As promised, here’s a bit more about the upcoming anthology Force Recon””Beacon Bayou. I hope you all get as much enjoyment out of it as we did writing it. It was a pleasure writing with Lila, JL and Chris and I look forward to crafting more Force Recon stories in the future.

Looking for a splendid place to visit? Welcome to Beacon Bayou! Come wander Big Thicket National Preserve”¦For one four man Marine Recon team a vacation was just what the doctor ordered. Or in their case, the corpsman.

 Meet Gunny Brogan Baker, Sergeant Aaron Wolf, Corporal Regan Maxwell, and Chief Gabriel Sanchez. Fresh off a mission in the jungles of South America, rest and relaxation are their number one priorities. Time to unwind and sort things out. But this vacation will test their strength unlike any mission ever has, and they’ll find out more about themselves and each other than they ever thought they wanted to know.

 After a string of failed relationships, Brogan Baker has been left reeling and questioning his sexuality. He hasn’t slept in a bed in more than a year, and another team member has caught his eye. Is Regan Maxwell the answer to his problems? Regan’s a former Hollywood pretty boy just trying to prove he has what it takes all the while keeping his true identity in the closet. But, the closer he and Brogan get, the more he wants to toss aside the act and just be himself. Then Lily comes along. Can their growing relationship survive the presence of one tiny female?

If what they say is true, and that which does not kill us makes us stronger, this Recon team will either leave Texas in body bags or with a new found resolve. Beacon Bayou beware. Recon never backs down. No mercy, no quarter given.

 Please enjoy this excerpt from Gunnery Sergeant Brogan Baker’s Beacon Bayou story…

        “So which cabin are you in?”  Brogan stopped and pointed before he realized what he doing.  “Oh my God man, check it out.  It’s that model that’s dating Jessie James.  That dude left Sandra Bullock for a kid half his age.  I don’t care how cool his bikes are, he’s a jerk if you ask me.  She’s smoking hot.  They were just in People magazine or something like that, I saw it on the plane. I’m not surprised he’s gay either.  Hell, eighty percent of L.A. probably bats for the other team.  Speaking of L.A., didn’t  you live near there?”  Reigning in his thoughts, Brogan took a breath and tried to get control.

        Brogan watched as Regan stood speechless.  And then before he knew it, Regan grabbed him by the arm, pulled him into an embrace and layered a row of kisses down the back of Brogan’s neck.

            Brogan stood flat footed and waited in what seemed like slow motion for the shooting to start.  For Regan to have grabbed him, Brogan knew something must be going down.  Trying to reach his throw away and cover the kid, Brogan moved to sidestep Regan but froze solid the moment the kid ran his hot breath the length of Brogan’s neck.  Feeling his mind go blank, Brogan jerked as the sensation of the kiss overwhelmed his senses and shot straight to his groin.  I’m a dead man, Brogan chanted, praying that Regan would just move and give him some space so he could try to get out of this gracefully.  The problem was, Brogan didn’t really want to move.

        “Come on Brogan, Let’s go.”  Regan said, attempting to move Brogan against his will.

        Watching as a man who reportedly slept with half of Hollywood addressed Regan with pure malice, Brogan squeezed and then released Regan’s hand and stepped past Regan toward the tabloid star.  “People that get too close get to call me Dream Crusher.  Wanna join that group?”  Brogan stared down the kid who stood half his size and ten years his junior with ease while his heart sank for the second time in as many hours. Kate couldn’t handle the demands Brogan placed on his lovers and from the looks of it, if Regan had ever been with this guy, there was no way Regan would be able to handle Brogan either.

        “Pay the bill.”  Brogan snarled, tossing a wad of money at Regan’s feet and storming out of the grocery.

            Sitting in the truck, trying to get a grip on the conflicting emotions that crashed in around him, Brogan forced himself to stop playing it over in his mind.  Without even hesitating, Regan had grabbed him and kissed him.  Was it because Regan sensed something growing between them as Brogan hoped?  Or was he right to feel used?  Sure, Brogan had drawn the short straw many times during his years in black ops and he’d done everything from dress in drag to hide out in bed with men as decoys, but never once in all that time had anyone kissed him.  Not even when there had been guns pointed inches from their heads. 

        By the time that Regan made it out of the store, Brogan was sitting in the jeep with the engine running.  His ipod cranked and his headphones securely in place, Brogan was more than determined to  drown out the world entirely.