The story goes like this:
Thursday, 05/05/2011: Christie Ridgway tweeted the following: Has everyone seen this SEAL photo? Makes me feel very, uh, patriotic. http://nyti.ms/jLRdAC
On Friday, 05/06/2011, she tweeted: We could all get together & write antho inspired by ystdy’s SEAL. Donate proceeds to military charity, something like that.
Six months later: With the help of many, including publisher Bell Bridge Books and cover designer Frauke Spanuth of Croco Designs, Christie Ridgway and her sidekick Alison Kent brought nineteen authors together to create SEAL of My Dreams.
SEAL of My Dreams is available to purchase digitally at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc., as well as in print at all retailers.
A teaser about the SEAL stories!
All the stories honor the courage and sacrifice of the SEALs and those who love them. Some feature characters from ongoing series, others introduce new series, and all include the hallmark of romance––that great feeling of falling in love!
A brief interview with Christie Ridgeway:
Jillian: Welcome Christie, we are so excited to help promote SEAL of My Dreams. All the proceeds are pledged to Veterans Research Corporation. Can you tell readers something about them?
Christie: I live in a Navy town and this non profit organization was founded here for the specific purpose of raising funds to support medical research for veterans of all wars from all branches of service. They recognize the great need for veteran-based medical research due to emerging health challenges like PTSD and traumatic brain injury among others. They are highly committed to helping our service people and are excited about our project. (We've made new fans of romance!)
Jillian: Had you ever written a SEAL hero before? The cover shot is certainly a whole lot inspiration!
Christie: I've not written a SEAL hero before (though I once went to a real SEAL wedding!). I have written a secondary hero who is a former soldier in Can't Hurry Love. In the current book I'm writing, the hero is a combat medic with the Army. So my guy for the anthology, Josh Frye, is my first Navy man.
Jillian: Tell us something about what it was like to wrangle all these writers together, find the right charity, publisher, photography rights, etc. (You did a brilliant job by the way.)
Christie: I couldn't have done it without the wonderful Alison Kent. We drew up a list of potential authors and getting participants was the easiest part! I was very committed to using the actual photograph (in case you don't know, he is an actual SEAL, the photo from 2007). That took some digging (again, thank you Alison), but it turned out to be do-able and Getty Images even cut us a small break on the price since it was for such a good cause. I looked into a lot of charities and so many are doing excellent work. I had a personal connection through a friend with the Veterans Medical Research Corporation and it made me very comfortable to donate to them. Their work helps all our military men and women, which was another bonus in my mind. It was author Cindy Gerard who told publisher Bell Bridge Books about our project and they stepped up and volunteered to do all the heavy lifting. We just had to write the stories...which naturally is the part we authors like best.
Jillian: Patriotically speaking, that trailer is so...hot. What can you tell us about it?
Christie: Isn't it wonderful and romantic? That was put together by Deborah Smith, one of the head honchos at Belle Bridge Books (and an awesome author too). The first time I watched...well, the dozenth time I watched it, I choked up.
Jillian: SEAL of My Dreams has to be an exciting release for you. How/what are you feeling?
Christie: I'm thrilled to be attached to such a worthy project and so gratified by the enthusiasm of everyone...from those of us who put it together, to the bloggers such as yourself helping us promote it, and to the readers who tell us they can't wait to own their copy. It was a daunting task at first, but with all the help we've had, it's become such a pleasure.
Christie's question for readers:
It's time to use your imaginations and answer the burning question that's occurred to us all! Check out our SEAL on the cover. How do you think he got that scar on his back?
On behalf of all the authors of SEAL of My Dreams, Get Lost in a Story will be giving away either a digital or print copy of SEAL of My Dreams to one lucky commenter!
List of anthology titles and authors:
***Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.
