Monday, April 09, 2012

Wild Adventures (AK and otherwise) with Rue Allyn


I can’t say that my adventures in Alaska were wild. Yes, I’ve actually been to the land of the midnight sun (when I was thirteen—so it’s been a while). The train that follows the gold rush trail from Skagway to Whitehorse, Yukon (in Canada) is a treat. I’ll bet that despite the passage of a decade or three you can still see some of the stuff left behind by people following the trail. Things take longer to deteriorate in Alaska because of the permafrost. I spent most of that summer in Fairbanks with my folks who were exchange professors at the U of A. I had my first fresh salmon (delicious, frozen can’t compare). I saw my first midnight sun (R. W. Service’s The Cremation of Sam McGee has been one of my favorite poems since I started reading) and had my first experience of sleeping with aluminum foil covering the windows to block out the light.

I repeated that last experience when the Navy sent me and my husband to duty in Keflavik, Iceland. Our eldest child was three months old. Imagine trying to establish a night time routine when there wasn’t much of any night for several months. Add watch duty rotations (Days, Afternoons, Midnights) and parenting becomes a really wild adventure. Military service throws all sorts of monkey wrenches in to what civilians think of as ‘normal’ life.

That happens to Senior Chief Hank O’Mara and Lieutenant Bethany Morton in my erotic romance Off Limits (available now from Red Sage Publishing and other fine e-retailers). Both are happy in their lives as career Navy personnel and neither expects to have that life turned upside down by falling in love with someone who is literally Off Limits. But these two seasoned sailors roll with the punches. Like military parents, newlyweds, students and all our service members they make sacrifices to be able to love each other and serve their country too. Off Limits is available now from Red Sage Publishing. You can find an excerpt here. I’d love to have you leave comments either on this post or any other topic you choose.


A bit about Rue Allyn—I wrote my first story around the age of five and read my first romance at the age of eight. I’ve been in love with being in love ever since. I’m happily married to my sweetheart of many, many years. We share the home of two cats, who condescend to allow me to feed them and clean their litter box. They occasionally permit me to pet them but demand my love and attention as their right. I am in awe of their feline ability to dominate with half a glance or a mere twitch of tail. I am insatiably curious, an avid reader and traveler. I love to hear from readers about your favorite books and real life adventures. I also love my work. Seriously, what could be more fun than sharing love and adventure with all your friends? For more about me and my books go to http://RueAllyn.com.

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6 Comments:

At 12:49 PM, Blogger Rue Allyn said...

Cathy,
Thank you for inviting me to visit your blog.

 
At 1:36 PM, Blogger Cathy in AK said...

Thanks for being here, Rue! Best of luck with the release : )

 
At 3:53 PM, Anonymous Ella Quinn said...

Rue,

What great stories. I've heard a lot of good things about iceland and hope to visit someday. Congratulations on your release.

 
At 6:07 PM, Blogger Rue Allyn said...

Thank you Ella. Icelanders are some of the most hospitable people I know, and their country is fascinating. They have the oldest democratic government in existence.

 
At 5:18 AM, Blogger Jennifer Probst said...

What a wonderful story and experience! I love learning so many new things about the authors I read - great post!

 
At 3:27 PM, Blogger Natalie J. Damschroder said...

I've been intrigued by Iceland since I saw the recent Journey to the Center of the Earth movie. :)

Interested to see how you resolve that insurmountable conflict in Off Limits!

 

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