I joined the U.S. Navy at age 18, in my father’s footsteps; he was in the Navy during World War II (and had one destroyer, the USS Fletcher, shot out from under him).
In boot camp, after three brutal days of nonstop, eight-hour testing in boot camp, I was told that I had the highest mechanical score since the WAVES (United States Naval Reserve, Women’s Reserve) had been formed in 1943! As no mechanical jobs were open to women in 1964, I was asked to pick another “mechanical” career field. I chose meteorology because it was about nature.
Because I went into the military, this experience became the backbone of my writing. I am credited with writing the first military romance novel (Captive of Fate, 1983, Silhouette Special Edition) and have created a thriving subgenre within the romance field. My many experiences in the U.S. Navy are backdrop for my understanding of the military in general, and also my very successful Morgan’s Mercenaries, which is an ongoing series in Silhouette/Harlequin. There are 45 books in that series.
Born in San Diego, California, a true Navy town, I started writing at age 13. It took 22 years of working at the craft of writing until I published in 1981 with Second Chance At Love/Berkley Publishing. In 1983 I moved to Simon & Schuester/Silhouette and later, it was bought by Harlequin and much later, by HarperCollins. My impetus for writing was to remove the stain on the Vietnam veterans coming home from a political war caused by politicians—but they got blamed for it. I wrote military romances showing men and women who had morals, values, integrity and good hearts. I believe that love is the strongest, most positive and healing human emotion we own, and that’s why I write in the romance field.
I will always write about military people and veterans. I am one of them. And readers of military romance know the difference between someone who was in the service and writes them from civilian writers who pen in the category. It goes back to me writing what I know. While in the service, I held a Secret clearance and dealt with security agencies when I was the secretary to the Captain of USNAS Moffett Field, in California. My time in service is often reflected in my book in large and small ways.
I love writing about the families who are there as a support and buttress for their loved one who is in the military. They sacrifice just as much, but in different ways. They may not be in combat, but a spouse is without back up, with children, is just as stressful and equally demanding as being out in the field, in my opinion. Military families are heroic in my worldview. No one is better than they are. No one is tougher, more resilient and patriotic than a spouse of a service member in the military.
When I started writing military romance in the early 1980s, the people in the military were still looked down upon and disrespected and not honored for the fact they gave their lives for this country of ours. I’d like to think that in some small way, and after some 200 books, found in 33 foreign languages, of writing about these courageous men and women, that my readers, that over time, civilian readers began to change their minds about us. Nowadays, it’s “thank you for your service,” instead of being called vile names and blamed for the loss of the Vietnam War.
It has been and always will be an honor to write about our service people and their brave families. I’m grateful to be able to tell their stories.
