The Romance Reader's Connection NOVEMBER AUTHOR OF THE MONTH       Merline Lovelace    Click on cover to purchase book. by  Livia Holton   The Romance Reader's Connection is honored to present Merline Lovelace as our Author Of The Month. Ms Lovelace, a retired Air Force Colonel, uses her military experience to create fascinating stories centered on men and woman serving their country in many different capacities. The ultimate result is always sizzling romance in its finest form. Livia: Col Lovelace welcome to TRRC. It would be very hard to interview you and not discuss your military background. So first I'd like to ask just a couple of questions that deal with your thoughts on the War on Terrorism and the women's roles in that war. Do you see the role of women in combat as a positive step forward career wise? ML: Thanks for the welcome. It's great to join the readers and writers at TRRC. As to the War on Terrorism, I'm afraid it's one we'll be fighting a long time. One we've always fought, as a matter of fact. Terror has been the weapon of choice for radicals and dissidents. Look at the seemingly endless fighting in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. The US was relatively immune until recent times, when we experienced the Beruit Marine Barracks Bombing, the Oklahoma City bombing, and 9/11. Although... I suppose the Loyalists would say the colonials who ambushed and attacked British troops back in 1776 were terrorists. American women have always been involved in the on-going struggle against terror and/or tyranny. Washington's Continental Army included nursing matrons on its payroll, and many women served alongside their menfolk in the field. Similarly, thousands of women served in uniform in WWI, WWII, Korea and VN, just as they're serving today. Thank goodness for TV, though! Finally, the American public is seeing firsthand that women perform in the field with the same dedication, courage and sacrifice as their male counterparts. They're also seeing how integral women now are to our military. I can't imagine anyone arguing with the role of women in uniform now. Livia: You've been out of the Air Force for a little over twelve years, with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, do you ever wish you were back on active duty? ML: You know, I thought I would REALLY miss the Air Force. After all, I was an Air Force brat for the first 20 years of my life and an Air Force officer for the next 23. It was all I knew. But I jumped right out of uniform and into writing, and stayed so busy I didn't have time to miss it. Until 9/11! It killed me to watch everything unfold on TV and not be part of it. That was the first time I really, really missed being in uniform. Livia: Do you think there will be a trend towards romance story lines that deal directly with the US War on Terrorism? Would you be comfortable writing such stories? ML: Yes to both questions. The War on Terrorism is part of our lives now. We have to deal with it. I've already turned in several manuscripts with characters who've served in Afghanistan or Iraq. Livia: You have a wonderful ability to jump around the genre when writing. You've written categories, historical, time travel and mainstream romantic suspense, both military and non-military. Is this an easy process for you? ML: I love switching sub-genres. It gives me a chance to change voices and, hopefully, keep from getting stale. It also lets me indulge my passion for research. I'm a trivia nut -- I love reading about different times and different cultures, then incorporating them into my books. I also love to travel to exotic locations, which I also incorporate into my books. Livia: The books you've written for the OMEGA series are by far the most well known among Silhouette Intimate Moments readers. Where did the inspiration for these stories come from? Are they based on a real agency? ML: Nope, I made it all up. The funny thing is I turned in the manuscripts for those books just about the time the movie TRUE LIES came out, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold S. When Arnold walked into his agency and they showed a shot of the shield that said OMEGA, I was soooo yanked! Livia: Your new series for Silhouette includes two rarely talked about agencies. Who came up with the idea to create a series using all the military branches including the Public Health Service organization and the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Agency? ML: I've been wanting to do this series for a long time. Had actually worked up plot sketches for seven books -- one for each of the seven uniformed services -- but compressed the series to three books because of time constraints and other commitments. I particularly wanted to include NOAA and PHS because those agencies are rarely recognized, yet contribute immensely to national defense. Livia: Will subsequent books in this series include any of the characters we met in A QUESTION OF INTENT? ML: Definitely! Book #2 features sexy NOAA officer Kate Hargrave and the hot shot AF test pilot who replaces the one who had a heart attack in Book #1.  FULL THROTTLE comes out from Silhouette Desire in Jan, 04. Book #3 stars Coast Guard Lt Caroline Dunn and our stiff-necked Marine, Russ McIver. THE RIGHT STUFF is a Mar 04 release from Intimate Moments. Livia: Will you have a mainstream romantic suspense released any time soon? ML: As a matter of fact, I'm working a 3-book mainstream romantic suspense series for Mira as we speak. It features a former AF OSI agent who now runs her own security agency and is sort of a female James Bond. I'm having a ball with her! The three books are scheduled to come out April/May/Jun of 2005. Livia: Colonel Lovelace thank you so much for taking the time to visit with us. ML: You're welcome! Thanks for giving me the opportunity to get on my soapbox about the military. I'm so proud to have served -- even more proud of the men and women in uniform today. Let's all continue to support the troops we send into harm's way, no matter what our political views are. http://www.merlinelovelace.com (Click here for a review of A QUESTION OF INTENT)   For your convenience click below on one of the icons if you would like to order a book.