Life Changes Post by Kathleen Grieve

First, I’d like to thank you so much for inviting me here today! I thought I would talk a bit about how life changes. We age and the experiences we live through shape us into who we are. Its how we deal with those experiences is how each person is different.

In my book, Dating 911, my firefighter hero, Jett Avery has lost his best friend in a fire they were working. He has a lot of guilt and blames himself for the events that happened that fateful night and this leads to a case of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He suffers nightmares, panic attacks, and a severe depression. 

 

When doing research for the Phoenix Fire Department, Mike Sandulak a Division Chief with the PFD’s Public Affairs, told me that there are resources available to all of their firefighters who struggle with the stress of what they see on a daily basis. One such resource is a Critical Incident Debriefing Team. Not comfortable talking with a stranger about his problems, my hero being the stubborn man that he is decides to deal with his stress and grief his own way.

Jett uses sex to assuage his PTSD. He never comes out and names what he is going through. Of course, it is only a short term remedy and by the time he meets my heroine, Roxanne Carter, the flashbacks and depression become almost too much to bear and he is desperate.

So, my question to you today is this. How do you deal with life altering events in your life? Do you use the support that may be available to you? Or, do you have a slightly reckless streak in you like Jett?

My book, Dating 911 is now available through Evernight Publishing at www.evernightpublishing.com

BLURB:

Emergency room nurse, Roxanne Carter is a loser-magnet wishing she could enjoy her single life. Commiserating with girlfriends over butterscotch martinis creates the idea of The Dating Manifesto--a not so scientific research project which promises to point the way to dating success. While gathering data to find the most suitable single men available, she wades through a series of unsavory, stale dates, which literally places her back at ground zero. Just when she is ready to give up, sin personified in the form of sexy firefighter Jett Avery, arrives tainting all of her previous data.

A traumatic warehouse fire, in which firefighter Jett Avery's closest friend dies, has him suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Attempting to stave off the worst of his depression, he decides to use his brand of therapy...Sex. The remedy has lost luster until he encounters ER nurse Roxanne Carter.

The pursuit of Roxanne by Jett's twin brother, Doctor Cruz Avery, complicates her research and interferes with Jett's therapy. Does Roxanne choose the brother who by analysis is the perfect match? Or the broken, dark and irresistible one?

EXCERPT:

She held up her hands, palms facing toward him. “Stop. This is a hospital. Not some stupid television show where the medical staff is always making out in a closet. I work here. Don’t even think about it!”

Jett closed the distance between them until her hands pressed against his chest, searing their imprint through the thin cotton of his T-shirt. He grasped her fingers and lifted them to his mouth, licking the sensitive tips with his tongue one by one. Heat filled her eyes and she trembled.

“You feel the pull, too. Don’t you?” he asked, dropping her hand.

Jett slid his hands to her waist, and molded her against his erection. A perfect fit. Her sharp intake of breath as she shook her head told him all he needed to know. He smiled. Satisfaction filled him.

“Liar. Shake your head in denial all you want, but I can see the reflection mirrored in your eyes, and feel the powerful draw when I touch you,” he said in a husky tone. He rubbed his stiff cock against her stomach. The intensity of his desire eliminated all reason.

Jett buried his face in her neck and breathed in her sweetness. “Hmm. Today you smell like chocolate.” His tongue traced the delicate shell of her ear as his hands stroked her bare arms. “But you taste like honey.”

Her knees bent and he placed his leg between hers to support her. On the brink of total insanity, he continued his light exploration. His hand skimmed her torso, and skirted the side of her breast. With slow, deliberate care, he let his fingertips graze her collarbone on the way to grasp the back of her neck. Another tremor rippled through her.

God, she felt so damn good.

She tilted her chin and her head rested in his open palm. “Jett,” her sultry voice caused his penis to throb. “This is not a good idea. Anyone could come in here and….”

He pushed his thigh against her crotch. She inhaled sharply, desire deepening the blue of her eyes. “You were saying?”

Her brow furrowed. “And…”

“Intoxicating being a little naughty, isn’t it?” he rasped. He gently tugged her face closer to his. “Hmm. I believe you mentioned the other night that your most recent sexual exploits have been lacking. Let’s add something of interest for your science venture.”

To learn more about me and my books, you can go to www.kathleengrieve.com and I do post snippets of my works in progress at my blog, Keeping A Pulse On Life & Romance http://kathleengrieve.blogspot.com You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

I’m currently working on the sequel to Dating 911, titled Dating Impossible which is Doctor Cruz Avery’s story! On October 17th, I will be over at LASR as one of my characters writes about me. Also, I will be at The Romance Studio for my release party on October 20^th. Stop by for a chance to win some great prizes!