NASHVILLE SEAL IS MUSIC TO MY HEART

I have just released Book 2 in the Nashville SEALs series, Jameson, about an up-and-coming singer-songwriter who has a chance meeting with a group of SEALs finishing a training in Tennessee. They come to one of his concerts, and afterwards invite him to visit them in San Diego.

Jameson Daniels is loosely based on the life of my narrator, former CW singer-songwriter, and now award-winning actor and narrator/voice over talent, Mr. J.D. Hart. Most of you know he and I have become best friends over the course of doing some 24 audio books together. In the course of our conversations, a story began ruminating in my head. I was delighted when he gave permission for me to use some of those ideas as the basis for my character.

I've enjoyed learning about the music business, and on one trip to Nashville, got to sit in on a Country Diner taping, meeting such stars as Roy Clark and Larry Gatlin. We took a horse-drawn buggy ride one evening while he showed me the houses of music. We drove around streets filled with music history: where Elvis Presley made his first recording, where others wrote music, performed at clubs long torn down.

This is what I love about being an author. I had no idea that when I hired a narrator to do my audio books, that he would become my best friend, and would become the hero in two of my books. There are no accidents. Our close working relationship has brought color and variety into my life I never would have experienced.

Here's a short excerpt. We are finishing the audio book, which should be available about the end of the month. You can sample a little bit of Jameson's audio here (JD also sings on this trailer), or on my website, where snippets and book trailers for all my books are located. Enjoy!

Jameson Trailer

Nashville SEAL: Jameson:

The rumble and crescendo of the audience was something he’d forgotten how much he loved. He’d tried to explain it to people over the years, and, unless they’d been up in a big arena like that, there was no way to understand what it felt like to fly over the heads of the audience while he was singing. The sensation was similar to his jumps. There was no perception of falling, no feeling of depth until the end. It was as if the warm earth blew a blast of air straight up, cradling his body, while the horizon slowly rose, second by second. The rumble of the crowd and the energy of the open-air theater was similar. The adulation, the pinnacle of riding the moment when all their cheers stopped and it was your turn to shine. Your turn to command them like a king.

He hadn’t thought about all that until just now, as he waited back stage. He was grateful he didn’t know anyone scurrying around back stage. Tech girls and guys ran back and forth, some scantily clad. Pretty girls were all around and in abundance, eyeing him. He didn’t want to dis anyone’s wife or girlfriend, so he was respectful. He found all this activity distracting.

Thomas was nowhere to be found, and he hoped he hadn’t run into some trouble. Jameson opted not to take the limo ride, so drove over to the arena in a taxi, dodging the bevies of young girls at the security gates trying to spot a star.

He could do this for two nights. And then it was the pits of hell. How many people on the planet had a life like this, going from one extreme to another? But he knew what world he lived in, belonged in.

Feeling the rumble of the crowd and how it pushed against his heart as he waited for the introduction, he was amazed he’d been strong enough to make the decision to leave it all behind. But he was glad he did. In some moment of weakness, he could do something that would wreck his little family. No, it was better for him and for those he loved that he stay away from it all. This would definitely be the last time for any of this.

Sharon Hamilton