Her First Knight #Veterans fundraiser #military #romance begins today. @liviaquinn #MFRWauthor #ASMSG #IARTG

11/05/2015

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Just in time, I've got pretty new re-formatted files and a new cover for the paperback of Her First Knight. (Purchased this book before? You can request that Amazon deliver the new file to you minus any highlights or notes you might have added.)
If you've visited my vet links page you've seen how I feel about empty celebrations and hollow thank yous for our veterans. I've been guilty as we all have of just repeating the phrase, "Thank you for your service." But I wonder, what more can we do for the veteran family member, the wounded warrior, the homeless vet, or our veteran neighbor on a daily basis to make a difference. 

There are several things in your own community you can do without donating money. Do you know a vet who has to get to another city for a doctor's visit? Someone who needs paperwork filled out? Are they trying to get someone to donate flowers for memorials? It is so many little things that matter. 

This month all profits from Her First Knight will go to one or two #Veterans charities. I may take half and donate toward those memorial tributes. It depends, if you're generous, I can be. None of this money will be retained.

If you would like to see ratings for organizations that help vets go to my vet links page and click on the Charity Navigator link.

Here's an excerpt:


Ridge was up to his Special Forces tattoo in manure.

“Take ‘em off, Tucker. Tucker. Tucker…”

What had he been thinking? He considered himself a careful planner, the consummate decision maker. He’d worn many hats—inventor, Ranger, mentor, CEO. So how had he wound up on stage in nothing but his trousers and tie beside two cover models with a hundred women screaming for him to take it off. That’s the question his friends and family would be asking tomorrow, if they found out. That, and “Who’s Tucker?” He’d just have to make sure no one found out about his little side trip. A whim and a folly could turn into his worst nightmare.

It had seemed like a recipe for harmless fun. Take one curious CEO on the way to his room following a gorgeous redhead onto the wrong floor. Add a hundred romance writers and readers attending a conference. Toss in some false assumptions, throw out a lifetime of good behavior and Ridge was up to his Special Forces tattoo in manure.

If Molly and Belinda could see him now, they would be stunned, say he’d gone off the deep end. They’d be right.

He should own up right now and stop this farce, exit while he still had his drawers, but that guaranteed revealing his faux pas. He decided to play along, call as little attention to himself as possible—while stripping off his clothes—and slip away unidentified when it was over. Before something went wrong…


Praises for Her First Knight:
    "There is a part near the end of this book that brought me to tears...I was sobbing. This book is dedicated to veterans and it's just a beautiful scene. If you haven't read it you'll know which one it is, if you have.... well you know what scene I'm talking about." Amazon reviewer

     "I enjoyed the interaction between the two of them, and how they really complimented each other!!! Each came to an understanding with how their relationship would progress, and the ending was awesome. I loved this story and you will too!!!" Amazon Reviewer

Buy Link Her First Knight  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00REUM57A

Hard Days Knight: Under-Cover Knights, book 1 Here


Here's the new paperback cover. Didn't Linda Boulanger do a lovely job?

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V is for our Veterans

 

[If you don’t have time to read the rest of this blog, would you please help, by either:

VISITING one of the sites listed on my vets resources page or at charities.org 
DONATE to the organization of your choice.

GIVE a copy of Her First Knight to someone or purchase it on Amazon. From today through Memorial Day all royalties of Her First Knight for that period will go straight to one of the charities on my page. Depending on the price of the book, that should mean around $2.50 per book.

STEP OUTSIDE your comfort zone, out of the malaise that says, “surely someone else is doing that” and do something to help a vet —take them to an out of town doctor’s appointment. Help fill out paperwork. Give the family members a helping hand, your friendship.

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Our veterans don’t want handouts but they should be able to expect a LOT for their service, least of all what they deserve, medical care, jobs, support for their families, and respect. They should wander the streets or succumb to PTSD, TBI, and depression and take their own lives.

Yes, the statistics say that every day at least 22 veterans take their lives. it’s surely more since the way deaths are reported in certain states, some are treated as accidents, etc. but we’re talking at least one an hour. Visit mission22.com to find out more or the Shepherd Center  One of the best articles I’ve read lately was called Veterans Come Home to Unprepared Nation, a News21 report. Please take 5 minutes and read this article or any media you trust to see the extent of the need of this vast community. Share the information. The need of post 9/11 veterans is considered an epidemic, and the waste and corruption that contributed to it have set the process back exponentially.

Like Ridge Romano, the hero in my book, said, “Every company and person in this country who is able should be giving back to the men and women who have given their lives and their commitment to us.” All of us.

Please think of what you can do in this next month when we remember all of those we we've lost and those who serve.

Please DON'T STICK your head in the sand. For a great informative blog on this subject and ways you can help go here.

N is for Need #A2ZChallenge

THE NEEDS of veterans...

Her First Knight may look like a sexy book and it is, but the theme behind my Under-Cover Knights books is the need for more understand, involvement and support for our veterans who have given everything to protect us.

In Her First Knight, Ridge Romano is pursuing his dream of helping veterans. Ridge is a billionaire inventor, an ex-soldier who lost his brother to PTSD after he lost his legs in an IAD explosion in IRAQ. He is putting together a consortium which will take over much of the VAs medical care by private companies.

Buffy just sees a guy who would make a great cover model. They have to learn to understand each other's work and compromise to make their relationship work.

In my research I was surprised to learn that more than 22 veterans a day commit suicide. The number is probably low due to the way some states report the deaths. Veterans still struggle with care, transportation, funds, paperwork, etc. etc. and family support while dealing with injuries brought about by their service to US. We should do everything in our power to support and help them get their lives back.

Today a group of men, the @shepherdsmen will run 911 miles from NYC to Atlanta with a 22lb jacket on their backs to call attention to those brave men and women who have lost their battles with ptsd and TMI and other issues brought about by their service. Please tweet and support and even sponsor or donate to this important cause. 

Periodically I run Her First Knight as a fundraiser and all royalties go to the support of wounded veterans. If you have a story or an idea or link of how others can help please post it in the comments. And if you know of a resource that should be added to my veterans resources page, please contact me at liviaquinn@liviaquinn.com or leave a comment.

There is a special meditation program info session on Friday at Shepherd Center in Winston Salem for vets. You can follow the @shepherdsmen or the @shepherdcenter, which specializes in injuries for vets and holistic medicine, and please visit http://mission22.com to see how you can help or boost the morale of a veteran. Be there for our men and women of the service and not just in the jumbotron moments.


Hard Days Knight, ex-soldier Luc Larue's story about his passion for teens is #Free Friday 4/17