We are happy to have Carrie Lofty at Smexy today to talk about her new release, His Very Own Girl.

Rules Made to be Broken

By Carrie Lofty

The USO (United Service Organization) was established as a private non-profit organization devoted to morale-building services of all kinds. This included religious needs, games and recreation, temporary lodging, postage services, the distribution of books and magazines, and food stations in cities, ports and railway stations. Particularly famous were USO doughnuts. If USO volunteers were handing out food, doughnuts were sure to be involved!

USO dances became a staple of life of wartime life. Girls considered to be of the best character were recruited to host and participate in these canteen dances, both at home and in foreign nations such as Britain. Morale was buoyed by the girls’ clean-washed hair, pretty smiles, and patient conversations. Because of how near this skirted toward hints of offering their bodies of comfort—eep! almost prostitution!–the USO was especially strict to enforce their chosen boundaries of propriety.

Young women were trained in how to talk with servicemen, how to make them feel included, and how to firmly tell them “no” at the end of the night. Volunteers were discouraged from dancing too frequently with the same man, and they were forbidden from leaving the premises with servicemen. Even the exchange of phone numbers so that eager young people could arrange an after-work rendezvous was prohibited. (Not to say some folks didn’t get around the restrictions!)

Outside of the USO, however, anything was possible, particularly in England when women participated in many wide-ranging professions. Lulu Davies, the hero of His Very Own Girl, is a British civilian pilot. She and American paratrooper Joe Weber hit it off rather quickly—in part because he was the first medic on the scene of a plane crash she barely survived.

After an incident like that…who wants rules?

Following the brief train ride to Sileby, Lulu led Joe eastward along the quiet pitch-black road to Mersley. She heard the scour of a lighter’s flint just before the fire flared to life. He lit a cigarette and offered her one. When she declined, the light winked out, leaving her with a brief glimpse of his face. He was wearing that contemplative expression again.

“You Brits amaze me.”

“How so?”

“Blackouts, rationing, and then dancing like there’s no tomorrow. It’s like that fella Williams said at the movie palace. You’re still here. I keep trying to make sense of it all.”

Again she found his deliberate nature amusing. He was just so . . . unruffled. Maybe that was part of the reason why she liked kissing him, wanting to feel him lose control. She’d seen it when he’d fought Lt. Dixon.

The idea of Joe directing that passion toward her—with lovemaking in mind, not violence—turned her insides to steaming hot water.

“Leicester’s been lucky, really. Half of London’s been destroyed.” Memories as dark as the evening blackness sent her tumbling back in time. “Orphans sleep in tube stations if they haven’t been evacuated to the countryside.”

“So I’ve heard,” Joe said. “What a choice, eh?”

He put an arm around her shoulders and she cuddled closer, for both warmth and security. There was nothing between them and Mersley except this empty stretch of road, a few cows, and the occasional farmhouse. They might as well have been the only two people in England.

Lulu smiled, finding it odd that she was enjoying their isolation. “But we’re still people. We need something to alleviate all the madness. So if there’s alcohol, it will be drunk. If there’s music, it will be danced to.” Laughter tickled in her throat like the promise of a cough. “And if there’s a horizontal surface . . .”

Joe snorted. Lulu set her laugh free.

“Even if they never see each other again?” he asked. “That couple on the horizontal surface, I mean.”

“Why put off till tomorrow things that can be done tonight?”

A very good question for any moment in life, but particularly relevant during wartime. Lucky for readers, Joe and Lulu make the most of every moment they’re given!

Summer has been a blast! Available now from Pocket Books are three Christies Family romances. FLAWLESS kicked it off with a tale of an estranged couple’s search for love. The 99¢ tie-in novella, "A LITTLE MORE SCANDAL" follows two aspiring lovers to London. And the Scottish-set second novel, STARLIGHT, was an RT BookReviews 4½ Star Top Pick. "Richly nuanced characters and a superbly realized Victorian setting come together brilliantly." ~ The Chicago Tribune

I’ve also launched a co-written pseudonym, Katie Porter, with my long-time friend and critique partner, Lorelie Brown. Our "Vegas Top Guns" series of contemporary erotic romances launched from Samhain with DOUBLE DOWN and INSIDE BET, both of which were RT BookReviews 4½ Star Top Picks: "This racy, raunchy, hella good read…will move Fifty Shades of Grey to the children’s section of the bookstore."

Where to find me: http://www.carrielofty.com or Twitter: @carrielofty

I’d like to give away a digital copy of HIS VERY OWN GIRL in any format. Just answer the question: What have you put off for tomorrow that you wished you’d done today? (Metaphorically, of course!)

Thanks again to Smexy Books for featuring His Very Own Girl!