Rebecca Hartt has been penning award-winning general market romantic suspense novels for many years, but has recently turned to writing inspirational military romantic suspense, hoping to  provide uplifting and encouraging stories of faith and courage. She’s sharing today about Returning to Eden, the first in her Acts of Valor series, previously written for the general market and now rewritten with love and care for a new audience. I hope you enjoy meeting  Rebecca and learning about Eden and Jonah Mills, a couple affected by tragedy and heartbreak, when Jonah unexpectedly returns from the dead – so to speak – with no recollection of his former self nor his wife who has carved out a new life for her and their step-daughter.

Over to you, Rebecca!

A dead man stands at Eden Mills’ door.

Declared MIA a year prior, the Navy wrote him off as dead. Now, Eden’s husband, Navy SEAL Jonah Mills has returned after three years to disrupt her tranquility. Diagnosed with PTSD and amnesia, he has no recollection of their marriage or their fourteen-year-old step-daughter. Still, Eden accepts her obligation to nurse Jonah back to health while secretly longing to regain her freedom, despite the reminiscent attraction she feels.

Jonah Mills knows he has work to do. Unfit for active duty, he commits himself to therapy and relies on faith in the loving God who sustained him through torture and hardship to also heal his body, mind and family.

But as the memories lurking in his wife’s haunted eyes and behind his step-daughter’s uncertain smile begin to return to him, a disturbing chain of events is revealed. If his memories are truly real, not only is his career at stake, but so is the welfare of his small, cherished family.

Please share a little about your characters, Eden and Jonah.

Eden and Jonah are still newlyweds, in a sense, though they’ve been married for two years. Eden was bowled over by Jonah, completely enamored. But his job as a Navy SEAL kept him so busy their first year of marriage and he was such a hands-off dad with her preteen daughter that she suffered a serious reality check. Life with Jonah wasn’t going to be a fairy tale. Then the unthinkable happened and he went missing—presumed dead. For Eden, being alone was easier than being married, no walking on eggshells whenever her stressed-out husband got home. She let him go, mentally and emotionally. That’s when Jonah walks back into her life, a different man than the one she married.

Bookchat

Describe your book in 5 adjectives

Returning to Eden is heart-wrenching, suspenseful, fast-paced, realistic, and memorable!

Who inspires your military characters?

I’ve been a military brat and then a dependent all of my life. Having known so many military men and women over the course of those years, it is still possible to pick out the dozen or so who have found their way into my stories. I would say my father is the biggest inspiration, over all, because his work took us all around the world, and my experiences abroad have informed my writing to a great degree.

Why romantic suspense?

Why romantic suspense? Well, I grew up reading the Hardy Boys while my peers were stuck on Nancy Drew. Guys just get to have more fun. They get to jump out of airplanes at ridiculous altitudes and slam through waves on Mark V speedboats. To me, love is such a tumultuous emotion, why not mimic what’s going on inside my characters’ hearts by throwing them into a pit full of metaphorical alligators? Suspense adds another layer of “oh-my-gosh” to romance. It’s the best combination ever!

Which element do you prefer writing, and why? (romance or suspense)

Sometimes the two can’t be separated from each other, like in my next book EVERY SECRET THING when my heroine is the only conscious person on a small plane and my hero, a SEAL with a pilot’s license, has to talk her down from his location in the control tower. In his instructions to add power while keeping the nose up, he slips in the words, “I love you.” Talk about a double-dose of adrenaline! Most of the time, though, romantic scenes and suspenseful scenes separate. I would have to say I prefer writing the suspenseful scenes because action is easy for me to sequence, whereas romantic scenes are like a lump of playdough. They take a lot of massaging to get right!

Which character did you enjoy writing most?

In Returning to Eden, my favorite character is Jonah, whose memory of Eden was stripped away when he was struck in the face with the butt of a rifle. Then he was captured and tortured for a year. I love Jonah for enduring his hardship. I love him for learning to be humble then for reaching out to God for help. Who can’t relate to that? We’ve all been in some deep, dark places like Jonah has. Lastly, I love Jonah for wanting to act on that niggling feeling that something isn’t right; for wanting to go home and fix it. Jonah is a really decent human being—he probably was, all along, only he was too arrogant, too wrapped up in being a SEAL to let God be Lord of his life. Now everything is made new! Jonah seems like a completely different man, one whom Eden and my readers are going to fall in love with!

My ‘office’ – aka the living room!

Which character gave you the most grief?

In Returning to Eden, all my characters have been highly cooperative, giving me very little grief. Usually, it is the villain who causes trouble for me. To write a good novel, you have to know the villain just as well as your hero/heroine, maybe even better. He (or she) is the motivating force behind the story. The villain can’t be some stock character who wants to take over the world and laughs like, “Mwaahaahaha!” He’s got to be super complex, even sympathetic to some degree. In Returning to Eden, my hero believes only he and a handful of men like him are determined enough to curb terrorism. That sounds like a noble thing, right? It’s only noble if you don’t kill off anyone who disagrees with you!

Returning to Eden tackles a marriage in trouble – what made you decide to write about a married couple?

Most romances end when a couple gets engaged or married. Off they go into the sunset to live happily-ever-after. Well, life has taught me that’s not very realistic. How many young couples have married only to realize they’re not in Paradise anymore? According to statistics, well over half, so I’m hoping my readers can relate. I truly believe God wants his people to marry and to be happy. I also believe there’s a much better chance of that happening if God is a huge part of that marriage, creating a love triangle of sorts. When Jonah was held captive for an entire year, he finally reached out to God and let God take over. That’s when miracles started happening, and THAT’s when Jonah and Eden’s marriage got on a sustainable track.

You have previously written general market romantic suspense. Tell us about your decision to rewrite your novels for the inspirational market.

I have turned to the inspirational market for the reason I mentioned in the question above. After nineteen years with the retired Navy man who was supposed to be the love of my life, I had hit a wall. His infidelities and the childhood traumas he could not overcome made our marriage too difficult to endure. Years later, I still believe in love and marriage, though I have not yet remarried. I think marriage is difficult without God at the center, reminding couples to be gentle with each other, filling couples with forgiveness, compassion, and restraint. I want my characters to live happily ever after. And for that to happen, I think they both need to have faith in God and an active relationship with Him. Therefore, I’ve decided to take books from my first SEALs series (written as Marliss Melton) and rewrite them as Christian military romance. Nearly every line is rewritten and often the story takes a different path since the new element of faith requires a different kind of story.

What story is next for you?

What’s next? In Returning to Eden, you will meet several characters who’ll get their own stories. First, look for Master Chief Rivera’s love story with the ballet dancer in the novella Lord of the Dance, coming out before Valentine’s Day. Then look for Lt. Lucas Strong, the 6’6” former tight-end for the Dallas Cowboys to team up with NCIS intern Charlotte Patterson in Every Secret Thing, coming in March 2020. Currently, I am writing Chief Saul Wade’s story, The Lost is Found, in which Saul, a notorious sniper, comes to terms with both his past and his future when he rescues his best friend’s widow from an abusive situation. I hope you will the Acts of Valor series. For a free copy of the Prequel novella, Men of Courage, click HERE.

Which romantic suspense authors do you like to read? Or do you prefer to read outside your genre?

I used to read within my genre before I became a writer in that genre. So, going way back, I read Susan Brockmann, who was the first author to write about SEALs. I think I became the second. Decades ago, I read Irene Hannon’s books and enjoyed them. Nowadays, however, I read mostly nonfiction books written by Navy SEALs, and I farm those books for ideas.

I used to be a voracious reader, but raising children often means you have no time left for yourself. I’ve only got one child left in the nest, however, so Watch out, books, here I come! I would also like to watch TV again. I have plans to binge-watch NCIS and 24, as well as other series I have missed. Hopefully, I’ll get more ideas for my stories!

Thanks for sharing with us, Rebecca!

Rebecca Hartt is the nom de plume for an award-winning, best-selling author of a different name who, following her conversion, decided to spin suspenseful military romance in which God plays a key role in both character motivation and plot. As a child, Rebecca lived in countries all over the world. She has been a military dependent for most of her life and knows first-hand the dedication and sacrifice required by those who serve. Living near the military community of Virginia Beach, Rebecca is constantly reminded of the peril and uncertainty faced by US. Navy SEALs, many of whom testify to a personal and profound connection with their Creator. Their loved ones, too, rely on God for strength and comfort. These men of courage and women of faith are the subjects of Rebecca Hartt’s enthusiastically received Acts of Valor romantic suspense series.

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