Author Spotlight: Share Your Blessings with Julie Benson Today!

Liz Flaherty, you are Julie’s winner! She will be in touch! Thanks for stopping by the blog–we love talking to our readers!

I’ve met a lot of new authors since I’ve been writing for Tule Publishing and doing this feature on my website. I’ve also read a lot of new books! Julie Benson’s series, The Men of Service Texas, is one you don’t want to miss!

An avid daydreamer, Julie Benson doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t creating stories. After graduating from the University of Texas at Dallas with a degree in Sociology, she worked as case manager for a social services agency before having her children. Three boys, and many years later, she started actively pursuing a writing career to challenge her mind and save her sanity. Now she writes full time in Dallas, where she lives with her husband, their three sons, two lovable black dogs, a mischievous brown one and a turtle. Julie says, while her house is never quiet or predictable, it is full of heroes.

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Julie, welcome to the Author Spotlight!

If you’re wondering from the title Deal with a Texas Soldier if I’ve left my cowboy heroes behind, let me say you can rest easy. I love cowboy heroes and telling their stories. (And yes, my stories ideas always start with the hero.) But when the incredible Tule team and I discussed titles, I was focused on my heroes’ backstory and the town’s history, rather than their cowboy roots.

Let me tell you a little bit more about how The Men of Service series came to be.

When my oldest son joined the Air Force and was deployed twice, I gained a new perspective on military service. I also met an incredible veteran, April Klein, who shared many of the issues our military veterans must cope with upon leaving the military. In this series, my heroes return to their cowboy roots after being injured during deployment.

In Deal with a Texas Soldier, Tanner Logan returns to Texas after being burned in a terrorist bombing. His wife, unable to cope with his wounds and his PTSD, files for divorce. Tanner struggles as many veterans do to remain hopeful and strong enough to rebuild his life. At his lowest, an older man from Service Tanner corresponded gives him purpose by selling Tanner fifty percent of his restaurant.

But the man motives other than his retirement—matchmaking.  He thinks Tanner and his granddaughter, Reese are perfect for each other. However, Reese wants nothing to do with this outsider even before he arrives. As someone who loves the comfort zone, I got perverse joy from throwing Reese’s well-ordered life into chaos, which Tanner does the minute he arrives. Exasperated with their differing visions for the restaurant, Reese throws down a winner take all contest. Through this, both Reese and Tanner slip on the other’s cowboy boots, learn to laugh and realize the other may not be the bad guy after all.

The plight of veterans is a cause close to my heart. Physical health issues plague many from surviving things such as bombings or working near burn pits. Articles I read regarding how many veterans commit suicide a day remained in my mind as I wrote. I knew from April, returning to civilian life for those serving in dangerous parts of the world isn’t easy. That fact influenced me greatly as I wrote Deal with a Texas Soldier. Life goes on. People and society change while these soldiers serve their country. Knowing they’re different now too, impacts coming home.

Tanner and Reese’s story took a different direction than I expected. It became about how we can find a lifeline and healing in unexpected places and with surprising people if we’re open to possibilities. This story also reminded me, as I’ve learned so often in my own life, blessings occasionally come very well disguised, and we often learn the most from those we differ from and with.

Giveaway! One person who responds today about an unexpected blessing you received or anything else you want to chat about will win a digital copy of Deal with a Texas Soldier.

Thanks for being here today. Happy reading.

Deal with a Texas Soldier

Former soldier Tanner Jordan embraces the opportunities in his new town of Service, Texas. He’s invested in a business that requires his trouble-shooting skills, and when he finds out his new partner is a hometown girl with a huge heart, sassy mouth and a brilliant brain, he’s struck gold. He relishes challenges in work and pleasure.

Reese Cartwright isn’t thrilled when her granddad sells his share in the family business to an outsider, even though he is a friend. But she’s not expecting her new partner to be sexy as sin, and eager to make changes. Reese issues a challenge—winner take all—convinced she’ll win.

Tanner—a true Texan—is game, and their sizzling attraction soon ignites. Tanner wants it all—Reese and their business partnership, but can this stubborn beauty compromise so that they can both win?

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