Breathless Press Day with DD Symms

First off, my apologies for the lateness for the post. Between working second shift and other issues, I lost track of time and forgot to post this. I apologize to the author and Breathless Press for this delay.

Give a warm welcome to author DD Symms....

Can you please tell us about your latest/upcoming book(s)? 

Dalton Blake wants to withdraw from society as he nears the end of his military commitment. He feels responsible for not stopping an attack that killed his best friend and lover and considers how to end his own life. A captain on base notices the despair and makes himself available to Dalton despite protestations. Can Captain Shafter break through the barriers Dalton has created?

How did you come with the idea for this story?

Having gone through some family trauma and withdrawing from others for a while, I chose a story about a soldier nearing the discharge from the military. I wondered how he would feel struggling with what he saw as partly being responsible for the death of his best friend and lover.

Who is your ultimate "book boy/girlfriend"? You know, that hottie you read about and drool over. 

Elizabeth in Nicholas Sparks' The Lucky One. She has a strength and resolve that I find sexy and I admire.

Who is your Celebrity crush? And what would you do if you ever meet them?

Tea Leoni. Gotta love those eyes. If I met her? I'd probably stammer, buy her a cheap glass of merlot, and spill it all over myself as I'm handing it to her.

If you could collaborate with another author on a secret project, who would you pick to work with and why? 

I would say Anita Shreve because I enjoy her prose and the seeming simplicity of her stories.

In His Sights

Breathless Press

Flirt/Contemporary M/M

Available at Publisher

A roadside explosion kills Dalton Blake's lover in Afghanistan. Dalton wants to hide in himself forever. Can a base officer can break through? 

Dalton Blake and his lover from college enlist to serve their country and seek adventure. A roadside explosion in Afghanistan that Dalton believes he could have prevented takes his lover's life and Dalton returns stateside, withdrawing into his own world to escape the emotional toll. A base captain tries to break through and must find a way to connect before Dalton makes a tragic decision. In His Sights explores the impact of loss and the hope that new love offers. 

Teaser Excerpt:

Afghanistan fascinated him. He saw beauty in what many deemed a desolate landscape. A flower blooming among rocky crags was like an act of defiance interrupting the bleakness. He had gained confidence and felt like his leadership abilities were growing rapidly on the day a colonel, a senior engineer from the States, and a camera crew from a television network were among the audience members.

The last questions finished and he gathered his materials. He headed to the coffee shop on base to revel in his success but soldiers were scrambling amid confused shouts.

"Hey, what's happening?" Dalton tried to get someone's attention.

"An attack. There was an attack just down the road."

The news screamed back to base. An IED had exploded in the field, ripped through a convoy, and killed several soldiers. Jerry was among them.

Dalton froze. A volley of commands were unleashed in his mind to run here or there, but he was helpless. He shook free from the initial shock and ran to his barracks, buried his face in his pillow, and fought to suppress his rage. He wanted to scream, grab a weapon, and head off on his own personal assault and find the son of a bitch responsible. A debriefing revealed a connection failure in the jamming device and the feeling of failure Dalton experienced was like water bursting through the walls of a reservoir and flooding everything in its path.

 About the Author

DD Symms wanted to capture the emotional struggle that loss and new love bring with In His Sights, his fifth book with Breathless Press.

Fiction writing in university was his original calling, but it took a detour of many years as he focused on journalism. The joy of writing fiction is when characters seep into his imagination and take on a life of their own with a story that must be told.

He lives in southern California and hikes in the mountains with his wife, wishes his dog would stop sleeping on his side of the bed, and would like to take more walks along the beaches north of Malibu.

Website: DDsymms.wordpress.com

Twitter: @DD_Symms

Facebook.com/DDSymms

Pinterest.com/ddsymms