Guest Post: In My Sights by L. J. Garland & Debbie Gould!!

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In My Sights (1 Night Stand Series)
by
L. J. Garland & Debbie Gould

Pararescuemen, Book 2

1Night Stand

Six months ago, Siobhan Cantrell’s world was changed forever by a sniper’s bullet. The incident transformed her from a secure confident woman to a recluse, afraid to leave her own home. When her friends urge her to re-enter the world of the living, they suggest Madame Eve’s 1Night Stand dating service. Nervous, she signs up and learns the company is renowned for in-depth background checks and safe encounters. So, how dangerous could it be?

Sergeant Bobby Martin has witnessed Madame Eve’s magic firsthand. His teammate found true love through her service. Still a skeptic but giving in to peer pressure, the Air Force Pararescueman signs himself up. When he meets Siobhan, his doubts fly out the window—unfortunately bullets start flying in them. Determined to protect her from a sniper that won’t give up, Bobby vows to keep her safe. As their chemistry ramps up, so does the sniper’s attempts.

Can Bobby keep Siobhan alive, or will the killer catch them in his sights?

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Excerpt

“Look, I’m not gonna lie to you.” He loosened his hold on her while he perused her face, settling on her mouth. “I wasn’t sure about this one-night thing to start with, but after seeing you…well, I can definitely follow through. No problem.” He shifted his attention to her eyes, the naked heat swirling in his baby blues causing her breath to catch. “But after what all you told me, I want you to know I get it. We can play this thing any way you want. Fast. Slow. Or I can just hold you.” He trailed his fingers up and down her arms, sending delicious tingles along her skin. “Though I’ll admit, that’s not my first choice.”

She stared at him. God, he was such a gentleman. Without hesitating, she lifted onto her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck, crushed her mouth against his, and…holy crap, what a kiss! Her pulse jumped, her head spun. A fire sparked deep inside her, and her breath caught at the passion winding through her. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting exactly, but not anything like this.

Before she melted into a puddle at his feet, she broke the kiss and gazed up at him. “Does that answer your question?”

A sexy grin curved his lips. “Yes, ma’am.”

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Grab your copy of IN MY SIGHTS here...
Amazon / ARe / Barnes & Noble

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Do You Like This Idea? Umm…Maybe!

Debbie: Hi, I’m Debbie Gould, and this is my writing partner, L.J. Garland.
LJ: Hi! We’re thrilled to be guest bloggers here on Simply Ali. What a great site.
Debbie: Today we were asked about the advantages and disadvantages of writing stories as a team.
LJ: Um, Debbie?
Debbie: Yeah?
LJ: Do you like writing with me?
Debbie: (rolls eyes) What a stupid question.
LJ: Okaaay. After all these years of writing together, and I still can’t get a straight answer.
Debbie: Look, we’ve written together for so long, it’s like we share one brain. Just think about it.
LJ: About us sharing a brain?
Debbie: (smacks Laura upside the head) No! If you think about it, the answer will come.
LJ: Wow…that’s sounding awfully Field of Dreams-ish.
Debbie: (snorts) See? You’re already there.
LJ: Of course I am. You remind me of Yoda.
Debbie: Your reference, I know not.
LJ: (sigh) So, I found this list of Advantages and Disadvantages of authors writing together.
Debbie: And…?
LJ: Think about it. The answer will come. :)

1. Drowning in a sea of red….
Working with a writing partner gives you someone to share the editing duties with.

Debbie: This really speeds up the process of editing.
LJ: Yep. And a second set of eyes never hurts.
Debbie: But I could see how this might be a problem for other partners.
LJ: How so?
Debbie: Well, they might both hate editing…and then one is waiting for the other to do a round and the edits never get done. Or worse, a deadline is missed.
LJ: Oh gosh, yeah. That would be bad. I guess the authors would have to agree on how edits would be accomplished. Maybe the authors only edit the chapters they wrote. They would be familiar with their words and could zip through those red lines.
Debbie: And if they worked on everything together like we do, then I guess they could just flip a coin for who does the first pass.
LJ: Works for me!

2. #$*&#@!!!
You have someone you can whine to about your edito— um, your day.

Debbie: Not that WE would say anything about our edito—um, day. Our days are great. But you’re right. If you did have a bad day, then you could whine back and forth, get it out of your system, and no one would be the wiser.
LJ: True! LOL But I could see how too much whining about your day might make an author worry they might be thought of as a complainer by their partner. If that happened, it could play havoc on creativity. Writers are a creative bunch…and some are insecure by nature.
Debbie: Makes sense.
LJ: Wait, what are you saying? Do you think I whine too much?
Debbie: Too much you worry! Sheesh.

3. And then we could….
Brainstorming allows you to build on each other’s ideas.

LJ: This is probably my favorite part of working together. I don’t have to come up with all the ideas.
Debbie: It’s funny, because we always come up with our own separate ideas, but once we start bouncing them back and forth, they turn into really amazing ideas and so much more involved then when we began.
LJ: That’s true! Course, we have like what, ten stories laid out that we need to write?
Debbie: I’d think well over a dozen.
LJ: LOL Well, I guess that could be an advantage AND a disadvantage.

4. Buy this book…please!
You have someone to help you promote your stories.

Debbie: A BIG plus right there. Soooo much easier to come up with blog ideas when two are working on it.
LJ: Yes! And we can share getting the promotional materials out there to all the different sites. But I’ll be honest. I really don’t like doing promo. I feel like I’m just hunting and pecking around.
Debbie: What’s with the chicken reference?
LJ: Dunno. Maybe it’s subconscious. So, what if the co-authors BOTH hate doing promo?
Debbie: Well, that would be us in a nutshell. But we seem to get it done when push comes to shove. I suppose we could be better at it though.

5. Wait a second. How the heck did that donkey get up on the roof?
The story takes a twist you didn’t see coming.

LJ: Well, for coming up with twists, I’d say we actually do pretty well together. I mean, if we had a donkey up on a roof, we’d know how it got there and why.
Debbie: But we’d keep it till the end.
LJ: Yep. Gotta keep readers turning pages.
Debbie: But I could see how this might be a disadvantage for some partners. One author might think an idea is great, but it might not really ‘work’ for the other.
LJ: True. And then it all comes down to communication. Like any relationship, you’ve got to be willing to work through issues. To talk it out.
Debbie: And compromise. Maybe this time you get to keep the donkey, but next time I get to keep the sexy, slurpalicious fighter pilot.
LJ: Wait, why am I getting stuck with the donkey.
Debbie: (shrugs) Birds of a feather…
LJ: Did you just call me an a—?
Debbie: Me??

6. If I had half a mind….
You both think so much alike, it’s creepy.

LJ: Well, for us, thinking alike works.
Debbie: It is truly creepy. I mean there are times where we are both typing on IM and end up saying the exact same thing.
LJ: But I could see how it might be an issue for some partners. I mean, if they think too much alike, what would give them a unique voice or ideas?
Debbie: Hey, that could be a story in itself. New plotline…two authors who met on-line, clicked and started co-authoring when suddenly they start sharing dreams, then one of them starts behaving really weird. Like she knows EVERYTHING about the other, as if she was actually in the same room. Starts getting really needy. Strange things start happening to the normal author, too. She starts seeing her co-author’s reflection in the mirror and then…wait, I can’t say anymore here. IM me.
LJ: Ooo…Okay. Guess this will get added to the TBW pile!
Debbie: Ohhh, it gets better!!!! And yes, we’ll be adding it to the To Be Written pile.

7. Prepare for take-off….
Working with someone else helps you grow as an author.

Debbie: Most definitely!
LJ: I think I’ve grown as an author since working with you. You are excellent with emotions and making dialog read realistically.
Debbie: And I’ve become much more aware of descriptions. It’s something I’ve always glossed over. Even when reading, I tend to skim over descriptions, but you’ve shown me the importance of describing a setting or scene.
LJ: But I can see how this might not work for some partners. Genres are like a box of chocolates…some have caramel centers, some have creams, and others are nutty.
Debbie: Definitely the last one.
LJ: Yeah. LOL I’m sure there are several people out there who would agree. Well, I’m going to get you into sci-fi romance soon…and you will like it. LOL

LJ: Hmm…I guess that covers some of the issues co-authors might have.
Debbie: There are probably others.
LJ: (turns to readers) What about them?
Debbie: Well, I sure some of them have either co-authored stories or thought about it.
LJ: If you co-authored a book, what issues did you have to deal with and how did you handle them?
Debbie: And if you’ve thought about co-authoring a story, what stopped you?
LJ: Sooo while we wait for comments and questions, I’m going to get some coffee.
Debbie: Seriously? Okay, so having a caffeine-addicted writing partner definitely should have been on the list!

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About the Authors

L. J. Garland
Though born and raised in the south, L.J. Garland has lived on both the east and west coasts. She adores traveling, the latest adventures added to her Bucket List: Machu Pichu and Australia’s Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef.

Married to her best friend for over twenty years, she spends her time home schooling three rambunctious boys, editing in the epub industry, and writing stories that she hopes catches her readers’ imaginations as much as the characters and plotlines captivate her. In her spare time (what there is of it LOL), she has a multitude of hobbies, including building archery equipment from scratch and creating stained glass. She has a passion for anything that goes Boom! …from fireworks to high-powered combat rifles…it’s all good. She and her husband are both rated helicopter pilots and spent their 10thanniversary flying cross-country from east to west coast…an adventure she highly recommends.

A member of RWA, she has several published books, including Cadence Interrupted, On the Fringes, Dreamspell Revenge Anthology, and MechMan, she’s now teamed up with Debbie Gould. Having complete one manuscript, Sins of the Mind, they are hard at work, brainstorming and writing the creative new Sentinel Series.

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Debbie Gould
Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, at the age of two Debbie and her mother moved to New Jersey, spending many happy years on her grandparents' horse farm. You'll sometimes find this setting as a backdrop in her work.

As a teenager, she and her mother found a new home in Vermont, where she currently resides. With a daughter in the Air Force (along with Debbie's six-year-old grandson), and two sons working for the family Well Drilling business, Debbie now shuffles her time between a full time job as a nurse and her writing career.

About seven years ago, while looking at over three hundred treasured books lining her shelves, she realized there was a multitude of stories of her own clamoring for release. Since then, she's seriously persevered in keeping the keyboard in constant motion.

With three published books complete, Mountain's Echo and Infidelity, andNovember Rain, Debbie is now working with a partner, L.J. Garland. Together, they have finished one manuscript, Sins Of the Mind, and are now working on their Sentinel Series.

Debbie has been a member of KOD, FTHRW, ELEMENTS and RWA Online.

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Learn more about the authors here...
We can be tracked down at http://www.garland-and-gould.blogspot.com/ where we blog, chat about stuff, and interview other authors.
- L.J. can be caught at www.lj-garland.com and emailed at mail@lj-garland.com You can also tweet her at @LJ_Garland1
- Debbie can be found at http://www.authordebbiegould.com/ and emailed at mountecho2006@yahoo.com.
- We love hearing from people who have enjoyed our stories!

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Thank you to both L. J. Garland & Debbie Gould for joining us today and giving us one fantastic guest post!!

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