Issued (Navy SEALS of Little Creek #1) by Paris Wynters-Review, Interview & Giveaway Tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 25, 2020
She needs a total life reboot… even if it means marrying a stranger
Taya Maverick has just volunteered to marry a random Navy SEAL as part of the military’s new spouse-matching program. What other choice does she have? Her former best friend killed her father and torched her house. Taya’s determined to start over, but to be safe she has to disappear. The program is the perfect opportunity, complete with refuge and a built-in bodyguard. Her Navy SEAL husband can keep her safe, right?
After one spectacularly disastrous marriage, Jim Stephens nixes round two. But his commanding officer never accepts no for an order. While an injury may have sidelined him temporarily, Jim still needs to salvage his career after a mistake in combat puts him in leadership’s cross-hairs. Being the first in the pilot program guarantees him his rank and eventual active duty clearance…as long as he can last the trial year.
The I dos are barely uttered before Jim and Taya realize they’ve each miscalculated. Their sizzling chemistry might lead to bed, but neither is prepared to open their heart. And then Taya’s past comes knocking…
•••••••
REVIEW: Issued begins with Jim Stephens temporarily sidelined due to an injury while deployed. He’s worried that they sideline him permanently. While meeting with his commanding officer, he is told about a newly rolled out spouse-matching program. When he is told he will be the first to participate in the program, he is stunned. He also learns that the program will guarantee his being cleared for active duty. Knowing he has no choice, Jim accepts. After all, he only has to withstand this kind of torture for a year. Surely, he can last that long?
Taya Maverick had applied for the new spouse-matching program a while back and was surprised to get the call that she had been matched up with a Navy SEAL. The timing couldn’t have been better. Her father had been murdered and her house burned down……all by her former best friend and she knew she wasn’t safe staying where she was. Surely, she would be safe with a SEAL?
Jim is not happy about the arrangement but tells himself that all he has to do is survive it for a year. When Taya arrives, she is nervous, but holds her head up and knocks on the door. Once inside, introductions are made, and a quick ceremony is performed. Once the ceremony is over, Jim shows her around the house and shows her to her room. Her room looks comfortable, except for the fact that she is not into pink and frilly. Jim then leaves, which leaves her wondering just what in the world she was thinking. He didn’t seem any happier about things than she did.
As the two of them get to know each other, one thing is for sure: they have chemistry. Both try to deny their mutual attraction for reasons unknown to the other. However, just when things start to work between them, danger arrives in the form of Taya’s past.
Issued is the first I’ve read by Wynters. Even though the premise is a bit over the top, it is nicely written story. Taya and Jim have a hard time opening up to each other, but once they do, the chemistry is palpable. The characters are well written and engaging. The secondary characters are well written as well, leaving you wanting their stories. Taya’s backstory and the reason she’s running is a hard one. However, Jim’s backstory, once revealed in its entirety, endears him to the reader. Heartbreaking is the only way to describe it. Issued is ultimately a story of building trust and opening one’s self up to possibilities. Well done, Paris Wynters!
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Vickie
Oh, yeah. I’m homeless. My father was murdered. And the people responsible are walking free because there wasn’t enough evidence to convict the bastards. So, what better way for a fresh start on life than to volunteer to be assigned as a spouse to a member of the military? Didn’t sound so bad after everything I’d lost. Everything that was taken from me.
My heart hammers against my rib cage as my right thumb, ring finger and pinky reduce the throttle on my bike, two of my fingers always on the front brake. Some days, I wish I had a sibling, someone to grieve with over the loss of my father. After five months, the painful ache hurts as much as the day they lowered my dad’s coffin into the ground. I sigh and dip my shoulder as I lean into the unfamiliar turn of this street.
Virginia Beach, with its salty ocean air and the constant lull of crashing waves, is a fresh start. Complete with a roof over my head, medical benefits, and a built-in bodyguard. Not that I can’t protect myself, but when the person who killed the man I loved most is my former best friend that I’ve known since childhood, I’m at a loss. Marco knows me too well. And disappearing is the only way I can truly be safe.
When I overheard one of my former search and rescue teammates talking about the program at last year’s conference, I choked on my water laughing. An arranged marriage? Not my idea of happily ever after. But the sly veteran quirked his eyebrow in my direction and threw a five-hundred-dollar dare out, so I picked up my phone and made a quick buck. What were the chances my shoddy application would be picked?
I snort. I should’ve known better than to trust fate. But I had to go through the screening process. God only knows what the repercussions would’ve been if the military found out I wasn’t serious when I filled out the application. But since finding a match could’ve taken a while, I did have the option later to withdraw my application.
Except my circumstances changed in a terrible way. This new program is now about to become my saving grace . . . with a man whose name and address are on the piece of paper in my pocket. But who in their right mind signs up to be “issued” a husband, even with a rigorous screening process? At least I won’t have to look over my shoulder here. Or be reminded of everything that I lost at every corner.
My heart twists sharply at the memory of all that’s vanished forever, before kicking up to a rhythm of stampeding wild horses the closer I get to the two-story, cobalt-blue Colonial house where my future husband and the officiant are waiting. Holy hell, I’m going to be someone’s wife by the end of the day.
I pull up to the curb, kill the engine and push out the kickstand. Dismounting, I take a moment to look around while my ears adjust to the quiet after hours on the road. The landscaping is immaculate. The Ford F-250 looks brand new, or at least it’s washed and shined to reflect even the dimly lit morning. The rocks lining the walkway to the front door are perfectly spaced, like someone had laid them in rows by hand.
Everything is just . . . too perfect.
I close my eyes and mutter a prayer this man isn’t one of those people who has to line up his cereal boxes in size order. Or worse—alphabetically. Because I’m anything but organized. And I can’t cook for shit.!
TRC: Hi Paris and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of ISSUED.
We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?
Follow Paris: Website/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads/
Paris: Well, I outside of being a writer I am also a Search and Rescue K-9 handler.
TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?
Paris: Books actually influenced my career in writing. Believe it or not, my favorite authors growing up were Stephen King and Robin Cook. Actually, Robin Cook inspired my interest in science and is the reason why I majored pre-med in college.
TRC: What challenges or difficulties did you encounter writing and publishing this story?
Paris: One of the biggest challenges I faced is that military stories aren’t necessarily the “in” thing with a majority of publishers focusing on Romcom. I was fortunate that the team over at Tule Publishing loved the story and were happy to take it on.
TRC: Would you please tell us something about the premise of ISSUED?
Paris: So, having a family in the military and friends you always hear stories of divorce rates and shotgun weddings, and even that old saying “if we wanted you to have a wife we would have issued you one.” Well, I thought that was an interesting concept and hence ISSUED was born.
TRC: How many books do you have planned for the NAVY SEALS OF LITTLE CREEK series?
Paris: Currently three. Book 2 will be releasing in September.
TRC: What kind of research/plotting did you do, and how long did you spend researching /plotting before beginning ISSUED?
Paris: I spent a fair amount of time interviewing friends and family to make sure some of the more military aspects of the story were correct. I did some research on home selling websites to find the perfect home for my characters. That was a lot of fun. Also, I researched a Whiskey bar down in Virginia Beach that I modeled Shaken & Stirred off of.
TRC: How did your experiences as a certified search and rescue technician contribute to the story line?
Paris: It’s worked into the story as something the heroine is involved in. She isn’t a K-9 handler like myself but more of a general technician. This is where we all start so it was a nice way to introduce a character because most of the time we go out on calls as a ground pounder rather than using our more specialized skill set.
TRC: Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the process of selecting a book or new series to read?
Paris: Of course. And the reason I say that is because of my own purchasing habits. A good cover will catch my attention and make me read the blurb or research the book further to see if it’s something I want to buy.
TRC: When writing a story line, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?
Paris: It’s a little of both. There are beats I want to hit and plot points I need to get to, but how the characters get there will be determined by them. Most of the time I really flesh out my characters first so I know them because I like to be intentional in how they are going to react to a situation. There’s nothing worse for me as a reader to have someone’s mind and emotions not match their physical reactions. I like my characters to be consistent and know why they are doing and feeling what they are doing and feeling.
TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writers fail in this endeavor?
Paris: They have to know their characters and they have to do things intentionally. You have to go three levels deep into why a character acts the way they do. For example, anger can stem from fear and fear can stem from a core wound of abandonment. And then that fear has to match who the character is. And it has to be consistent throughout. Where I feel writers fail are in the consistency, especially in romance. New authors really do a great job at conveying nonverbal communication, but the longer a romance author seems to write the more they seem to stop paying attention to this. Ninety-three percent of the way we communicate is non-verbally. Our characters should be doing this as well. And not the constant smile, raised eyebrow, narrowed eyes. But give more or three lumped together. Thriller writers are great at this. And it really helps connect to characters.
TRC: Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does the style of music influence the storyline direction? Characters?
Paris: I don’t listen to music while I write. I actually listen to it while I drive or while I’m visualizing a scene or a character. But when I write or read, I prefer silence. As far as what I listen to…I listen to everything. So Tech9, Eminem, NF, Lady Gaga, and Yusef Alev all played a part in some aspect of ISSUED.
TRC: What do you believe is the biggest misconception people have about authors?
Paris: That it’s easy and that we make a lot of money. Writing and editing is very hard, and it’s very hard emotionally. Plus, we are always writing on our own so it can be very lonely. Most authors also have full time jobs or at least another job so balancing deadlines and writing is another challenge we have to face.
TRC: What is something that few, if anyone, know about you?
Paris: I was a single mom for 13 years after leaving an abusive situation. It was a very difficult time as I was always trying to make ends meet, slept on the floor with just a pillow and blanket for twelve of those years, and even had to separate from the dog I owned at the time. I was fortunate to have had friends who helped me escape, and one who took my dog to make sure she was safe. Now I am blessed with an amazing husband and an eighteen-year-old who is well adjusted and has even been certified as a Search and Rescue technician himself.
TRC: Who is your favorite author (living or dead)?
Paris: Robin Cook
TRC: On what are you currently working?
Paris: I am simultaneously working on Book 3 and a holiday Mongolian romance
LIGHTNING ROUND
Favorite Food- Lamb Chops
Favorite Dessert- Apple Crostata
Favorite TV Show- Family Guy
Last Movie You Saw- Star Wars the Rise of Skywalker
Dark or Milk Chocolate- I’m allergic to chocolate so neither
Secret Celebrity Crush- David Boreanaz and Ignacio Serrichio
Last Vacation Destination- Arizona
Do you have any pets? Yes, two working dogs
Last book you read- Little Creeping Things by Chelsea Ichaso
TRC: Thank you Paris for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of ISSUED. We wish you all the best.
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