Guest Blogger Lorhainne Eckhart

The Captain's Lady - A Passionate Tale of Love during the Iraqi War
Writing can be a lonely isolated job. For me it is a job I love. Commitment, discipline and dedication are all traits required if you’re going to write. Everyday I set a goal. If I’m working on my novel, it’s two thousand words a day. I don’t quit until I’m done. I take a break, walk around and clear my head if I’m stuck on a particular scene, or the words just won’t appear. But what I love most are those days the words flow and come alive on the page, there also the ones I may be done in three or four hours.
It’s the need to tell a story. Once the characters are created they take on a life of their own. It soon becomes their story, which may rise out of a conflict or lessons in my life or those around me. Sometimes where the idea comes from may be completely unexpected. Who knows the twists and turns it will take and what the outcome will be.
I do not outline the entire story when I begin write. The basic premise of the store is there, what happens when I begin write, the story flows and takes on its own direction.
Today, I have just completed my third novel. Now comes the real work. Reviewing, the context, the sentence structure, the accuracy of facts, time lines, the list goes on and on. I make the changes to polish it so it can be the best it can be. Even though your writing may be a work of fiction, it is important to ensure accuracy of facts.
Adding romance into a story is a key element for me. Even when I write about that relationship between a man and a woman, I think we can all identify with the conflict and frustration. In writing romance, it’s the happy ending that desired outcome we all want. Girl gets the guy, the right guy.

Blurb: The Captain’s Lady

Captain Eric Hamilton is a powerful force in the U.S. Navy, having earned himself a reputation of being a hard-nosed chauvinist. He’s commander of the USS Larsen, a destroyer, currently deployed in the Persian Gulf during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Abby Carlton has just escaped from the man who held her captive for a year. Abducted while travelling in Paris, she was given to an Arab man as a gift, until one night she makes her desperate escape.

While on patrol one morning Captain Eric Hamilton discovers a dinghy floating aimlessly. Abby is found, battered and in an advanced state of pregnancy, lying in the bottom of the dinghy. From the moment she lay on the deck of his ship her innocence finds a way to penetrate his hardened heart. But time is running out. Eric is falsely accused of sexual assault and the CIA wants Abby and the baby for bait to flush out her captor.

Excerpt: The Captain’s Lady

“We have no reports of a ship in distress in the area, Captain.”

“What about fishing boats?”

“No, sir, no reports.”

Looking once more at his first officer, Eric issued curt orders, the harshness grating in his voice. “Send a rescue team to check it out.”

Handing the binoculars off to one of the crew members, he strode with determination off the bridge, heading directly to the ship’s launch. His well-trained crew scurried about. Joe appeared at his side and they watched from the rail as the small rigid hull sped off in the direction of the dinghy. His pulse rose and the dampness on his back soaked through his short-sleeved shirt.

“So what do you think?” Joe leaned on the rail, uncertainty clear in the crinkle of his brows.

“Don’t know, dammit.” Eric focused on the scene unfolding in the distance. Again he commandeered the binoculars from Joe and scrutinized the three-man team approaching, then securing the boat to the dinghy.

His senses were keen; over the years, he’d learned to trust them. The uneasiness that crept its way into his gut, the hairs now standing up on the back of his neck and the racing of his heart; this unshakable feeling was telling him that things were about to change—drastically. Puzzled, he felt the mounting frustration build inside, along with something else he could not quite put his finger on. Shaking his head, he realized it was not a feeling of dread.

The crackle of the radio interrupted his speculation. A voice from the rescue team came over the line. “There’s someone in here, a woman, and she’s in bad shape.”