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For Veterans Day: A Soldier’s Italian Christmas by Jina Bacarr

November 11, 2013 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

UPDATE: A Soldier’s Italian Christmas is now for sale on Amazon.

On this Veterans Day, we honor those who have served in all wars. For that, we say thank you. As we approach the Christmas Holidays, I’ve often wondered what it was like during World War II for the boys so far from home. In A Soldier’s Italian Christmasthe first of the O’Casey Brothers in Arms series, we meet Captain Mack O’Casey, the oldest of four brothers from Brooklyn who join the fight.

It’s December 1943, one of the coldest winters on record, and the Allied advance to Rome is bogged down on a long stretch of road leading from Naples to the Eternal City.

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O’Casey Brothers in Arms
 
Captain Mack O’Casey and his sergeant have been separated from their unit after intense fighting in Central Italy. They find their way to a small village hit by shelling. Everyone has gone, or so they think…
 
Excerpt from Chapter One:
 
Italy
December 1943
 
Mack edged closer to the door, taking his time, knowing a barrage of bullets could be waiting for them on the other side, cracking their skulls open with sharpshooter precision. Or deadly explosive traps that could blow their legs off. 

He nodded to his sergeant to cover him. His heart pounded in his ears. It never got easy staring the enemy in the eye, but it didn’t do any damn good to stand out here waiting to be picked off like wild turkeys. He kicked the door open and did a clean sweep of the courtyard when a cold chill stopped him.

He froze. Someone had a gun aimed at his back. His instinct never failed.  

“Don’t move,” said a low, sultry voice in Italian. “I know how to use this.”  

For chrissakes, a female. 

“We mean you no harm,” Mack said in English, hoping to gain her confidence. She couldn’t see him in the dark. “We’re Americans, not Germans.” 

“American?” Her voice changed. “Oh, thank God,” she said in English. 

Mack turned around slowly and saw a young woman holding a gun on him. She bent down and turned up the wick on the lantern on the ground next to her and light flooded the small courtyard. He didn’t breathe until he was certain she wouldn’t shoot him. Dark, beautiful eyes sucked the fatigue right out of him. Flashing with a wildness that surprised him, she never flinched. Looking him over with intense scrutiny, she waved the lantern up and down his body. Over his boots, his uniform, the silver bars on his shoulders, and then his face. Her eyes locked with his, her lips parted. Full lips that rendered her face with an exotic aura held him transfixed. The girl was a beauty. Creamy complexion with a straight nose tipped at a perfect angle, expressive dark brows crossed in thought. She clenched her jaw, but her gaze never wavered. An absolute show of power on her part. It was clear she was relieved to see him, but she didn’t fully trust him.  

“I thought this village was deserted,” he said, taking a moment to return her scrutiny. Dressed in a man’s dark pants and heavy jacket, he noticed mud clinging to her boots and the knees of her pants with a torn cuff. A navy blue beret fit snugly over her head, hiding her hair. Curly wisps of silky brown hair escaped onto her cheeks making him wish he could smooth them back with his fingers. Kiss her cheek. “My sergeant and I have been walking for miles since the Nazis big guns cut us off from the main road.”   

Satisfied he was telling the truth, she said, “We’ve been holed up here praying the Allies would come.”
 
As she spoke, half a dozen little boys came from out of nowhere and crowded around her. Mack smiled. Round, cherub faces, black unruly hair. They reminded him of his brothers back home in Brooklynwhen they were kids. The oldest boy couldn’t have been more than ten, the youngest about three. What surprised him was how clean their hands and faces were. Most children he’d seen in Naples since landing near Salerno were dirty and barefoot. 

A familiar itch up crawled his backside. First, the shining cross in the sky. Now a beautiful woman with a brood of scrappy angels. What holy place had he stumbled into?  

“Are you alone?” he asked, wondering where her husband was. Most likely fighting in the North. Ever since the devastating Allied losses in Bari, most partisans had fled into the hills. By the looks of the destruction, the village had been under attack for weeks. 

“No, Sister Benedetto and I stayed behind to care for the children when the town was evacuated.” 

“You’re in danger. The Germans have fortified this whole area with armed defense. Barbed wire and mines.” 

“We are never truly alone, Captain. We have God to protect us.” 

“And now the U.S.Fifth Army, Signorina.” 

She lowered her chin, but her eyes looked directly at him. “I am called Sister Angelina.”
 
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A Soldier’s Italian Christmas (O’Casey Brothers in Arms 1) is the story of a soldier and a nun who discover forbidden love in war torn Italy during the winter of 1943.

It is a sweet romance 35,000+ word novella and is now available as an e-book on Amazon


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If your Christmas reading is on the spicier side (as in erotic), check out A Naughty Christmas Carol about a modern day Scrooge named Nick Radnor. A New York Wall Street hottie who has it all…except the woman he loves.


Can three sexy female ghosts save his soul on this naughty Christmas Eve?

Find out in A Naughty Christmas Carol.
Cover Design for A Soldier’s Italian Christmas and A Naughty Christmas Carol by Ramona Lockwood
 
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Romancing the e-Reader with Jina Bacarr

January 11, 2013 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

Guess who?

I’m your new e-Reader. All sexy swirls and curly Qs. Just waiting for you to click me on and take you to paradise.

Yes, I know, your rabbit vibrator made the same promises…but I’ve got something special to offer you.

I’ve got romance.

I can sweep you away to that special place in your mind where you can fall in love over and over again…and have great sex.

So, put away your bunny vibe and hop aboard!

I’m trim and gorgeous. Sexy design. Botox-smooth case.

Slimmer than I’ve been in years.

Clear, no-glare screens. And those cute keyboards. Like sassy, high-heeled shoes. Makes you want to let your fingers do the walking.

And no more of those pesky page numbers to get in the way. It’s like weighing yourself after you’ve gone on your mocha latte splurge. Who wants to know?

I do have a pet peeve about those TOCs. Half the time the Table of Contents key doesn’t work, sending ahead in the story and you know who’s sleeping with whom before you’ve guessed. it.

And don’t talk to me about Bookmarks.

They’re like old boyfriends who won’t go away. Once you’ve marked them, you’re stuck with them.

Ah, but I can’t stop drooling over the hunky guys on the Cover. Muscle-bound heroes to die for.

Hmm…if I could add just one thing to my e-Reader software…

It would be to have the Cover Hunk in 3-D.

All of him…and you know what I mean!

Happy Romance e-Reading in 2013!

Best,
Jina

www.JinaBacarr.com 

PS: If you want to try out your new e-Reader with an erotic short story, download:

“Breaking the Rules” — FREE today on Kindle Amazon  

A working girl who learns you have to ask for what you want.

At work…or in bed.

—————–


Or try an erotic short story: “Nice Girls Do It” for 99 cents on Amazon Kindle and e-tailers everywhere!

A stormy day and Chloe gets caught in the rain until a mysterious stranger who calls himself “the Hunter” offers her shelter in his old Victorian mansion.

And tells her about the secret ritual of the geisha when she loses her virginity.

Sensual, mysterious, naughty…

Will Chloe lose her virginity before morning comes?

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“Santa, Soldiers, and Orphans, oh, my!” hundred word fiction by Jina Bacarr

December 11, 2012 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,



Winter…the days are getting shorter and have you noticed how we communicate is also getting shorter?

We live in a world of texting (“hw r u?”) and Twitter madness that forces us to express ourselves in 140 characters or less. (God help Tolstoy…)

Not to mention acronyms — we plop onto the couch, turn on the DVR or watch a DVD while drinking our OJ, then check out this week’s episode of NCIS.

Now a UK newsletter has come up with “hundred word fiction.”

Indie Book Bargains UK-based Daily Kindle Book Deals

Everyday they publish Kindle deals and a short story with no more than a hundred words.

I thought it would be fun to take up the challenge so I put together a story in less than 100 words. Since it’s Christmas, I wrote a holiday story for the UK newsletter: “Santas, Soldiers, and Orphans, oh, my!” 

Here’s how it appears on their website: 

Santa, Soldiers, and Orphans, oh my!

by Jina Bacarr
“Signorina, Daniele is missing,” whispered the nun.
I panicked. It was hard enough dealing with shell-shocked soldiers and orphans who didn’t speak the same language.
Now I had a lost child on Christmas Eve.
“We’ll organize a search party,” a sergeant offered, relating to a missing comrade in any language. “Al, you’re point man. Bill, you bring up the rear.”
Soon we heard a shout coming from the supply room. “We found him!”
Daniele. A loud cheer went up. Each soldier had a grin on his face. I’ll never forget those smiles.
That Christmas Eve was their first step toward home.
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Happy Holidays, everyone!
Jina 
What if Scrooge was a sexy hunk with a smart phone?

Check out my Naughty Christmas Carol book video with my voice-over and the Sugar Plum fairy music along with a very sexy excerpt on my website at: http://jinabacarr.com/anaughtychristmascarol.html 

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A Naughty Christmas Carol by Jina Bacarr

December 11, 2011 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

What if Scrooge was a sexy hunk? 

I couldn’t resist writing about this modern day Scrooge in my holiday novella, A Naughty Christmas Carol.

Three sexy female ghosts try to save the soul of a Wall Street trader on this naughty Christmas Eve.

Nick Radnor is a Wall Street trader with no heart.

Money is his mistress.

That doesn’t stop him from having sex in his office on Christmas Eve with his secretary, Jinger Hunt.

Or keeping his beautiful fiancée, Monique Ashford, dangling on a string. He’s relentless in his pursuit of wealth and power. Wall Street is in his blood, along with the thrill of risking it all, but he can’t forget the painful memories of Christmas when he was a kid.

Nick works hard, but plays harder in a gentlemen’s club called Mamie’s. After a wild Christmas Eve at Mamie’s, Nick is in a drunken stupor when he hears the eerie sound of rattling chains proclaiming the arrival of the tormented ghost of Charlie Harris, his dead partner.

The last thing Nick needs is Charlie’s ghost telling him he is doomed to walk the earth for eternity, chained by his sins.

What’s even more disturbing to Nick is the arrival of three sexy female ghosts, who warn him that if he doesn’t change his ways he will lose it all, including Monique, the woman he loves.

On this naughty Christmas Eve, Nick will learn the terrifying full scope of where his life is headed because of his corporate greed. In a peek into the future that will shatter his every expectation, Nick realizes the choices he makes now will have deadly consequences for everyone he loves.

Check out A Naughty Christmas Carol on Amazon Kindle.

Happy Holidays, everyone! 

Jina 

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eReaders–Isabel Swift wonders: what’s with the “But I love BOOKS” response?

October 24, 2011 by in category From Isabel Swift tagged as , , , , ,

I’m sure you’ve had the same experience–or have been one of the players in this conversation.

But first, a bit of background….

In addition to being VP of editorial for Harlequin, over a decade ago I also chaired a digital/eBook task force charged with exploring this new business opportunity. Additionally, much later, I was part of the new business group launching a number of new digital initiatives. So I guess what I’m trying to say is: I swing both ways. And in the course of my work, I had a lot of conversations with people–readers, writers, booksellers, digital entrepreneurs. Today, I still love to find out what people are reading–and how they are reading.

Back to the present. So, I’m at a dinner party, or cocktail party, or just striking up a conversation in line or traveling–and the subject of books and reading comes up. Often one person has an eReader (frequently a Kindle, sometimes an iPad or other eReader) and is either extolling its virtues, or reluctantly (or not) going through the learning curve.

Someone else invariably chimes in (sometimes with passionate intensity) “But I love BOOKS! I could NEVER get an eReader!” Then they go on a bit about the smell, turning the pages & the multitude of pleasures, information and sensation that a physical object offers. The self-confessed eReader reader is given the hairy eyeball, or at best, a pitying look. Emotions can (and have) run high over this line in the sand, this perceived chasm.

And don’t get me wrong–I love books too. Physical books. But I am stumped as to why there is such a prevalent and passionate assumption that physical Vs digital is an either/or choice. Like once you purchase an eReader, a scarlet TTTWW (for Traitor To The Written Word) will be emblazoned on your forehead and a magnetic force field will drop down (visually similar to the Cone of Silence in Get Smart) preventing you from ever touching another physical book with your dirty digital hands. You have not remained faithful to the books that raised you–dipping your wick elsewhere is clearly felt to be a relationship ender.

Huh? I just don’t get it. My reading world is not monogamous! I believe in choice! I love stories. I love storytellers. Books have not changed my life–stories have, with their information, insights, compelling worlds, emotional challenges and eye opening truths. Stories that are shared though listening (conversation, audio, radio, lectures,…), seeing (performance, films, TV, museums,…) or reading (books, newspapers, magazines, documents, letters,…).

Yes, the story’s trasmission vehicle can make a difference in the impact of a story. Watching the Rolling Stones’ Steel Wheels concert live Vs at an IMAX theatre with rabid fans Vs on a DVD alone at home delivers quite different experiences. Reading a hardcover, paperback, listening to the story on audio, reading it on an eReader all deliver a different experience.

Sure, there may be preferred formats for certain stories. Haven’t you heard people say “You don’t need to see that movie in a theater, it’ll be fine on DVD”? I assure you watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show live at midnight is a great example of the transformative impact of how you experience a story Vs sitting at home with the remote.

But everyone understands the benefits of access, choice, convenience. As a reader, I don’t like to be without something to read. And while I am usually a fairly committed reader, I must confess I’m not entirely monagamous. As a frequent traveller I have found myself lugging stacks of material: manuscripts, educational/business reading, fun reading, recommended reading, themeatically appropriate reading, books 2 and 3 in the series, just in case… You know what I’m talking about!

Now I can have everything on one slim tablet and people no longer ask me if I am carrying rocks in my suitcase. Maybe I’ll have a paperback in my purse too–cheerful in the knowledge if I tire of it or finish it, I have other options. Bedtime reading with sleeping spouse can cease to be an issue with a back-lit iPad. And another interesting aspect of the digital reading experience is product privacy. No one knows what you’re reading.

(Though for some that could be a drawback, as looking intellectual, educated, in-the-know and generally superior could be the key driver behind plowing through an improving literary tome. But surely a secondary market will spring up of sheaths for one’s tablet that will say perhaps: “Don’t bother me…Riveted by Rushdie!” or “Intellect @ Play” or “I’m improving myself. And you?”)

Alternatively, maybe you really don’t mind carrying two or three volumes around in your gigantic purse. Perhaps you are unmoved by the ability to download a recommended read instantly at the dinner table in The-Back-of-Beyond. Unlike me, perhaps you may have a house filled with empty shelves, just waiting to be filled, with your other bookshelves are stacked with easy-to-find, easy-to-search titles. But that is not my world.

So enough with this “I love BOOKS!”. Of course you do. But I love stories….

Isabel Swift

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