Guest Author D.L. Jackson

Debbie: Morning all! Today we are at Fort Drum visiting with D.L. Jackson. (turns to Laura) Did you know this was D.L.’s old stomping grounds?

Laura: No, I didn’t. But I can see why she wouldn’t have minded stomping around here. Look at all the new recruits. Woohoo!

Debbie: Does a heart proud, but they’re too young. I’d rather look at those more seasoned guys over there.

Laura: They all look good to me. Mmm. Something about a guy in fatigues carrying rifles. J

Debbie: No shortage of free flowing testosterone around her, that’s for sure.

Laura: Well, at least we don’t have to worry about that hooded guy stalking us here. I’d say we’re nicely protected.

Debbie: Thank goodness for that. You do realize it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen him. Maybe we’ve lost him. Oh, here comes D.L.

Laura: Oh cool! I can’t wait to talk to her about her latest books My Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Courtesan Boot Camp. Hey, D.L., great to see you!

DEBBIE: Wow, D.L. so you were an Army vet. How long were you in?

D.L.: Four years. I was stationed with the 10th Mountain Division in Ft. Drum, NY.

DEBBIE: Cool, and hey, that’s not to far from me.

LAURA: That’s awesome. My hubster was in the Air Force (active and reserves) for twenty years. We got married November 3^rd 1990 and December 26^th he went off to Desert Storm for the first whole year of our marriage. I remember while he was gone hearing “I’m Proud to be an American” playing on the radio and crying. Do you still get that funny tightening in your chest when you hear either Reveille or Retreat?

D.L.: I still hear it all the time. No, really. I live in the country and if I open my windows in the morning or at night, a retired Army Chaplain down the road plays both the bag pipes and the trumpet; it carries really well across the fields. I got so excited the first time I heard Reveille. I bounced my 18 year-old son out of bed to drag him outside to listen. I got the grumbling “I care about this why?” As he’s enlisted in the Army, I smirked and said, “you will, son. You will.”  Now I just sit by the window at oh five-hundred to hear him play it. It’s awesome. And the bag pipes at night—beautiful. He plays for hero’s funerals around the state.

DEBBIE: Oh my gosh, that is too cool. Every time I’m on base with my daughter and I hear it I get all teary. Her basic training graduation I balled like a baby every time, lol. “Amazing Grace”, especially if done by bagpipes never fails to choke me up, too.

LAURA: Oh, I love Amazing Grace. And while my boys aren’t old enough to join the service, I can see it coming. I mean, they all wear Army helmets and run around in the backyard with their Nerf guns shouting out orders to one another.

DEBBIE: I understand two sons have joined the service. You must be extremely proud. What branch are they in?

D.L.: My oldest is a Marine. He’s infantry and at the beginning of Cinderella Wore Combat Boots, you will see a dedication to the boys in his unit. They were in Afghanistan at the time I wrote it.
....My baby will be a combat medic in the Army. He graduates this June and is off to Basic in August. He’s following in his mom and dad’s boot-steps by going Army. Hu-ah.

LAURA: That’s awesome! So, switching gears here. What genre do you write and which is your fav?

D.L.: Romance and erotic romance. To narrow it down, science fiction, time travel, military, paranormal, contemporary, suspense and young adult. My favorite? I like to cross genres and a particular favorite is military, science fiction and urban fantasy.

DEBBIE: Explain urban fantasy for our readers.

D.L.: Urban fantasy take place in cities. A good example of urban fantasy is Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. Harry Dresden is the only wizard in the Chicago phonebook. When you think fantasy, you think magic and magical creatures, when you think science fiction, you think nuts and bolts. So think magic in the city. An example of one of my urban fantasy novels is Slipping the Past. It’s also dystopian.

DEBBIE: Very Cool!

LAURA: I love writing SFR. The world building, the characters, life forms, ships – they’re all great. But the weapons and gadgets? I love to write action-packed stories, so for me, these hold a special interest. Anything that goes BOOM is good to me! lol  What is it about Sci-Fi that attracts you?

D.L.: To write, it’s the ability to create any world within the confines of my imagination. To read it, same reason. It’s the worlds, an escape from the ordinary into the extraordinary.

LAURA: Absolutely! Writing is creative in itself, but to create worlds from scratch? Yeah, your imagination on steroids! lol

DEBBIE: How long have you been writing and did you always want to be an author?

D.L.: I wrote as a child, but mostly short stories, nothing serious. In high school I was more interested in chasing boys and raising hell, than writing. I didn’t write seriously until my boys were in high school. So seven years, almost four years professionally.

DEBBIE: Wow, you’ve done great in that amount of time.

LAURA: And I’ve read your stories. You come up with some awesome plots and characters. What is your fav part of writing? Least fav?

D.L.: My favorite is seeing my story coming to life, the idea in my head translated onto a page. My least favorite would be editing.

DEBBIE: LOL, I’d have to agree about that editing part! Gives me hives. What is it about a man in uniform that makes your heart go thump, thump, thump?

D.L.: LOL Nothing is sexier. It flips a switch in my brain that says, there goes a hero. They exude confidence, and damn, they work out every day. Great bodies.

DEBBIE: Oh, I so agree. Their whole aura is damn sexy.

LAURA: Yes, ma’am!! I wholeheartedly agree! So much so, I had my hubby wear his dress blues for our wedding. (sigh) Hmm…I wonder if that’s why Debbie and I use a lot of military guys in our stories.

DEBBIE: What’s not to love. The Pararesumen in our 1NS stories are just tooo yummy.

LAURA: So, where did the inspiration for My Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy come from?

D.L.: Two things. One was a conversation with other authors about heroes in uniform. The other is the trumpet player I hear every morning and night. It’s hard not to listen to him and not be inspired.
....In My Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy there is a big Dance, I also recall a Military Ball in Cinderella Wears Combat Boots. How are your dancing skills, lol. I love to dance. Country, rock, a little swing. My mother used to have a fitness business and I instructed classes when I was a teenager. I also would do them for my platoon once a week in the Army.

LAURA: Ooo dancing! Love it. Took ballroom dancing and have done my share of line dancing and two-steppin’. Tap, stomp, and twirl baby!

DEBBIE: Okay, Courtesan Boot Camp. Tell me, what is a courtesan?

D.L.: What’s the big deal that Shay has trained her entire life for? Courtesans were some of the most educated women in Renaissance Europe. They were attendants in the courts of monarchs and other important people. And they were sexually liberated and known for their beauty, and traded favors for wealth, housing and were often kept by men of influence. Shay was bred, and raised for one purpose, to someday become the personal courtesan to a king and queen. Since this is science fiction, there are some futuristic twists on the profession as old as time. In my story there is only one Ruellen courtesan in a royal generation, and Shay not only goes to Elatia to train for her future, but to prepare for the final selection where only one will be chosen to serve. With this position comes power, wealth and status. They are like movie stars to the futuristic world, lovers of kings and queens.

LAURA: I know my day is packed. I mean, Debbie emails me 24-7 demanding, er politely requesting chapters and blogs and stuff. What is a typical day as an author like for you?

D.L.: Work my 40-hour week job and squeeze in my writing on my lunch break and on the weekends. I juggle.

LAURA: I bet you do! You sure do crank ‘em out, too. Great stories.

DEBBIE: I need to get more disciplined. After the 40-hour workweek, I’m easily distracted away from writing. I’ve got the scenes running around in my head all the time. Just need to actually sit down and write them.

LAURA: (raises eyebrow) Which reminds me. Where is that next chapter anyway?

DEBBIE: Yeah, see, who is the slave driver???

LAURA: Debbie started the whole PJ thing we’ve got going. Hot sexy heroes and their strong heroines. If you could live one scene from any of your books, what would it be and why? Who’s POV?

D.L.: I’m an evil author. I do evil things to my characters. I’d be scared shitless to live one scene from one of my books. Um, okay. I love Boomer from Blown Away and would gladly take Alice’s place in the bedroom. LOL.

DEBBIE:  Yeah, Laura and I love to do evil things to ours as well. Builds character, ahahahaha. Get it?

LAURA: HAHAHA (groan) Um…okay. So, D.L., got any pets?



A bearded Dragon

D.L.: A bearded dragon named Walter who loves blueberries, and an evil black cat who doesn’t like anyone.

DEBBIE: LOL, maybe the black cat used to be a human man. I know several like him.

LAURA: Um, cats or men?

DEBBIE: Both!! So D.L. what’s next for you?

D.L.: Not sure. I have a lot in the pipeline. I’ve been working on a story to follow Cinderella Wore Combat Boots, called On Being Prince Charming about, yes, Gunny and Lissa. But that might be a while. I have others I’m tinkering with.

And the final Question……………..
....You’re eating a yakisoba on a bullet train, barreling toward Tokyo. An old man and a seeing-eye dog shuffle by your seat and you casually notice they’ve exited from your car and into the baggage car. Worried the sweet old guy might be lost, you go to check to ensure he’s okay. When you enter the car, you find the old man has become very agile and is searching the luggage. Your spidey sense tells you to something is up and you try to back out but discover the door has locked behind you. The guy looks up, sneers, and pulls a knife. Oh, yeah…he’s not an old dude after all. He yells something at you, but you don’t understand him. He brandishes the blade and moves toward you. His dog growls and bares its teeth. All you have are your chopsticks from lunch and a pack of dental floss in your pocket. What do you do?

D.L.: Please, this is a baggage car. You think I’m going to bother with the floss and chopsticks? Rip my top open, because nothing stops a man in their tracks faster than boobs. Besides, he might just stop to question if I’m crazy. Add a song from Broadway and he’s definitely going to think I have a screw loose, or start laughing. Number one rule in a knife fight—don’t. Use the time I gained to go from defense to offense. Start throwing luggage until he drops the knife to block, or I find something big and heavy to keep him out of arm’s reach. Knives are close combat weapons. As long as he or his dog can’t get close, they can’t cut me or bite me. Someone had to pack something better. Oh, and every train car has safety devices in case of fire. I’d yank the alarm and spray the dog with the fire extinguisher.
....Booyah!
....Or I could just curl into the fetal position and suck my thumb.

DEBBIE: LMAO!!!! I think I’d be the latter, lol. Although if we keep getting these great answers, I’ll know what to do if it ever comes up.

LAURA: Yep! I’m sure he’d throw you some Mardi Gras beads for flashing him, too! LOL Nice job. Thank you so much for coming to visit us today, D.L. You’re welcome back any time!

DEBBIE: Yes. Thanks so much for putting up with us. Come back again any time. (turns to Laura) Mardi Gras beads??? He’s a bad guy.

Laura: Well, maybe he wasn’t really a bad guy?? Maybe he was just lost on the train and had the beads in his pocket from Mardi Gras when he’d visited the week before. Since D.L. followed him in there, maybe he thought he was the one being attacked…but when she flashed her boobs, he decided to reward her. I’m sure the show tune put him right in the mood! lol


Debbie's Boys on Bourbon Street

Debbie: BTW, have I ever told you I LOVE Bourbon Street? Cuz I do!

Laura: Wait…you did have the word ‘street’ on the end of that, right?

Debbie: (rolls eyes) Yes. I’m more of a vodka or rum girl. Silly. So where do you suppose the single guys hang out? I think we should find out and show a little gratitude before we head home.

Laura: Hmm. The PX or the mess hall? Maybe the O Club? Course, we could just head down to the local dance club in town. I’m sure several would be there. You need me to be your wing chick? LOL Not that you really need one.

Debbie: Of course I need a wing chick. They’ll check you out, come over, see that you’re married and have to be satisfied with me.

Laura: (smacks Deb upside the head) What are you talking about?? You’re gorgeous! They won’t even see me…my ring of invisibility works awesome. My job is to make sure you get a stand-up guy. (arches eyebrow) Unless you’re looking for something else?

Debbie: Umm, no nothing else. Stand-up guy will do for sure.

Laura: Well, get your dancing shoes on and let’s go!

Debbie: (Chases after Laura) Wait, I have to dance??

My Boogie Woogie Bugle Guy  $2.99

A 1Night Stand Story ....When Grace Daniels goes to the cemetery to visit the grave of her twin brother, she meets a soldier, there for the same reason, or at least that’s what she believes until he tells her about the blind date her brother arranged before he was killed in combat. ....It’s the date of her dreams. Big band, brass and sass, Madame Eve from 1NightStand has set her up for an unforgettable night, a WWII swing dance party. Unfortunately, she’s having trouble letting go of her past and is afraid to take the chance given to her. ....Sergeant Frank Winters is an Army trumpet player who travels with the Color Guard, a great dancer, and six feet four inches of eye candy that could make her an addict. He’s also a soldier and soldiers can get killed. Grace doesn’t have the heart to lose someone again, but Frank knows a good thing when he sees it, and he’s determined to show her in one night, she’s got more to lose if she walks away.

 REBEL SOULS

“Good morning, Duchess.”Born in the fires of revolution and baptized in the blood of those who fought for a better life, Captain Ava Frost smuggles illegal materials to a war machine that will someday free her people from an oppressive government...until her path crosses with a Regulator commander.

Seth Reynold’s mission is to find the dangerous cargo of fissile materials. When he stops Ava at a wormhole, his ethics and beliefs are compromised. Torn between duty and love, Seth is determined to find out what Ava is hiding, but her fiancé is standing in his way.

Back from the dead, Brodie Mark—a leader of the revolution, a man that challenges Ava’s loyalties in every way imaginable—wants her back and will do whatever it takes to help her realize her heritage.

While falling for the enemy and endangering all that the underground rebels had struggled to achieve, Ava must make a choice between duty and love. But is she ready to sacrifice a freedom in its infancy for a love that comes once in a lifetime?

 “No man flies three days to the edge of Nexian space without a reason.”

And Courtesan Boot Camp starts now... ....When Shay lands on Elatia, she knows she has one shot to be chosen as courtesan for a king and queen. Mess up, and everything she was born to be, all she’s trained her entire life to become, will be lost. The alternative is unthinkable. ....What a pampered priss. ....Dayne’s first impression isn’t a good one, but he’s determined to turn the spoiled beauty into the next royal courtesan at any cost. As a Dominus, a master of all things sexual, he agrees to help a friend, his sovereign, and promises to do nothing to compromise her future.....That promise will soon cause him to question his loyalty, friendship and honor. All he knows is on the line, when he falls in love with a woman who can never be his.

Coming June 27th to Decadent Publishing.

http://www.authordljackson.com/