Jessica Scott's Blog, page 31

Diamond Jubilee Hop

So Romance at Random is hosting a blog hop to celebrate the release of Ruthie Knox’ amazing book ABOUT LAST NIGHT.

Why a Diamond Jubilee Hop? For our hero Nev, in by Ruthie Knox

First, a bit of trivia:

The Diamond Jubilee takes place in 2012, marking 60 years of The Queen’s reign. The Queen came to the throne on 6th February 1952 (her Coronation took place on 2nd June 1953).

Buckingham Palace is responsible for coordinating the events of the Diamond Jubilee central weekend (2nd–5th June 2012), as well as for organizing The Queen’s program in her Diamond Jubilee year.

Now, more about Nev, he feels trapped and miserable in his family’s banking empire located in downtown London, England. But beneath his pinstripes is an artist struggling to break free. Albeit, his bohemian-self is trying to emerge, Nev is respectful of his roots and tradition & we want to help him celebrate his queen.

Join Romance At Random for the hop — starting 5/21 ending 5/31 – Romance at Random will be randomly giving away some of our jewels of romance, to celebrate the UK’s Diamond Jubilee including:

1 winner, 1 copy – Born To Darkness by Suzanne Brockmann

1 winner, 1 copy – The Proposal by Mary Balogh

1 winner, 1 copy – Darker After Midnight by Lara Adrian

3 winners, 1 copy of WITCHFUL THINKING by HP Mallory

10 winners, 1 copy of a PREVIEW from Net Galley of ABOUT LAST NIGHT by Ruthie Knox

10 winners, 1 copy of PREVIEW from Net Galley of DEEP AUTUMN HEAT by Elisabeth Barrett

And by entering here on Jessica’s site, you’ll be entered to win BECAUSE OF YOU!

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And don’t forget to check out these other fantastic sites in the hop!

Women in Ranger School

I’ve been following the entire discussion about women going to Ranger school for a little while now. Like since I commissioned. Back when I was at Fort Benning for Officer Candidate school, we had the discussion about women going to the school. Was it really about the PT or was it a leadership school. For a bunch of officer candidates, we really didn’t know but like any group with time on their hands, we argued passionately and solved the world’s problems. But it makes a difference whether Ranger school tests your leadership skills AND your PT skills or just your PT skills.

So GEN Odierno has spoken publicly about women going to Ranger School. As I wrote last week, the whole WITA thing is not that big of a deal. Women have already been serving below the battalion level since Iraq kicked off, we just haven’t been doing it legally. Iraq proved not only that America did not care if it’s women came home in body bags (and what I mean by that is that the sight of a fallen female soldier inspired no national outcry any greater or any less than any male fallen soldier) but it also proved that women could hold their own in combat positions.

So now with formally placing women in maneuver battalions, we’re this much closer to opening up the combat arms to women. Cool, right? Yay, equality.

Let’s all take a step back from the punch bowl and discuss for one hot second about the reality of being a woman in the army and then lets talk about being the first woman to graduate from Ranger school. From a purely PT perspective, being a woman in the army today means that you earn your rank just like the man next to you, except that to score a 300 on your PT test, you have to run slower, you have to do fewer pushups. You have to do the same amount of situps. The argument can be made that women have to physically do less to achieve the same promotion points.

When I was selected for sergeant first class at seven years time in service, the biggest slap in the face came when I was told, well, it’s because you’re a woman. Gee, thanks. Guess nothing else mattered but the fact that I have breasts. Awesome.

Let’s put aside the 90s garrison army mentality that there is a direct correlation between your ability to run 4 miles in under 36 minutes and your leadership skills. Does the fact that I cannot run faster than my formation make me a lower calibre leader? Does the fact that there are men in my formation who can do more pull ups than me mean that I have less credibility than them? It certainly hasn’t affected my performance or my effectiveness until now. I would hope at this point in the history of our army, coming off a decade at war, that we’d be beyond the whole women can’t do as many pushups as men so we shouldn’t be allowed to lead men unless we can argument. So if we put aside the PT argument for just a teeny second, is there more to going to Ranger School than just PT? Is it about physical and mental toughness, the ability to make sound decisions when you’re broken down and worn out? Then maybe the number of pushups you have to do to get into the course shouldn’t matter. The ability to hang in there should.

Can a woman make it through Ranger school? Or maybe the question should be: should women be allowed to go? I guess a better question is why do we want women to go? We want women to go because when the day comes (and I don’t care if you like it or not, the day is coming when we will see a female infantry platoon leader), she’s going to have to face a world more shit than her male brethren. Nothing will shut up the punks in the formation faster than a woman wearing a tab. So should a woman be allowed to go?

Um, hell yes women should be allowed to go.

But that comes with some caveats. Ranger School is meant to be physically demanding, it’s meant to make an infantryman a better infantryman at small unit 3level tactics. It’s meant to push the Ranger Candidate to their breaking point and beyond, and not just physically. Mentally, too. But here’s the thing, too. Ranger School today is not the same as Ranger School a decade ago. I’ve listened to conversations where Rangers who went through a decade or more ago say that the Rangers today have it too easy. That they didn’t have to go through the same rigor as Rangers of old. Dude, every generation looks at the generation behind it and says some form of “back in my day, we had to walk uphill in four miles of snow and”…I think you get the idea.

Maybe this is incredibly naive of me, but slap a couple of female stickers on the port a potties, tell the RIs that they are not to attempt to get laid in exchange for passing any portion of the course, and make sure the RIs are no harder or no easier on the women going through the class. Because the ONLY way to make this a success, to allow the first women who go through the class to hold her head up and say I made it through Ranger School, is to make sure she passes the same damn course as the men. No gender norming. No extra shower runs (trust me, baby wipes and a canteen cup go a long way).

If we want to be equal, if we want to be able to say we made it through the elite course, then don’t make it any easier for us to pass. Don’t say we have to have the same attrition rates as the males. Let us pass or fail on our own merit just like the men. Maybe it takes a couple of years before a female makes it but when she earns that tab, only a world class douchebag will say oh, she just got it because she’s a female and they lowered the standards. Oh really? Where’s your long tab?

Yeah, it’s going to take a while before a woman makes it through but when she does, she’ll know and the whole world will know that she made it because she met the standard, not because the standard met her.

Weekly Winners!

I so love giving stuff away. Here are this weeks’ winners. Don’t forget to stop by next week for more hops, giveaways and more!

The winner of Robyn Carr’s autographed copies of HIDDEN SUMMIT, REDWOOD BEND and SUNRISE POINT & BECAUSE OF YOU is Diane J

The winners from the SINFUL SIRENS Blog Hop are:

Heidi G

Amy

Laurie F

Judy H

The winners from the Hope Against Homophobia Hop are:

Andrea G

JoAnna B

Kerry S

Yvette G

Thanks again to everyone who helped spread the word over the last week! New hops and prizes coming soon!

BSDM: I’m Just Not That Into You

It usually takes me a while to get into whatever the hottest trend in books is. I didn’t read the Twilight series until all the books were out (should have kept waiting). I didn’t pick up Harry Potter until right before Deathly Hallows came out (Loved it, can’t believed I waited so long). Picked up The Hunger Games an entire year after Mockingjay came out (best. books. ever.)

Well, with all the furor over 50 Shades of Gray, I decided…not to read it. First, I’ve read enough around romancelandia to believe that it wasn’t the kind of book I’d be into anyway. I’m not really a BDSM kind of girl, despite having control freak issues.

Anyway, so if you haven’t already read it, the Romance Man did a post called 50 Shades of Murder where he talks about him and his wife’s foray into playful BDSM. If my husband and I ever tried it, I imagine it would be something hysterical like the Romance Man’s description.

But, I was curious now about all this BDSM floating around out there so I picked up a BDSM book. I’m not going to name names because that’s not the point of this post. The point is, I read it. The writing was really solid so it wasn’t some poorly written drivel. The characters were believable.

Maybe it’s just me, but the idea of having a clothes pin attached to any part of my anatomy, let alone my girl parts just doesn’t do anything for me. The idea of being completely tied up and called a whore while someone did really freaky shit to me doesn’t appeal to me.


Days later, I still felt…like I’d done something bad. Maybe it’s the Catholic girl in me but I felt like I’d crossed over and read something I wasn’t meant to read. And the reason I couldn’t get it out of my head was because…well, I’m not built that way.

Back in 2004 when the Iraq war was just getting down and dirty, the video of Nick Berg being beheaded was going viral on the internet. Honestly, I had no desire to watch it but some folks in the officer turned it on and well, there I was. So I stayed. And to this day, I cannot get the sounds of his screams out of my head.

I want to be clear that I’m not equating BDSM novels or the lifestyle with a snuff video.

My point is that maybe I’m not meant to read certain things because they have a stickiness factor. I don’t want to hear Nick Berg screaming in my head. I don’t want to keep visualizing the feeling of having a clothes pin stuck to my girl parts. I’ve seen enough bad shit in my life that I don’t need any fantasy adding to the echoes in my head.

So I’m not reading 50 Shades of Gray. Because I’ve discovered that I’m perfectly fine being plain old vanilla.

Hope Against HomoPhobia

This hop is merely to raise awareness of something that, yes, I believe in.

I refuse to accept that people should be stripped of their rights or treated as somehow other because of their orientation. As an army officer, mom, and a person who believes in a Creator, I believe that we are all created how we are intended to be.

I am glad that the Army repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I am glad that my friends can serve in the Army they love without fear of losing their careers because they love someone who is the same gender as they are.

Pass it along and stop by the other sites on this hop to help spread the word. Help spread the word and you’ll be entered to win one of 4 copies of BECAUSE OF YOU.

http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot....

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WITA: It’s Not That Big A Deal

Today marks the day that women are “officially” allowed in the maneuver battalions. I’m not going to re-hash the long trail of tears over how we got to this day: the short version is this is a good thing. But it’s not that big of a thing in the grand scheme of an army coming down off a decade at war and who is still fighting in one theater.

The arguments that people make about opening up the maneuver units to females is that women are not going to be able to reach the highest echelons of the army because the top echelons are reserved for maneuver combatant commanders. Mind you, America’s First Team the 1st Cavalry Division is about to have the first female Assistant Division Commander – Support I think in for the first time in army history. BG Richardson *is* a combatant commander. She lead a combat aviation battalion in combat during the Iraq war. If she’s successful as the S, she’ll continue to advance to higher levels in the army, just like any other successful assistant division commander.

The other argument about this being a big deal is that supposedly, women will now get the proper credit for serving in hostile environments. I really don’t know where this allegation has come from but in 17 years in the military, I’ve never had anyone say “oh you’re a female, you weren’t in combat” (I was a REMF but that’s another conversation). Now, if we want to talk about the perception of support folks vs maneuver folks, sure, there’s a significant difference in how we trained for the war AT THE OUTSET. But now at the end of the war? If you want to know how to conduct a doctrinally sound mounted patrol? Talk to the logistics folks who run in the Forward Support Companies. Talk to the logistics folks who were the last folks out of Iraq and were running the longest sustainment runs in country by the end of the war. There were men AND women on those operations and I assure you, not one NCOER or OER did not accurately reflect contributions because someone was or was not a male soldier.

We make too big of a deal about women in the army and to be sure, there are some real challenges that disproportionately women must overcome. But they are nowhere near close to the portrayal in the media. The vast majority of men in the army have treated women in the army as they are: sisters in arms.

Putting women in the maneuver units does not change that. The only thing it changes is the legality of the assignment.

Sinful Sirens Blog Hop

It’s time to scorch up the summer! It’s hopping time again (noticing a trend around here) and today I’ve got a steamy excerpt from Because of You to help fog up your computer screen!

Make sure you visit the other blogs for more great contests! One Lucky winner from here will win a copy of Because of You!

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Change: It’s Not Always Good

I have a small obsession with makeup. Specifically, I love it and I’m always searching for the next best thing. I’ve always had this thought that I would find that magical product and I’d use it until I was 80 or until it was discontinued (Laura Mercier, we need to talk about your cancelling the Flawless Cleansing Oil). Well, as the makeup budget in my house can attest, I’m always buying something new. Always. It’s a sickness, but that’s another conversation.

But over the years, I’ve been fairly brand loyal. I discovered Bobbi Brown while I was pregnant with my first born, primarily because it did not contain a lot of phthalates. Well, I sort of stuck with the brand for a long, long time. Bobbi has been good to me. But in 2010, I started a small shift. A good friend of mine turned me on to Stila and Smashbox. I’ll tell you quite honestly, that Smashbox lid primer is the best product out there for keeping eye shadow in place. But I digress.

There have always been my go to products. For my hair, I always used Feria. For my foundation, I always used Laura Mercia tinted moisturizer. This year, though, I got a wild hair across my ass as I’m wont to do and started changing things.

Yeah, um, this did not pan out so well. I changed to Natural Instincts temp color. I went darker because I thought it would be good to just cover my command induced grey hairs. Yeah, well, instead of classy chocolate brown, I ended up goth brown/black. It looked AWFUL. Bad enough that during my duaghter’s first communion (and Jesus is so going to get me for this) I sat there and obsessed about how terrible my hair looked instead of listening to the priest. (I did actually manage to get over my self absorbtion but still. My hair was distracting me).

I also tried Stila tinted moisturizer, which at first glance, seemed like a great product. Until I looked at a picture and realized I looked like the emperor from Star Wars. That kind of pale only works in vampire movies. Kind of like full length leather trench coats but that’s another story entirely and I won’t admit to owning one in high school. Not under pain of bad mascara.

So needless to say, I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time and intense conditioning trying to get the color out of my hair. I spent a good half hour online ordering my tried and true foundation again and Bobbi, I’m coming back to you because there is nothing like Bobbi Brown long wear eye liner.

Sometimes change is good. I can tell you it’s inevitable. But there are some things that should not be changed on a whim. And other things, like stripping your own hair color, should definitely be left to the professionals.

I’m now going back inside the paper bag I’m wearing over my head. Goes well with the ACU.

Awkward Moments & Robyn Carr Giveaway

So last year at RWA Nationals, I was on cloud nine. I’d just sold my first book to Sue Grimshaw at Loveswept and I was over the moon when she’d told me the authors she was going to ask to blurb BECAUSE OF You.

When I say over the moon, I had gone beyond hyperactive to plaid (yes, that is a Spaceballs reference. don’t ask). So after the RITAs I was chatting with random folks and gushing about, what else, my book. I mentioned to the poor lady who’d gotten cornered that Sue was going to ask Robyn Carr to blurb it. Freaking Robyn Carr, I mean could you believe it?

“Yes,” she responded. “But I have to read the book first.”

Um. Yes. That was me. Being a complete and total freak the first time I met Robyn. Well, it turns out that making the #1 New York Times Bestseller status doesn’t go to some people’s heads because Robyn is the most gracious, loveliest person. She generously blurbed my book and what can I say, she’s a sweetie. And we’re both moms and we both have connections to the military. Her son is an army officer, too so we’ve chatted.

Well today she popped into Fort Hood for a book signing and invited me to swing by. I brought my kiddos, who, for once, were absolute saints and made me look like a halfway decent parent. I was able to meet her son and her husband and basically spend the afternoon chatting about life, kids, the army and a little bit about books.

So I’m thrilled today to give away autographed copies of Robyn’s latest books: SUNRISE POINT, REDWOOD BEND & HIDDEN SUMMIT. You can enter the contest below by any of the means you’d like. I’ll draw the winner on the 20th! And of course, I’ll throw in a digital copy of BECAUSE OF YOU, as an added bonus.

Enjoy!

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BREAKING NEWS: UNTIL THERE WAS YOU HAS A COVER!

I am beyond excited to reveal the cover for my next book from Loveswept UNTIL THERE WAS YOU!

Is this not the most delicious cover!

From the cover:

Jessica Scott returns with an all-new contemporary eBook original romance, following last fall’s release of her sizzling debut novel Because of You. Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: Blaze of Winter, Light My Fire, and Santerra’s Sin.