Interview, Review and Giveaway with Author LA Witt.



 

 Conduct Unbecoming

As long as no one asks and they don’t tell…

First class petty officer Eric Randall is less than thrilled about taking orders to Okinawa. Three long, lonely years on a crappy island that’s thousands of miles from his daughter? Oh. Yeah. Sign him up. But as long as he’s stuck here, he might as well make the best of it, so he discreetly checks out the local gay scene.

Shane nearly drops his drink when the gorgeous, cocky-looking guy strolls into Palace Habu. He buys him a drink, and before long, they’re making out in a booth. Eric is a straight-to-the-point kind of guy and doesn’t want to play games. Since Eric’s idea of not playing games is getting the hell out of there and going back to one of their apartments, Shane is more than happy to go along with it.
 
What starts as a scorching-hot one-night stand leaves both of them wanting more…until Eric finds out Shane doesn’t just outrank him, he’s an officer. DADT may be repealed, but an officer getting involved with an enlisted man falls under conduct unbecoming.

Still, they can’t resist their mutual desire. There’s no reason anyone has to find out. But secrets have a way of outing themselves.

Warning: Contains two military boys who keep forgetting they’re not supposed to be together. Probably because they never have their uniforms on for any length of time…

The backdrop of this story is the beautifully written Okinawa, brought to life superbly with Witt's descriptives of the islands, castles and scenery.  I would close my eyes between paragraphs and I was there at Katsuren Castle with Eric and Shane!

Eric is new to the island and not even remotely excited with his latest tour, having left behind his teenage daughter in the states with his ex wife for the next three years. He is a career military, enlisted MP and he's gay. Not necessarily openly gay, but he's not touring Okinawa waving his rainbow flag either. It doesn't take him long to begin his search for something, or someone, to help him pass the time.

The first thing Eric see's when he walks into Palace Habu is the sexy, stranger at the end of the bar. Shane almost drops his drink when he lay's eyes on Eric. The attraction is overwhelming, immediate and mutual. And what should be a one night stand leaves both men wanting, no aching, for more. Okinawa is not the largest island on the planet, but it takes weeks before these two happen upon each other again. Sparks are soon flying again as these two trip over each other on there way back to the bedroom, quickly agreeing this should become a habit. Then Shane drops the bomb that he's an Officer. DADT has been removed, but the long standing rules against Officer's and Enlisted in a relationship still stands. This is one rule not likely to change, not even for this Officer and his gentleman.


Not only do these guys have to deal with being gay in the military and all the side ways glances and hushed whispers that come from their narrowminded fellow soldiers; but Witt delved even deeper by including the forbidden Officer dating Enlisted taboo. Eric and Shane still manage to skirt the boundries of what they should and shouldn't do, neither one willing to admit just how emotionally attached they've become to one another. As they learn ways around the rules and explore the wonder that is Okinawa, as well as each other, they skirt dangerously close to breaking a rule that could have devastating consequences for both of them.

I'm not certain what I liked more about this story. Watching the slow building love story between Eric and Shane as lust and fire become want and need; or the enthralling backdrop of Okinawa and the picture of perfection Witt was able to capture in this novel. This was the first book by L.A.Witt that I had the pleasure of reading, and have since read 4 more, I intend to eventually read all her books. She has an ability to pay as much attention to the background of her story as she does to the characters, but not taking any of the interest away from the characters. The exquisite background just made me that much more eager to turn each page.

I give this one 5/5, but that's just my two cents!

 

From Out in the Cold *Amazon*
*Goodreads* Tams Review
Where Nerves End  *Amazon*
*Goodreads* Tams Review
Where There's Smoke *Amazon*
*Goodreads* Tams Review

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And now for my interview with award winning, best selling author and arch nemesis of Lauren Gallagher.. L.A. Witt
 

*Conduct Unbecoming was the first of your books I've read, Eric and Shane are still my favorite characters you created. What research did you do on the backstory in Okinawa? -- I lived on Okinawa while I was writing Conduct Unbecoming, so the research was literally at my fingertips. In fact, I wrote one of the Katsuren Castle scenes while I was sitting on top of the castle itself. After three years there, the setting is still firmly embedded in my mind, though now that I’m working on a sequel, I’m admittedly getting a little homesick.
 

* Is there going to be any follow up on their story? – I’m not sure if Eric and Shane will be center stage again, but there will be a sequel/spinoff called General Misconduct, which is the story of Ensign Lange, who appears briefly in Conduct Unbecoming.
 

* How did you come up with the DADT aspect of the story? – I’d been playing with the idea of the story when DADT was repealed, so decided I wanted to write something where DADT is gone, but the guys will still face challenges because of their relationship. There is still plenty of homophobia in the ranks, so they both choose to keep their sexuality quiet, but the officer/enlisted combination makes things even more challenging. I’d always wanted to write an officer/enlisted romance, and once I figured out who Shane and Eric were, the story pretty much fell into place.
 

* In From Out in the Cold Jeremy suffers from PTSD from time spent in Iraq. What military background do you draw from for your stories, the realism and the emotions you share can't be just researched. – I know a lot of people who’ve been to Iraq, so I’ve heard quite a few stories about the experiences over there and also the PTSD, flashbacks, nightmares, etc. I also did a lot of research into PTSD so I could understand both the issues both Neil and Jeremy faced, and drew from that. As far as the emotions, it honestly just comes from having characters react to things. I “knew” Jeremy’s character, and when I threw a nightmare or a flashback at him, I thought “If I were Jeremy, how would I feel? Respond? React?” Same with Neil. So it’s mostly a matter of researching the facts (about the war and about PTSD), and then letting the guys react however their personality would dictate.
 

* What drew you initially to the M/M genre? – A dare, actually. A friend dared me to write a gay romance novel when I was writing hetero, and that resulted in Rules of Engagement. After that, I was hooked. Thirty-some-odd books later…still hooked.
 

*What has been the most interesting comment or review about your writing?– I had an editor once tell me that my romances are “gritty”, which is an interesting way to describe a romance. It wasn’t meant as anything negative—she liked the grittiness—but it’s always stuck out in my mind. Considering most of what I read is on the gritty side, I’m not too surprised it bleeds into my writing.
 

*Who is your favorite author? – In the M/M genre, I’ll read anything by Aleksandr Voinov or Marie Sexton. I also read a lot of Margaret Atwood, and I’m a huge fan of the late fantasy author Sara Douglass. And when I want to feel both inspired and completely inadequate as a writer, there’s always Vladimir Nabokov.
 

*What book are you currently reading? – I’m reading (slowly because I’ve been so bloody busy) Santuario by GB Gordon, and I’m also re-reading the Dark Soulcollection by Aleksandr Voinov. I’ve also got Too Stupid to Live by Anne Tenino, which I’ll probably read next. In between re-reading Aleks’s Skyboundfor the 47^th time.
 

*Any run ins with Miss Gallagher lately you'd like to share? – I’m pretty sure she was following me around the grocery store the other night. Crazy wench…
 

*Tell us about new releases we have to look forward to in the next few months. – Ooh, it’s going to be a busy year, let me tell you! In March, I’ll have a short story called Test Drive released from Amber Allure, plus Covet Thy Neighbor, which is my second contribution to the multi-author Tucker Springs series. That one will be available through Riptide, as will If It Flies, which I wrote with Aleksandr Voinov and is the third in the Market Garden universe (Quid Pro Quo came out in January, and its sequel, Take it Off, will be out soon as well). Then in May, Lauren is releasing The Princess & The Porn Star via Samhain. I’m really excited about a WWII historical, also written with Aleks Voinov, due out this summer. Keep an eye on our blogs/websites for details about that one. Plenty more to come in 2013, too!



A Huge thank you to L.A Witt for answering my quesitons and sharing her coming news for 2013 with us!  Up for grabs for 2 lucky winners is 1 ebook copy of any L.A Witt book, winner's choice!

 

 

 

 

 

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