Welcome to another tasty edition of Teaser Tuesday, the series where I share snippets from novels, past, present and in progress, and let writing buddies play along too.

This week I’m thrilled to introduce debut author Amanda Knight to you. I met Amanda several years ago at a Romance Writers of Australia conference and have had my fingers crossed tightly ever since that she’d score a publishing contract. And now she has and I couldn’t be more excited for her.

Situation Critical is a romantic suspense with a military/small town theme and hit bookshelves last week. It sounds an absolute beauty, but I’m a sucker for a military man, probably because I’ve been with one for over 25 years. Even better, Situation Critical features a dog hero and being a dedicated dog person this makes me VERY happy!

But enough from me, here’s Amanda to tell you more. But make sure you read all the way through cos you never know, there could be a sneaky GIVEAWAY in there somewhere.

The seed for the idea of Situation Critical came when I stumbled across an article about Sarbi, an Australian special forces explosives detection dog that spent almost 14 months missing in action in Afghanistan – she is my inspiration for Finnegan, Situation Critical’s canine hero!

My research for this book showed me a kaleidoscope of experiences borne by our service men and women, both by those at the frontline and those in support roles. The stories were often heart-breaking, but at the same time, showed how our capacity for hope, and the offer of even the smallest acts of kindness, generosity and compassion, can lighten even the darkest moments… all of which I hope you feel when you’re absorbed within the pages of Situation Critical! As Nate and Beth search for Finnegan, and their relationship develops, against all odds, so does the threat to their lives…  I do hope you love their story as much as I enjoyed crafting it!

She assessed the flinch site again, pressing gently around the area she’d scratched. Her fingers felt like warm rays of sun sliding over his skin, her breath on his neck soft, sexy. Christ. He somehow stayed mute and resisted shoving her hand off his arm.

After what seemed like two lifetimes, she looked convinced his arm wasn’t about to drop off, and stood, faced him. ‘Okay. Well, let me know if it gets worse, or the sensitivity flares again,’ she said, searching his face, rolling down his sleeve.

‘Thanks, but you’re done here.’ He snatched his arm from her hand and shoved the remaining shirt fabric down to his wrist. ‘I mean, I’m done. Listen, Doc, I like my space, and you’re in it. Can you just move over there a bit?’ He pointed to the furthest corner from him.

He’d just been a total arse, but it had to be done, for both their sakes. Truth of the matter was, when any part of her came into contact with any part of him, he felt like he’d been hammered with an electric rod. And if the heat in her face while she inspected his arm was anything to go by, she felt it too. Not good. Not good at all.

Her expression changed from concern to caustic in a heartbeat.

She stayed exactly where she was and sucked in a chest full of breath. The intensity in her glare enough to shatter a frigging missile.

‘Unfortunately for you, Sergeant, your space is what I’m responsible for, so no, I can’t move. You’ll have to get used to me being here.’ She waved her arms around them in a circle. ‘Just think of me as your new damn shadow.’ She snapped the lid back on the syringe before taking a step closer to him. ‘Is that going to be a problem for you?’

Well shit, she was definitely more hard-arse than honey. He could tick that question off the list.

Oooh, sexy! And just the thing to curl up with this coming weekend, or tonight, or any time, really!

You can purchase Situation Critical right now from Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Google Play, Nook or your favourite ebook retailer.

Now, as we hinted at in the introduction, there’s a…

GIVEAWAY!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to share with us your favourite solider, whether that be real life, in a book, movie whatever. We want to know your military man (or woman or even canine!) loves.

All comments will go into a draw to win a Soldier On awareness gift pack.

Naturally I’m going to choose my Jim! But Amanda and I would love to hear yours.

For those who don’t know, Soldier On is an Australian charity that supports Australia’s veterans and families by providing vital support services to help them overcome any impacts from their service. It’s an important charity that does excellent work in a much-needed area. To find out more, please check out the Soldier On website or visit their Facebook page.

Amanda will also be donating to Soldier On as part of her Situation Critical release promotions. Check out her Facebook page for details and see how you can help spread the word and raise money for this important charity.

Please note: Giveaway closes midnight Friday AEST, 21^st April 2017. Australian postal addresses only.

If you’d like to learn more about Amanda and her books, please visit her website. You can also connect via Facebook.