I’m Kaylea Cross, and I write military romantic suspense. Absolution is the fifth and final book in my award-winning series with The Wild Rose Press, and I’m so sad that the series is finished. I miss the characters so much! I do have another series
coming up with Carina Press, the first book of which will release this summer, but Absolution holds a very special place in my heart. The hero in this book, Luke Hutchinson, is far and away my favorite character of all. He came into my head so clearly the very first time I wrote him into a scene in book one (Out of Her League), I swear I could almost touch him. Through the series he’s been the driving force behind the sweeping military story arc, and at last here I got to pit him one on one against the lethal terrorist he created...Farouk Tehrazzi.
Research for this book was very interesting. For Luke’s character way back when I started the series, I read a biography about a Navy SEAL that served in Beirut during the civil war there, and learned a lot about why the political situation is the way it is in Lebanon. Later I also read books about tracking al-Qaeda through the Tora Bora Mountains of Afghanistan, and the CIA’s efforts (including their covert paramilitary officers) to defeat the Taliban in the early stages of the war with the Northern Alliance. Lots of very interesting and pertinent information.
And then there’s my heroine, Emily. Luke’s ex-wife. She’s been through hell and back. Only fifty years old, she’s already fighting breast cancer for the second time. For her story I did research on breast cancer, treatments, and then interviewed a few breast cancer patients to find out what it’s really like to battle the disease. The statistics are shocking, and there are very few of us who won’t be touched by the disease either personally or through a loved one or acquaintance in our lifetimes.
Both these characters have been through the ringer, and I wanted to make sure I did Emily and Luke justice in their book. It’s a love story, a military story, and while it has a happy ending I didn’t want to sugar coat the issues Emily faces in her future. It’s a wrenching story full of love, fear, danger and hope. I hope you enjoy it!
I’m giving away a digital copy to one commenter. To enter, leave me a comment about special ops or breast cancer and I’ll choose the winner at the end of the weekend. Make sure you include your e-mail so I can contact you. Don’t worry, I won’t put you on my mailing list unless you ask me to .
Happy reading!
Kaylea Cross
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