Contest Note: Leave a comment for a chance to win Jennifer’s Novella.

 

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Hi All! Cynthia D’Alba here. I am so THRILLED to welcome Jennifer Bernard to our blog recognizing firemen heroes. I was first introduced to Jennifer when she guest-blogged with me on another site. I read her book to post a review. It was a fireman book and I loved it! When Delilah put out the call for firemen stories for Smokin’ Hot Firemen, I don’t think I would have sent one if Jennifer hadn’t  gotten me so interested in these awesome heroes! Then I got a chance to meet Jennifer face-to-face at RT and she’s as awesome as her writing. So without further ado, here’s Jennifer…

See that cute firefighter holding those two sexy romance novels? Those are mine, and that fantastically fun moment happened during a visit to a firehouse shortly after the first books in my Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel series were published. I brought a bunch of books with me, and the guys snapped them up. For their girlfriends, wives, sisters, or maybe for themselves, you never know. Can’t you just picture them reading the sex scenes out loud in the training room and laughing their asses off? I can. And I don’t mind a bit.

Because one thing I’ve learned about firefighters is that they have a great sense of humor. They love to tease and play pranks on each other. To me – and I bet I’m not the only one – this makes them even more smokin’ hot.

Look, firefighters are heroes. They put their lives on the line every day they’re on the job. They often start their careers at a fairly young age. They deal with life and death, disaster and tragedy, and they need to know how to cope when the worst happens. One fire captain told me that after a traumatic call, he calls his crew together in a quiet room and encourages them to talk about it. Occasionally they break down in tears. There’s no judgment, just support from their fellow firefighters. These sessions help them release their emotions, and also to bond with their crewmates.

From what I’ve seen at firehouses, a shared sense of humor does the same thing. Firefighters need to laugh, they need to find the joy and lightness amidst the danger. They need to bond. Firefighters work as a team and depend on each other for their safety. Teasing each other, giving each other playful nicknames, goofing around at the firehouse all help build those brotherly (and sisterly) bonds.

That’s why my books always include a lot of fun mixed in with the sizzling sex and life-and-death situations. I love choosing my characters’ nicknames (my next hero is nicknamed “Psycho,” because he’s a wild man who also has part of a psychology degree.) I love the pranks they play on each other. (Firefighter dummy hidden in the probie’s bed? Yes, please!) I love letting my firemen just talk and tease, whether it’s about Thor’s crush on a waitress or Vader’s brand new baby blue truck. Many firefighters have told me that I nailed the firehouse atmosphere, and honestly, I can think of no higher praise.

So if you’d like to experience that side of our beloved Smoking Hot Firemen, check out my Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel series. The next book, HOW TO TAME A WILD FIREMAN, is coming out on September 24.

To introduce you to the series, I’ll give away an e-copy of my prequel novella, ONE FINE FIREMAN, to one commenter. All you have to do is tell me your favorite nickname!

To read the first chapter of ONE FINE FIREMAN, click here.
To visit my website, click here.
And if you enjoy the occasional picture of smoking hot firemen, stop by my Facebook page, where I take “Fireman Friday” very seriously, prizes included! 

 

Here’s a little about Jennifer’s next book, How To Tame a Wild Fireman

The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel have a rebel among them, and there’s only one woman who can put his flames out. 

Firefighter Patrick “Psycho” Callahan earns his nickname every day. Fast, fit, and a furious worker, he thrives on the danger which helps him forget a near-tragedy that changed his life forever. But when his off-duty carousing gets out of hand, Patrick is sent back to Loveless, Nevada, where the wildfire threatening his hometown has nothing on sizzling Dr. Lara Nelson.

Lara would rather be thought of as the physician who returned to Loveless than as the misfit brought up at a hippie New Age commune. But right now she’s focused on her job at hand, patching up injured firemen…until the past hits her in the hard-muscled, blue-eyed form of Patrick Callahan. Now, the embers of their decade-old attraction have ignited into a full-on inferno, as the bad-boy firefighter and the good doctor take a walk on the wild side they’ll never forget.