3 Insights About Operation Code Name: Desert Love by Constance Bretes

2. What was the biggest obstacle to overcome in writing this story?

There were actually 2 obstacles, i.e., the Military is not supposed to reveal any information about anything and the nformation is all over the place. While researching American arm forces, it was hard to tell which information was accurate, and which was not. I eventually relied on two individuals for the story, Steve Stone and Tarina Deaton.

 
3. Was there a favorite scene you wrote that you’d like to share with the audience?

 Yes, here’s the scene.

“Can we take a small tour around the city and enjoy the coolness of the evening?”

“Yeah, we can do that.” Clarissa loved fast speeds, and Len seemed to have remembered that. He sped the Humvee on a few roads in Kabul that were open, with no dense neighborhoods. It felt exhilarating to Clarissa. She stood up a few times, holding on to the top of the windshield, feeling the wind against her face, and her hair going wild. After doing a few rounds, Len pulled up at the US Embassy. Clarissa stood in the vehicle before he came to a stop and yelled, “Woo hoo!” The guys standing outside the building turned and gave them the thumbs-up. “That felt so good.”

Len had a lopsided grin on his face. “Yeah. It did feel good. You still want to do that run?”

“Okay.” Clarissa hurried to her room to change. She pulled her messy hair into a ponytail, slipped into a pair of shorts with tassels around the hem she’d just bought, a lightweight top, and a new pair of running shoes and socks. When she got to the steps outside to meet Len, he was already there in his army shorts, doing warm-ups and talking to a couple of guys.

“Hi,” Clarissa said to the two men in army garb who were talking to Len. One guy nodded, and the other said, “Hey.”

“I’ll see you at the heli-pad at eleven hundred hours,” Len said. The two men saluted Len and sped quickly down the steps.

Clarissa looked at her watch. They had an hour to get a run in.

“Are you wearing draperies?” he asked.

“What?” Clarissa laughed and looked at him.

He was staring intensely at her shorts. “No. I just thought they were cute.”

Len rolled his eyes. “Hmm. Ready?”

Clarissa did a few body stretches. “Ready.”

They started out slowly. When they came to a street corner, he instructed, “Take a right here.” She started to turn slightly. “Len…”

She stepped into his path accidently, tripping him. As he went down he rolled himself in a somersault and came back up, standing. “Jesus, Clare, you trying to do me in?”

“I’m sorry, Len. I was just going to ask you something.” They quickly picked up their pace for a few more blocks. She wanted to know when he would be going back to the states, but she was afraid of his answer, so she decided not to ask.

Thanks for sharing your new book with us, Constance. Readers, grab a copy of Operation Code Name: Desert Love, only 99¢, for your weekend reading.