American Heroes
A marriage pact, sixteen years in the making.
The vow was simple. If they were single by the time they made lieutenant colonel, they’d marry. On the day of her promotion, Juliet Grayson is at Evan Stephens’s door to ask him to keep his promise. Juliet only needs a father figure for her son, but Evan hopes to be so much more. Can he convince a woman who’s been burned before to get close to the flame once again?
The vow was simple. If they were single by the time they made lieutenant colonel, they’d marry. On the day of her promotion, Juliet Grayson is at Evan Stephens’s door to ask him to keep his promise. Juliet only needs a father figure for her son, but Evan hopes to be so much more. Can he convince a woman who’s been burned before to get close to the flame once again?
Despite a no-nonsense background as a West Point graduate and U.S. Army officer, CARO CARSON has always treasured the happily-ever-after of a good romance novel. After her military service, she worked in the healthcare industry with a Fortune 100 company, talking science with doctors who were rarely handsome bachelor Texans like the doctors in her books. Now a USA Today bestselling author and RITA™ award winner, Caro is delighted to be living her own happily-ever-after with her husband (who actually is a handsome Texan) and their two children. They live in the great state of Florida, a location which has saved the coaster-loving theme park fanatics a fortune on plane tickets.
SOCIAL CONNECTIONS:
THE Q&A
ANGI: Daffy Duck or Donald Duck?
CARO: Oh, both are relatable. They seem to be angry at the world all the time, but the world is not very kind to them. They have some justification! After all, if my beak got blown off regularly (Daffy) or chipmunks dropped logs on my head (Donald), I’d be ticked off, too. But I’ll go with Daffy, because he faces that unfair world with confidence, an eyeroll, and a snarky comment or two. You go, Daffy. You do you.
ANGI: What’s your favorite thing about your book’s hero?
CARO: His bear hugs! Evan and Juliet have a history together as best friends in college, and they used to be affectionate with one another the way good friends, even siblings, would be. She shoves him off the sidewalk when he jogs by, he kisses her cheek and says, “Good luck on the test,” that sort of thing. Reunited in their 30s, she is catching him up on the past 16 years of her life as they wash dishes together in his kitchen, and she seems confident—like she’s handled the disappointments and moved on from the heartbreaks. But Aiden knows her too well. He puts down the dishtowel and envelopes her in a bear hug. It’s not a sexy moment, but it is a moment of physical bonding that cuts through Juliet’s defenses and makes her realize just how much she needs Evan back in her life, this man who has always been on her side. (This is where I must point to the cover of this book. I love that my publisher’s cover artist chose to depict the bear hug. The models got it exactly right, too, with his strong arms holding her securely and that expression on her face—that expression! I want to live their life when I look at that cover.)
ANGI: High Heels or Hiking Boots?
CARO: As a former army officer, I feel like I’m obliged to be practical and say “hiking boots,” and it was indeed very comfortable to wear combat boots in my 20s. That said…I like high heels better, because it means I’m dressed up and going out for a good time. Maybe to the theater or out to dinner. Maybe to a party—or a writers’ conference, where I love to spend time with other writers.
ANGI: What’s your favorite dessert of all time?
CARO: That’s easy: my mother’s key lime pie. I grew up in the Miami area, and we had a key lime tree in our backyard. When Mom told you to go out and pick some key limes, you knew the best, most tart pie in the world was in your very near future.
ANGI: Surf or Turf?
CARO: I’ll take the perfectly grilled steak (with a bottle of good Shiraz, please). It doesn’t go with Key Lime Pie at all, though. You have to eat all your dinner and finish your wine before you can have dessert, or else you’ll have a taste bud disaster on your tongue.
ANGI: Biography or History?
CARO: History lets you enjoy both. There is no history without the biographies of the people who lived it. My favorite part of any history textbook was always the portraits and photos that added color to the text. I remember studying the faces of the immigrant family working in the unsafe factories of the Industrial Revolution. I looked at the portrait of Pocahontas, with its strange blend of Native American and formal British fashions, and tried to imagine how she must have felt when she left everything she ever knew—people, language, food, even the very plants and animals she grew up with—to go on a dangerous voyage to a new world. She must have had an incredible lust for adventure. I think it would be like taking off in a UFO today, truly leaving your whole world behind.
Wait—what were we talking about? Oh, yes. History. I choose history, because it’s really a thousand biographies.
ANGI: The most daring thing you’ve ever done… Care to share?
CARO: Going to West Point against my family’s advice. I hadn’t been 18 for two weeks when I raised my right hand and committed myself to nine years of military service, nine years of defending the Constitution with my life, if called upon to do so. Looking back, it’s easy to see how little an 18-year-old can realize the impact of such a decision. But on the other hand, in a very real way, that 18-year-old knew exactly what she was doing, where she was, what her goals were. I was so aware that I was standing on a parade field that George Washington’s troops had stood on, that I was wearing the same uniform Blackjack Pershing wore, and that one doesn’t get to do those things without a major trade-off, like nine years of one’s life. I suppose it was my personal Pocahontas moment, my choice to have an adventure that nobody else in my world had chosen. I tried to capture some of those emotions in THE LIEUTENANTS’ ONLINE LOVE. It’s a lighthearted book in many ways—a pen-pal romance like “You’ve Got Mail”—but the heroine is a new lieutenant fresh out of West Point, so I put a lot of my experiences into her life.
ANGI’s GOTTA ASK: SHOW ME YOUR SHOES and tell us why…
CARO’s GOTTA ANSWER: Well, they ain’t high heels, so obviously, there is no glamorous evening in my near future. At least sneakers make me look like I’m going to get some exercise at any moment!
UP NEXT for CARO:
THE BOOKWORM AND THE BARTENDER
Harlequin Special Edition
On sale February 2020
PREVIOUSLY RELEASED by CARO:
THE LIEUTENANTS’ ONLINE LOVE
Harlequin Special Edition
What happens when your internet crush...Shows up in real life?
First Lieutenant Thane Carter has experienced great success as the senior platoon leader of a military police company at Fort Hood. But, given the demands of his career, his love life is nonexistent. Thane wishes the maddening--and off-limits--new platoon leader, Lieutenant Chloe Michaels, could be more like his online friend "BallerinaBaby." It's complicated, all right--especially when Thane learns that his workplace nemesis and his internet crush are one and the same!
THE CAPTAIN’S VEGAS VOWS
American Heroes
Harlequin Special Edition
They gambled on a long shot
Will the bet pay off?
They have ninety days before the state of Texas will grant these strangers a divorce from their impetuous Vegas wedding. Captain Helen Pallas is certain she's not cut out for marriage. And Captain Tom Cross doesn't believe in love. Yet working in the same unit--and assigned to married quarters--Helen and Tom know the attraction is real. It's a long shot, but we're betting on happily-ever-after.
Will the bet pay off?
They have ninety days before the state of Texas will grant these strangers a divorce from their impetuous Vegas wedding. Captain Helen Pallas is certain she's not cut out for marriage. And Captain Tom Cross doesn't believe in love. Yet working in the same unit--and assigned to married quarters--Helen and Tom know the attraction is real. It's a long shot, but we're betting on happily-ever-after.
Caro is giving away a box of books!
Along with her military-set romance “The Colonels’ Texas Promise,” Caro is including “How to Train a Cowboy,” one of her western romances. Plus, since she’s had her books appear in 2-in-1 paperbacks with some stellar authors, she is also including Debbie Macomber’s “Yours and Mine,” which features Caro’s RITA-nominated “The Bachelor Doctor’s Bride.” There’s also Sherryl Woods’ “My Dearest Cal,” which includes Caro’s RITA winner, “A Texas Rescue Christmas.” And lastly, Linda Lael Miller’s “A Stone Creek Christmas,” which include Caro’s “A Cowboy’s Wish Upon a Star.”
That’s eight novels by four authors, all in one box, delivered to your door. Sounds like a good box! Good luck. U.S. only