Hey everyone! I have the very awesome Angela Scavone on my blog today (just in time for Memorial Day!) talking about her latest release, A JOURNEY HOME, starring a heroine who escorts fallen soldiers back home from war-torn countries. How can you not want to read this book?! Read on to find out more about this great novel and Angela herself. 🙂

L.D.: Tell us about your latest release!

Angela: My latest release is a contemporary romance about an Air Force captain, Steph, who flies back and forth from war zones bringing home the bodies of fallen soldiers. She then gets partnered up with her ex-husband DA. You can only imagine how that can turn out 🙂

L.D.: I’m already in love with the concept! What was the hardest thing about writing this book? The easiest?

Angela: The hardest thing was the research. The number of heartbreaking stories I read, to gain insight into military procedures, was unbelievable. The easiest was the characters–they were so likeable from the start. I loved writing their story and how they evolved throughout the book.

L.D.: I can just imagine how sad those stories are. Particularly when it involves the death of one of our fallen heroes. If you could bring one of your characters (villain or hero) to life, who would you choose? Why?

Angela: I would totally bring DA to life. He is such a down to earth guy that I think he would be fun to have around in real life (not to mention super hot!!!).

L.D.: Oh, yeah! A super hot military man? *swoon* Okay, so Paramount Pictures wants to make a movie about your latest novel. Who plays the main characters?

Angela: Bradley Cooper as DA (see, totally hot!) and Jennifer Lawrence as Steph. I know it sounds like Silver Linings Playbook, but I think they would play these characters well. Steph is a strong person that only Jennifer Lawrence could portray and Bradley Cooper — well, he’s Bradley Cooper. 🙂

L.D.: Ha, you’ve got that right! And I LOVE Jennifer Lawrence! Great casting, Silver Linings Playbook or not. 😉 So tell us a little about yourself.

Angela: By day, I am a corporate application analyst who works for the public school board analyzing student data. But by night, I am a writer who likes to spend time with her two pups and my wonderful little niece and nephew.

L.D.: Sounds wonderful! Tell us one thing about yourself your readers may not know about you.

Angela: I like to cook, I’m not good at it by any stretch of the imagination. However, I am lactose intolerant, so I like to try and make recipes that are lactose-free. I have successfully made many lactose free meals, however some aren’t so successful. Once I tried to make pudding–I love pudding–and I hadn’t found a way to make it lactose-free without it tasting horrible. This time I tried to make it with tofu, peanut butter and banana. I was told it would be absolutely delicious…I was lied to. It was absolutely horrendous, so sadly I am still in search of a lactose-free pudding recipe that tastes delicious.

L.D.: Oh, no! I wish I could help, but I am most definitely not a cook, never mind when it comes to lactose-free, gluten-free, whatever-free foods. Maybe one of our readers could help out! Feel free to chime in with a good recipe, dear Reader. 🙂 So, Angela, tell us what you’re working on now.

Angela: I’m actually working on two manuscripts. One is a christmas story that involves the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ and a fictional history of its origin. The second manuscript I’m working on is a contemporary romance involving time travel. 🙂 The time travel romance is in extremely early stages though.

L.D.: Both sound awesome and I’m looking forward to reading them! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your story with us. This sounds like a great read for tomorrow, doesn’t it? 😉

A JOURNEY HOME:

What a great cover!

Blurb:

Stephanie Tyler’s sole job is to fly overseas to war torn areas of the world to retrieve and escort the bodies of fallen soldiers back home to the United States. It is a tough and emotional job but she is honored for the privilege. Her duty also helps her to escape her past and her failed marriage.

But those flights have become increasingly more dangerous and she is forced to have a partner accompany her. Much to Stephanie’s surprise and dismay, she is partnered up with her ex-husband, Captain “D.A.” Douglas Aston.

From the moment Captain D.A. enters the scene, he irritates her. It could have something to do with the fact he slept with her best friend while they were married. As they go on several missions together, Stephanie is forced to be courteous and professional with D.A. even though the very sight of him irritates her beyond comprehension.

Then, Stephanie’s cheating, husband stealing, ex-best friend is killed in Afghanistan and Stephanie and D.A. must escort her body home. While executing this difficult duty, a myriad of conflicting emotions makes Stephanie ponder how short life really is . . . and to question her own ability to forgive.

BUY LINK: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W3UK05A/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_BdEyvb0TBT4WP

Excerpt:

The phone intercom buzzed and Pam came over the speaker. “Sorry to interrupt, Colonel, but you wanted me to let you know when Captain Aston was here.”

I stared at the Colonel wide-eyed.

He merely smiled and said, “Thanks, Pam. I’ll be out in a minute.”

“He’s here now?” I asked, incredulously.

“Didn’t I mention that?” He rose from his chair and walked to the door as I stood and straightened my uniform.

The Colonel stood with his hand on the doorknob, watching me fuss. “You look tremendous, Captain.”

“What? Oh I don’t care what I look like for him,” I immediately protested, waving my hand in the air.

“Of course.” He was still smiling as he opened the door. “Captain Aston, please come in.”

I heard his voice first. “Thank you, Colonel.”

I glanced down at my uniform to make sure everything was in place before he came into the room. When I looked back up, Captain Aston was walking through the door.

To the female eye, he was a very attractive man. He stood at six-four and was well built, but not so much that muscles and tendons were popping out everywhere. He had a strong jaw and black hair just long enough to run your fingers through. Dressed in full uniform, his handsome features were even more prominent.

Not that I noticed.

“Please come in and we can discuss your new role.”

“Yes, Sir.” Captain DA put out his hand for me to shake, flashing his killer smile that started in his bright blue eyes and ended in a set of mouth-framing dimples. “Good to see you again, Captain.”

I returned his smile and handshake, determined to be professional in front of the Colonel even if it killed me.

Colonel Madison resumed his place behind his desk. “Please sit. This is a quick, informal meeting to get reacquainted with each other.”

I remained on my feet which kept both men standing. “Sir, with all due respect,” I began, facing the Colonel, “I cannot work with Captain Aston.” Apparently, my mouth wasn’t on board with being professional.

“Why not?” DA asked, sounding offended.

I ignored his question and kept my attention on the Colonel, who looked as if he were about to laugh. “We used to be married.”

“I know that.” He smiled.

“Our marriage did not end on a positive note,” I continued, “and I don’t think I can work with him on a day to day basis. In fact, I left Virginia to get away from him.”

“You know, I’m standing right here,” DA chimed in.

“Captain Tyler, are you telling me you can’t put your differences aside to work together as a team? Even though I asked you as a personal favor?” The Colonel’s smile had vanished and there was now a warning in his tone.

“No, Sir.” I heard the warning and decided it was time to back off the fight. “I’ll try putting our differences aside to work together, but I can’t promise I won’t kill him in the process.”

The Colonel coughed out a chuckle. “That’s all I can ask for. Now, you—hopefully—have some time off before another call comes in. Why don’t you show Captain DA around?”

The Colonel spoke as I reached for the door handle. “I’m curious, off the record, of course. How did your marriage end? I remember the wedding. You two seemed so compatible and so in love. What happened?”

DA and I looked at each other for the first time since his arrival.

“He cheated on me with a friend of mine,” I replied baldly.

“I did not cheat on you! How many times do I have to say it before you believe me?” he retorted, all vestiges of professionalism gone.

“Oh, here we go again!” I shouted back. “I came home early, I walked into the kitchen and there was Alex on top of you on the kitchen floor.”

“I told you it wasn’t what it looked like. I have said over and over again that I did not sleep with Alex!” His tone increased until he was shouting, too.

“You’re telling me that you two never slept together?” I demanded an answer.

“Well . . .” He looked away from me. “Not while we were married.”

“I knew it!”

“It was after we were separated and you had moved here! What did you want me to do? Never sleep with anyone again?”

“You can sleep with whomever or whatever you want for all I care—”

“Ahem.” The Colonel cut in. I jerked back, startled; in the heat of arguing with my frustrating ex, I had forgotten my boss was there.

“Sorry, Sir. Do you see why I can’t work with him?”

The Colonel regarded us both. “Alex?” he questioned DA.

“Alexandra Keating, Sir. She was Stephanie’s best friend.”

“Best friend, my left toe! She’s a traitorous, backstabbing, two-faced, lying, husband stealing bitch.”

“Wow, that’s quite descriptive, Captain. Why don’t you tell us your true feelings about her?” Both of the Colonel’s eyebrows rose in shock.

“I’m only speaking the truth, Sir.” I addressed the Colonel but glared at DA.

“Well.” He clapped his hands together to signal the end of our bickering. “I know you two can be respectful when escorting a fallen soldier home and I know you will be professional during the dignified transfer ceremonies. However, please try and be professional at other times as well or at least civil to each other.” He waved us toward the door.

DA and I both nodded and exited the office. Before we could leave the reception area, the Colonel poked his head out of his office door.

“And, Captain Tyler-”

“Sir?”

“Try not to kill him, please. He just arrived at our base and it wouldn’t look good in the press.”

Knowing the Colonel had a wicked sense of humor, I still couldn’t find my own jocularity. “No promises, Sir, But I’ll give it my best shot.”

“That’s all I ask.”

(Haha, I LOVE IT!)

More about Angela Scavone:

Angela lives in Ontario, Canada sharing her home with her father and two much-loved pups (and one evil cat).  She currently works for the Board of Education behind the scenes supporting and analyzing student data, however, in her spare time, apart from her avid love of storytelling, she likes to read, spend time with family and friends and concoct dairy free recipes from scratch. Sometimes she wins some and sometimes she loses some – tofu, banana and peanut butter pudding we are looking at you.

Where you can find Angela:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/angela.scavone.52

Twitter https://twitter.com/busterwhyte

Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6683076-angela-scavone

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/busterwhyte/