

Authors bios and links:

Jennifer Kacey is a writer, mother, and business owner living with her family in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. She’s the Amazon top seller and award winning author of the Members Only Series and the Surrender Series along with several standalone novels and novellas. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

Jennifer's social media links:

Website | Blog: The Decadent Divas | Facebook personal page | Facebook Author Page |

Twitter | Amazon Page | Goodreads | Pinterest

Anna Alexander's literary world changed at age thirteen when a friend gave her a copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss's "A Rose in Winter." With her mind thoroughly blown, she decided that one day she too would be a romance writer. With Hugh Jackman's abs and Christopher Reeve's blue eyes as inspiration, she loves spinning tales about superheroes finding love.

Anna's social media links:

Heather Long, a national bestselling author, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them; you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.

Heather's social media links:

Rebecca Royce

As a teenager, Rebecca would hide in her room to read her favorite romance novels when she was supposed to be doing her homework.

She is the mother of three adorable boys and is fortunate to be married to her best friend. They are transplants from the northeastern part of the United States to the great state of Texas, specifically Austin.

She is in love with science fiction, fantasy and the paranormal and tries to use all these elements in her writing. In her world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.

Rebecca's social media links:

Goodreads | Pinterest

Sabrina York

Her Royal Hotness, Sabrina York, is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of hot, humorous stories for smart and sexy readers. Her titles range from sweet & sexy to scorching erotic romance. Connect with her on twitter @sabrina_york, on Facebook or on Pinterest. Visit her webpage at www.sabrinayork.com to check out her books, excerpts and contests. Free Teaser Book: http://sabrinayork.com/home-2/sabrina-yorks-teaser-book/ And don’t forget to enter to win the royal tiara!

Sabrina's social media links:

Blogs: http://thedecadentdivas.blogspot.com/ and http://sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com/

Saranna DeWylde

Saranna DeWylde has always been fascinated by things better left in the dark. She wrote her first story after watching The Exorcist at a slumber party. Since then, she's published horror, romance and narrative nonfiction. Like all writers, Saranna has held a variety of jobs, from operations supervisor for an airline, to an assistant for a call girl, to a corrections officer. But like Hemingway said, "Once writing has become your major vice and greatest pleasure, only death can stop it." So she traded in her cuffs for a full-time keyboard. She loves to hear from her readers.

Saranna's social media links:

Roxie Rivera

A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, I like to write super sexy romances and scorching hot erotica. I live in Texas with my red-bearded Viking husband and a sweet but rowdy preschool-aged daughter with autism and heart defects. We also have two wildly rambunctious Great Danes named Hannibal and Murdock.

My other book writing alter ego--Lolita Lopez--was named one of Latina Magazine's Eight Erotic Latina Authors To Check Out. Lo writes deliciously steamy tales for Forever Yours/Grand Central, Mischief/Harper Collins UK, Siren Publishing and Cleis Press.

Roxie's social media links:

Website | Blog | Facebook Author Page | Twitter | Amazon Page

Thanks, ladies! Happy writing!

a Rafflecopter giveaway