PEACE LOVE BOOKS : Ramblings of a Book Dork: Off Limits Tour Guest Post & Giveaway

Title: Off Limits

Author: Sawyer Bennett

Release date: April 16, 2013

Publisher: Big Dog Books, LLC

Age Group: New Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

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“There is a vulnerability there, hovering just below the surface. And I want to pick at it until I expose it. Then I want to kiss it."

Two years ago, Emily Burnham, had an epiphany about the shallowness of her life. And she made it her mission to become a different person…a better woman. Out from under the controlling thumb of her mother, Emily is tasting the real world for the first time. And she likes it.

Nixon Caldwell has served his time in the Marine Corps, surviving two brutal tours in Afghanistan. He is back home, surrounded by what he likes best…isolation. It's certainly the easiest way to avoid confrontation of the consuming guilt that is weighing him down.

When an accident brings Emily and Nix together, he soon learns he is not the master of his own fate. Struggling with his own pain, Nix tries to guard himself against Emily’s charms. He wants her in his bed, but he doesn’t want her in his heart.

Having grabbed life by the horns, Emily wants it all. But is she willing to accept just the small part of himself that Nix is offering? Can she reach the part of his soul that he has deemed to be Off Limits?

This book is the follow up novel to Off Sides by Sawyer Bennett. It can be read as a stand-alone.

The Inspiration for OFF LIMITS

By Sawyer Bennett

The first inspiration to write Off Limits basically came from a slew of emails or Facebook messages that people wrote asking me to write another book. I had not really thought about do it when I first wrote Off Sides. I thought that would be a “one time” sort of thing. A few readers suggested writing a story about Emily, and I was like, “Really? She was such a brat. How can I redeem her?” It turns out, it wasn’t so hard to create an Emily that had changed for the good. I mean, she had such great influences with Danny and Ryan being a close part of her life now, particularly once she decided to get out from under her mother’s influence.

The idea for Nix Caldwell came immediately to my mind, and truly, this story is really about his journey to overcome his demons. I wanted a surly (and, of course, hot) Alpha male for this story...someone completely different than Ryan Burnham. I used my past experience with my first marriage (over twenty years ago) to an active duty Marine that was part of Force Recon. That is the old version of the current Special Forces Command under MARSOC.

At any rate, there was nothing remotely similar between my ex-husband and Nix Caldwell, other than the duties they had in the Marine Corps. But I will tell you, Recon/Special Forces Marines are a nutty bunch. I remember one of them telling me that if “you have more balls than brains, you are a good fit”. The training they go through is intense. HALO training, SERE school, high speed driving schools, scuba...you name it, they do it. You have to be slightly crazy, and completely unafraid of death to be a Special Forces Marine.

So, I had my Alpha Marine now, and I knew he would have to be damaged. It wasn’t hard to imagine the gruesome things that might have occurred to him in Afghanistan. I did a lot of research on what the modern day Marine does in warfare, and how the psychological effects can overtake their lives. The main inspiration that guided every word of this book was letting Nix find redemption, because someone that made the sacrifices he did for our Country deserves that.

About the Author

Sawyer Bennett is the pen name for a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn't have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.