This site is home to women who serve(d) proudly in the military and are now putting pen to paper (figuratively speaking!).

Come on in and meet our RomVets or check out an article on our history!

Click here to see the complete Company Roster

Click here for more pictures of the RomVets at our
Call to Arms in May 2005 and July 2006

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Then...  When Kayelle Allen enlisted in the Navy in 1973 she served as an Avionics Technician at NAS Miramar in San Diego.  She met her husband while on active duty and by coincidence, they had joined the Navy the same day, so also ended their tours of duty together.

Now...  After leaving the Navy, Kayelle spent a decade as an at-home mom.  She has three children and two grandchildren.  Her youngest son was in the Air Force and her daughter's husband is in the Air Force now.  Kayelle works for a hospital in Georgia and is still happily married to her "first mate."

Kayelle is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers, a group that helps authors learn what to do about marketing, where to do it, who to do it with, and why. The author of two romance series, she is also the creator of a hundred-page website, and coordinator of numerous multi-author online promos. She is working on two new Science Fiction Romance series. Her current publisher is Liquid Silver Books. One of her short stories finaled for the 2008 EPPIE in Fantasy.

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Then . . . Elizabeth Ashtree (that's a pen name) served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Corp (using her real name) immediately after finishing law school.  As a Captain, she enjoyed the high level of responsibility given to JAG attorneys. S he would have made a career of the military except that marriage and children made her rethink her plans.  After a few short years in uniform, she converted to become a civilian attorney for the Department of Defense and serves in that capacity to this day.

Now . . . Elizabeth Ashtree aspired to a writing career at a very young age.  When she eventually resolved to get a novel published, she drew heavily upon her own experiences in the Army and wrote a romance about fraternization in the military.   The heroine was an Army JAG attorney and the book became a double RITA finalist.   The four additional novels that followed were also set in the military, with strong heroines serving their country with guts and gusto and heroes with values including duty, honor, country—and love for the women in their lives.  Ms. Ashtree's upcoming works continue to focus on women willing to risk it all to save the world—or at least a part of it.

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Then... First Lieutenant Lori Avocato (Lorraine Gansecki at the time) while in basic training at Sheppard AFB in 1996.  Lori was stationed as a registered nurse at England AFB, LA where she met her fighter pilot husband Sal.  When he received transfer orders, Lori, now a captain, was able to join him at Holloman AFB, NM where she finished her four year tour working at the base hospital.

Now...  Lori Avocato decided to give up her nursing career to write fiction.   The award-winning author has now sold three humorous mysteries to Avon Books.   She has also sold nine romantic comedies to various other publishers and lives in New England with her husband, two teenage boys and their little dogs.  She writes full time with the focus of her work on her humorous contemporary stories in which a burned-out nurse becomes a medical fraud insurance investigator in The Pauline Sokol Mystery Series.

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Pictured left:   Airman Carole Bellacera (nee Foley), on her first day at of work at the hospital at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas.  A medical technician in the USAF, Carole served her country for four years, traveling from Texas to Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, and finishing out her service at Iraklion Air Station, in Crete, Greece, where she met her husband of thirty years, Frank Bellacera.  (Read the story about how they met, "Streaking for Love," in Chocolate for a Woman's Heart and Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul.)

Carole Bellacera is the author of four mainstream fiction novels published by Forge/Tor Books. Border Crossings, her first novel, was a 2000 RITA finalist, a 2000 Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice finalist and the winner of the 2000 Laurel Wreath Award.   Her latest hardcover, Understudy, was released in June 2003.  NY Times Bestselling Author Teresa Medeiros has this to say about Understudy: “VC Andrews meets Sandra Brown in this delicious, gripping page-turner of a book—a thrill ride from the first page to the last.”

Carole’s latest novel, Chocolate on a Stick, released in October 2005 from Baycrest Books, was a 2005 Kentucky Literary Award in Fiction Nominee.  It's a humorous novel about an elderly Appalachian couple on the run in a red Corvette, trying to escape their controlling children.

In addition to writing novels, Carole is an award-winning screenwriter.  The script version of Border Crossings was a 1995 finalist in the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriting Competition, and was optioned for a TV movie by Lifetime Television.  She is growing old waiting for it to be "green-lighted."

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Terry Blain was lucky enough to grow in a large Midwestern family with a rich oral tradition.  As a child she heard stories of  ancestor’s adventures with Indians, wild life and weather so naturally she gravitated to the study of history in college. 

Her military service was as an electronic technician at Miramar Naval Air station in San Diego where she helped maintain the radio communication gear for both the Navy and the civilian Air Traffic Control Facility. 

After the service, she used the GI bill (thanks, all you tax payers!) to continue her education and received her Masters and a second BA in history which she taught at the college level.  Married to a sailor (now retired) for over thirty years, she’s had the change to live in various parts of the country and to travel to foreign places such as Hong Kong and Australia, England and Scotland.  She has two college age sons.

Terry says:  "My MA in history and my teaching experience make me a natural to write historical romance.   Writing historical romance gives me the opportunity to pass on stories of who we are and where we come from while exploring the relationship between men and women.   What could be more fun than that?"

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Nancy Brandt joined the U. S. Army in 1977 after being rejected from the Air Force Academy because her eyesight wasn't good enough for a pilot.  She served in intelligence for three years, two of which were spent on a very un-military joint DoD/Air Force/Army post in Germany.  Flying from her small town in Pennsylvania to basic training in Alabama was her first time on a plane.

After her discharge in 1980, Nancy went to college, getting a degree in journalism with dreams of writing and producing television commercials.  However, God had other plans.  After about a year of living at home, unemployed, she moved in with her uncle and aunt in NJ and became a Kelly Girl.  She met her future husband at a church-sponsored bowling party and they married eleven months later.  Since that time, she has followed her real-life hero through five moves, including a move to Illinois for grad school (for him), two moves across the ocean (to Germany for two years and back) and the latest on to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, arriving three months before Katrina hit.

Nancy is now a happy stay-at-home mom to two children (a biological daughter, 16, and an adopted son, 4) and she spends her free time writing fantasy novels under the pen name Honor Cummings and inspirational romances under her own name. She's currently finishing the sequel to her first fantasy, Attack of the Queen, and plotting a Mom Lit book that includes some strippers and a widow with two teenagers and parents who once graced the post office bulletin board as wanted anti-war protesters.
 

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Cindy started writing long hand when her girls were infants and has published articles for various metaphysical newsletters and online e-zines.  She writes about topics such as the paranormal and romance, marketing your writing, and manifesting goals.

After high school, Cindy left her family’s horse farm to begin her military career as an aviation machinist mate (jet mechanic) in the United States Navy.  She was the fifth female to pull duty at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Barking Sands, Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii.  She became ground support for PMRF’s flight line.  A few of her duties included plane and helicopter daily inspections, fueling, missile drops, and taxiing her favorite pilots on take offs and landings. 

Motherhood redirected Cindy’s career plans and she returned to the mainland.  After two failed marriages, she moved back to the family farm in southwestern Ohio.  Once again, five generations lived together until she met up with her childhood sweetheart, now her favorite Marine. They moved their immediate family down the street and around the country block. Their two younger daughters continue in high school and their two older daughters have left the nest and reside with their mates.

Cindy enjoys teaching her grandchildren as they share stories and dance at powwows.  She is Métis (American Indian and French descent) and the National Chairman of her Métis district.  She continues to work within her community to teach the younger generation the oral traditions. 

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P.C. Cast (aka SSgt Phyllis C. Cast) pre-enlisted in the USAF in February 1978, before she even finished high school.  Five days after graduation she went active duty and left to see the world.  From various communications centers, which included bases in Nebraska, Colorado, South Carolina, and Japan, for the next six years she saw a lot more than the world…and enjoyed every minute of it!  Experiences she now channels into her paranormal romances and epic fantasy books.

Today, PC is the award-winning author of Berkley’s Goddess Summoning Series—Goddess of the Sea (Oct 03), Goddess of Spring (Aug 04), Goddess of Light (April 05), Goddess of the Rose (Spring 06), and more titles coming in 2007 and beyond.  She also has a multi-book contract with LUNA, Harlequin’s single title fantasy imprint for women. The first of these epic fantasies, Elphame's Choice, will be released in December 2004.  PC is excited that LUNA will be publishing an updated edition of Goddess by Mistake (under the new title of Partholon by Mistake), her first novel which won the 2001 Prism, Holt Medallion, Laurel Wreath, and was a finalist for The National Readers Choice Award, as well as the long-awaited sequel, Partholon By Choice.

PC writes and teaches in the fabulous state of Oklahoma where she lives very happily with her daughter and her spoiled cat.

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Fun facts about me:

Most people think of retirement as a time to relax. For me, retiring at 36 from my job as a Navy Chief Meteorologist/Oceanographer allowed me to pursue my passion—writing romance novels.  With 29 moves behind me and having traveled through many more countries, I was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people I’ve met over the years.  

Fun life moment: I began my last tour in the Navy by re-enlisting on the back of a camel in Tangier, Africa (shown at left).

Qualifications I achieved while in the Navy:

Aviation Warfare (AW)
Master Instructor [Air Force Designation]
Master Training Specialist [Navy Designation]

I’ve written ten novels to date.  Three were Viking novels set in 796, and six were about knights set in Scotland during the Bruce/Wallace era.  I’ve also created a fictional precinct in Virginia Beach and have written the rough draft of my first romantic suspense.  In the future, I intend to write fantasy novels—for which I’ve already begun research work.

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Back in the dark ages before women were allowed into the service academies, Jo Ann Ferguson (then Jo Ann Brown) was one of 100 women selected for the US Army's Direct Commission program.   She went through 11 weeks of training in Student Officer Company at Fort McClellan, AL (photo) before being stationed at Fort Lee, VA and Fort Dix, NJ as a quartermaster lieutenant.  Her motto— join the Army and see the East Coast.

Jo Ann has found that her military experiences have served her well in her writing career with all those dashing Regency heroes who have bravely fought in the Napoleonic Wars. . .and even one female Russian officer!  Since selling her first book in 1987, she has written historicals, Regencies, paranormals, and mysteries for Tudor Books, Zebra Regency (both with her real name and as Rebecca North), Harper, Berkley/Jove (writing as Joanna Hampton), and ImaJinn (writing as J.A. Ferguson).  Most recently, she has sold to Signet Eclipse where, as Jocelyn Kelley, she'll be writing The Ladies of St. Jude's Abbey series starting with A Knight Like No Other in March 2005.  Her 12th century women know how to kick butt—think Lara Croft and Charlie's Angels in the Middle Ages!

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Texas author Delores Fossen wore combat boots.  Yep. During her five year assignment at RAF Lakenheath, England, this former Air Force captain often wore not only combat boots but also full chemical gear during simulated attacks.  In fact, that’s how she met her husband, Tom, an Air Force Top Gun.  They were both in charcoal suits and gas masks, with every inch of their skin covered, and yet Tom asked her out anyway. Delores obviously said yes, and they eventually married.

Delores often relies on her military background, world travels and zany life experiences when she writes historical romances for Dorchester and romantic suspense and comedies for Harlequin.

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A 747 jumbo jet pilot for United Airlines, USAF veteran Susan Grant is a RITA award winner and best-selling author who loves writing about what she knows— flying, action-adventure, and the delicious interaction between the sexes.

Long before she wrote her first book, Susan adored telling tales.  But instead of writing down those stories, she drew pictures.  That all changed the second she glimpsed an Apollo space rocket take flight.  Filled with dreams of being an astronaut, she tossed aside her budding art career to pursue flying.  Not only did this break her art teachers' hearts, it sparked a life-long war for dominance between her left-brain (logical lobe) and her right-brain (artistic lobe).  It’s the only way Susan can explain how she somehow ended up as a 747 pilot who writes romantic fiction!

At 18, Susan entered the United States Air Force Academy as a member of the third class in history to include women, a time of great change at the “Blue Zoo.”  Yet, the historical moment she remembers most fondly occurred three years later when the urinals were finally removed from the women's restrooms.  (Of course, this caused an unexpected conundrum when there were no longer “pots” for the philodendrons.)

After graduation, Susan completed USAF jet pilot training, earning a coveted Fighter-Attack- Reconnaissance rating.  However, due to body parts beyond her control, she was not allowed to fly fighter craft.  Thus, she ended up as one of only a few female instructor-pilots, where she taught students from many different countries.   After a follow-on assignment flying T-43 navigational trainers, Susan traded military life for airline life in 1989.

Oh, about that childhood dream of being an astronaut? Rumor has it that Susan’s got her stubborn heart set on a pair of commercial space wings.  If United ever follows Virgin Atlantic’s lead and looks to the stars, Susan will be sure to follow.

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Elaine Hopper, aka Ashley Ladd, served in the US Air Force in the late 1970s through the early 1980s as a Computer Maintenance Repair Technician in SAC Headquarters at Offutt AFB in Omaha, Nebraska. She repaired and maintained computers for the SAC command post (picture the command post in the 1980s movie War Games starring Matthew Broderick and Dabney Coleman).

While in the Air Force, she was in the Drum & Bugle Corps’ Flag Corps and marched in many parades throughout Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana including the New Orleans Mardis Gras parade representing the Air Force.

She suffered severe hearing loss while in the Air Force and is now a disabled vet.

After she separated from the Air Force, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Accounting and her MBA. She now works as a Customer Service Manager for a charity that serves the destitute poor of the Caribbean and Latin America.

When she’s not busy helping the poor at her charity or on duty as mom to five active children, she’s penning romance and erotic romance as Ashley Ladd. Some of her romances feature military heroes and heroines, inspired by her own Air Force days.

She invites you to visit her web home and blog.

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Karin Huxman received her commission in the Air Force through the ROTC program and the University of Lowell - Massachusetts in 1978.   Though her degree was in biology, the Air Force decreed that she serve as a communications officer, which she did during her time in service.  After communications officers school at Keesler AFB in Mississippi, Karin was assigned to headquarters Strategic Air Command at Offutt AFB in Nebraska.  There she met the man who became her husband, Jay, also an Air Force lieutenant.  After their marriage, they were reassigned to Beale, AFB in
northern California, where she worked as the officer in charge of combat crew communications for the SR-71/U-2 squadrons.  Shortly after pinning on
captain, Karin became pregnant with the first of three children.  She resigned her commission in the fall of 1983 and continued her Air Force career as an Air Force spouse.   Karin and family now make their home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where Karin enjoys her view of Pikes Peak and writing in her home office.

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Larissa Ione joined the Air Force in 1990 because she wanted to see the world, which, during her military years, took her to Texas, Illinois, Montana, England, and Greece.  Her chosen field, meteorology, became an obsession, and after she served her term, she worked weather for another thirteen years for the National Weather Service and FAA.

She didn’t give up her first love, though, and she penned several novels over the years until finally getting serious about publication in 1998 when she needed a career that would easily transfer during moves with her Coast Guard husband.  In March of 2006, she got The Call from Red Sage.  She now writes steamy contemporary romance under her name, and sexy paranormal action romance for Bantam Dell under the name Sydney Croft, with writing partner Stephanie Tyler.

Currently, she resides in Williamsburg, Virginia, with her husband, nine year old son, and a variety of rescued animals.

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Elle James grew up as a military brat.  Her father served as a B-52 Bomber radar technician in the U.S. Air Force.  Elle was commissioned into the United States Army Reserves in 1982 as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Military Police Corps.  She spent five years with a Transportation Brigade, six years in Civil Affairs and 9 years in the Individual Ready Reserves.  Then she switched branches to the U.S. Air Force Reserves where she currently serves as a Major in the Medical Services Corps.  She's been to Europe twice and many lovely places in the United States, like Ft. Hood, Texas, Fort Riley, Kansas and Fort Picket, VA.

Elle recently gave up a successful career as a Manager of Information Technology, sold the ranch and moved from San Antonio, Texas to Grand Forks, North Dakota to pursue her writing full-time.  Her first book, To Kiss a Frog, is the 2004 Golden Heart Winner for best Paranormal Romance and will be released in March of 2005.

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From her earliest memory, Karen Fletcher always wanted to be a writer, but knew she'd have to do something else on the uphill journey to her goal.  Longing to escape the small town where she grew up, she joined the Air Force.  Though she was trained as an administration specialist, she was occasionally called upon to perform some decidedly non-administrative duties, like screwing fins onto bombs; inspecting mobility bags to make sure each deploying airman remembered to pack a change of "dainties" (as one of her superiors called them); and her personal favorite, taking apart and putting back together an M-16 rifle, then proving she could fire it and hit something.

She spent most of her off-duty time writing, except for weekends while she was stationed overseas, and then she went sightseeing around Europe.  Her assignments included Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany; Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, TX; Fairchild AFB near Spokane, WA; and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at Rhein-Main Air Base in Frankfurt, Germany, where she met Douglas Lingefelt, an Air Force photographer whom she married in Odense, Denmark.  She left the service a year later to become a stay-at-home mom.

Now Karen Lingefelt, she currently writes romantic comedies set in Regency England.   Her debut book, True Pretenses, was a finalist in the 2002 New Historical Voice Contest co-sponsored by Dorchester Publishing and Romantic Times magazine, and awarded the 2004 Orange Rose for Best Regency by the Orange County, California chapter of RWA.  She's a member of the Tampa Area Romance Authors in Tampa, FL, where her husband is still on active duty at beautiful MacDill Air Force Base.

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Colonel Merline Lovelace joined the Air Force right out of college and met the dashing young captain who won her heart at her very first duty station.  Less than a year after they married, she and Al were both on their way to Vietnam (this is a shot of Merline at DaNang).  Great assignments followed at Randolph,  Maxwell, Kirtland and the Pentagon.  The best, though, was a tour as Wing/CC at Eglin!

After hanging up her uniform for the last time, Merline decided to try her hand at writing.   Naturally she thinks warriors make great heroes and heroines, whether they're wearing the short skirts of a Roman toga or an Air
Force flight suit.  The USA Today bestselling author now has more than 70 novels to her credit, with some ten million copies of her books in print in 28 countries. 

Her new, action-packed series coming from Mira in Apr, May, & Jun 2005 features former AF OSI agent Cleo North.

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©  2006 martin yaslowitz

Pam McCutcheon

Pam McCutcheon spent twenty years working for the US Air Force: four years as an enlisted computer programmer before she went through the Airman's Education and Commissioning Program, six years as an engineering officer, and another ten years working as an engineer in civil service for the Air Force.  At various times, she was stationed at the Pentagon, Randolph AFB (twice), Sembach AB, Luke AFB, and Peterson AFB.

Throughout her whole career, she tried to get assigned to Colorado Springs, CO.  When she finally achieved it, she decided to stay there.  She is now co-owner of NovelTalk.com and writes whenever she can get a chance.  She has written romantic comedies and paranormal romances (both contemporary and historical) for Harlequin American, Dorchester, and Kensington, nonfiction for Gryphon Books for Writers, and fantasy short stories under the name Pamela Luzier. 

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Lindsay McKenna

Lindsay McKenna Joined the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War Era and became an Aerographer's Mate 3rd class, a meteorologist.  She spent two years of her three year enlistment at USNAS Moffett Field, San Francisco, California, handing out weather to the Anti-Submarine Warfare squadrons (P3's) as well as to pilots flying troops over to Vietnam.

Lindsay McKenna created the Military Romance sub-genre back in 1983 with Captive of Fate (Silhouette Special Edition) featuring a Marine Corps hero.  During the Vietnam War era, she saw those going in harm's way were not supported by their country.  She made a promise to herself and to all veterans that she would show readers that men and women in the military were to be applauded, admired and respected, instead.  In keeping with this pact to uplift respect of those in the military in the eyes of civilians, she created Morgan's Mercenaries, which has been a best selling 28 book series.  Judging from the way our vets are treated across the world nowadays by the civilian populace, her books have helped them to see our men and women who protect our country in a more positive light.

She is now working on Morgan Trayhern's children books.  The first was First Born (Silhouette, June, 2004), featuring Jason Trayhern, the oldest son.  The second one, about Kathy Trayhern, oldest daughter, Enemy Mine, HQN, May, 2005.  Pete Trayhern's story comes out, Beyond the Limits, HQN, December, 2006.  And, she is expanding into her Native American heritage by creating HQN novels; with Training to Die, HQN, Dec 2007 Currently, she is also working on a 3-book Silhouette Nocturne release with Unforgiven, the launch book due October, 2006 and has an ongoing series planned called Warriors for the Light that involve the paranormal.  Currently, Lindsay is finishing up Dark Truth, book 2 of the Warriors for the Light series for Silhouette Nocturne.  Dark Truth is scheduled for July, 2007 release.

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Airman Monet was in one of the first women units to be issued combat boots for training in the Unites States Air Force boot camp.  Sgt Rae Monet ended her Air Force career serving as the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of Information Management for the Air Force Office of Special Investigation.  After her service, she went on to obtain a Bachelors and Masters degree in business and spent nearly the next 15 years in the private sector business world.  Then came the invention of Laser eye surgery, and Ms. Monet was able to follow her dreams and join the Federal Bureau of Investigations as a Special Agent, where she served for a little over two years solving crimes in the Violent Crimes Major Offenders and Cyber Squads.  Ms. Monet has moved back into the private sector business world and now uses her spare time writing sexy romance novels, following yet another dream.

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Taylor Reynolds

Taylor joined the Army as a linguist in 1996, a month after high school graduation, with dreams of learning more than just the Spanish and French her school had offered. The first day of Arabic class, when the teachers began writing on the white board backwards, she wondered what she had gotten herself into. More than two years later, when all her training was finally over, she learned about getting what you wish for when she deployed directly to Kuwait for four months. Then to Egypt for six weeks. Then back to Kuwait for four months. And then her four year enlistment was over. She spent the next two years near Lake Tahoe as a hotel/restaurant supervisor, before she got a letter in the mail in March 2002 that said basically, “You speak Arabic, so you have to join the Army again in two weeks or go to jail.” Taylor was pretty lucky and came down on orders for southern Bavaria. Germany was so great that she extended for another six months at the end of her year-long reactivation orders.

Taylor truly abhors running, which is honestly why she left the Army. Twice. After working as a doctor’s office receptionist, bartender, hotel/restaurant supervisor, horseback riding trail guide, waitress, and cruise line reservations supervisor, she realized that she really does like the military lifestyle, just not the part where you have to run a lot. So, in the civilian contractor position she currently holds, she has spent quite a bit of time in such far-flung and exotic locales as Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. And though Iraq is insanely hot in the summer and Afghanistan in miserably cold in the winter, she loves (almost) every minute of it. She doesn’t have large blocks of time when she can write erotic and military romance between her other duties, so she keeps all her work on a thumb drive that lives in her pocket for those random five minutes of downtime during the day, and late nights on her laptop before bed.

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Terry Spear aka Terry Lee Wilde

Then...  Terry Wilde was one of the first Army Reserve Officer Training Corp cadets to complete AROTC basic summer camp, the first year women were members of AROTC. She served on Active Duty for 7 years as a personnel officer, left the service for married life, but retired as a LTC with the USAR after serving another 15 years as a mobilization officer.
 
Now…  Terry Spear makes award-winning teddy bears, Wilde & Woolly Bears, that have found their way into homes all over the world and have been featured in several magazines and newspapers. She’s finaled in contests, teaches online writing courses, substitute teaches, and as a single parent, raised an Eagle Scout graduate and a daughter, both who are taking after their mom and are in AFROTC at Baylor University.
 
She writes paranormal and historical novels, adult and young adult, and sold Heart of the Wolf (which received a great review in Publisher’s Weekly!) and Don’t Cry Wolf, both to Sourcebooks Casablanca, Inc.  Winning the Highlander’s Heart is also out now, and she loves to talk to groups about medieval life.  She also writes regularly for magazines, both fiction and nonfiction, and is busy writing three more books in her werewolf series that her editor wants to see like yesterday.