Jody likes military romance! A reader and blogger (check out Scottish Scribbles) with an intimate familiarity with the armed forces, Jody shares with us what she looks for in a military romance.

I was a Coast Guard wife the first ten years of my marriage from 1973- 1983: duty stations included Milwaukee (Icebreaker), Port Angeles, Washington(Air Station) , San Diego(School), New York City (District Office), Yorktown, Va (OCS), Detroit (Icebreaking Buoy tender), and Seattle (District Office). Many people don’t realize the US Coast Guard is part of the military, the bastard child you know exists but you don’t acknowledge. Katrina and the heroism of the Coasties in saving so many lives made the American people realize that there are heroes at home as well as overseas.

In those ten years, I lived in post housing on a Air National Guard Base in Michigan with 600 families of all branches of the military. I have also lived in Army housing in Washington State, so I have been around a lot of military families. I also did my senior thesis in college (2003) on the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1947 that allowed women to become permanent members of the Armed services.

When I am looking for a military romance, I like to find stories about all the services, not just SEALs. The military mission can be the story or they could just have military service members as the main characters. I look for the author to get the jargon (all the acronyms), the uniforms (not covers), the weapons, the ranks/jobs correct and their missions correct for that branch of the service (they all have different missions).

You might be interested to know the following romance authors are former veterans: Elizabeth Ashtree (Army), Lori Avocato (Air Force), Rogenna Brewer (Navy), Candace Irvin (Navy), Cindy Dees (Air Force), Joanne Ferguson (Army), Dolores Fossen (Air Force), Jen Holling (Air Force), Cathy Maxwell (Naval Intelligence), Pam McCutcheon (Air Force), Barbara Phinney (Canadian Army), Carol Umberger (Air Force), Lindsay McKenna (Navy) and Merline Lovelace (Air Force).

Here are some favorites…

Lindsay McKenna (Navy Vet)

She writes mostly category romance, but no one has as many military books as she. I think her earlier work is much better, and she can’t get over the fact that Navy Women haven’t been called WAVES since 1973.

• RED TAIL (part of Travis trilogy #1)–Coast Guard, and one of only two romances with Coast Guard h/h.

MY favorite books are the WOMEN OF VALOR SERIES, in which three women graduate from Annapolis and are all trying to become Navy pilots.

• NO QUARTER GIVEN–#1 (and my favorite)
• THE GAUNTLET—#2
• UNDER FIRE–#3

Cindy Dees (Air Force VET)

I especially enjoyed these because she has kick ass heroines.

• TARGET
• THE MEDUSA PROJECT
• MEDUSA RISING
• MEDUSA GAME
• MEDUSA PROPHECY
• THE MEDUSA AFFAIR
• MEDUSA SEDUCTION

Merline Lovelace (Air Force Colonel retired)

TO PROTECT AND DEFEND SERIES — The only series where the author was able to incorporate a character from each of the uniformed military services: Army, Navy, Marines, Air force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service,and NOAA. The head of the special project that all are part of is run by an Navy Commander, nary a SEAL in sight but still good reading

• A QUESTION OF INTENT–#1 (Army/Public Health Service)
• FULL THROTTLE–#2(Air Force/NOAA)
• THE RIGHT STUFF–#3(COAST GUARD/MARINE CORPS)

Catherine Mann (Air Force Wife)

Single titles:

• CODE OF HONOR (Air Force hero/ Spec Ops secondary character)
• BLAZE OF GLORY (Air Force/Spec Ops)
• ON TARGET (Air Force — this one especially good because the h/h are already married and shows the trouble military families can face)

WINGMAN’S WARRIORS series of categories. There about 14 books in the series but here are my favorites:

• ANYTHING, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME
• UNDER SIEGE
• TAKING COVER
• NO SURRENDER
• STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT

Vickie Hinze (Military Wife)

Single titles:

• ACTS OF HONOR
• ALL DUE RESPECT
• DUPLICITY
• SHADES OF GREY
• HER PERFECT LIFE (Heroine is captured in Iraq, lives thru hell and when she comes there is more hell–great read!!!)
• BODY DOUBLE (Spec Ops)

Ingrid Weaver

Writes Eagle Squadron/ ARMY/ DELTA FORCE

• EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
• SEVEN DAYS TO FOREVER
• AIM FOR THE HEART

Patricia Potter

• BROKEN HONOR (ARMY, historical)